Three keys to buyer loyalty in today’s market

In many housing markets around the nation, sales are slow, prices are sluggish and inventory remains high. With so many choices available, homebuyers may have difficulty choosing the right home for their individual needs. But smart agents know how to help prospects organize their thoughts to make better home buying decisions. Here are three keys to help you bring home the buyers and make more sales!

1.      Turn it around…first the neighborhood, then the property

How do people make home buying decisions? The process varies, but the two key factors are agent reputation and local knowledge, according to the National Association of Realtors^® 2006 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Still, many agents start with the property, hoping buyers will “fall in love” with a particular home.

You can save time for you and your clients by turning it around. First establish the ideal neighborhood to meet their needs, then look at individual homes. This can shorten transaction times because you won’t spend time showing the “right homes in the wrong neighborhood.” By starting with a neighborhood that meets your clients’ lifestyle requirements, you can help your clients identify the right location, and “selling” them on the benefits of the neighborhood first will make individual property visits more constructive.

2. Ask questions and tell stories

To win with buyers, it’s important to create a dialog that enables you to learn about their goals and requirements for buying a home. You should be delivering answers to their questions that build your reputation as a local expert and a trusted guide through the real estate transaction.  Smart agents know how to ask effective questions that reveal client concerns and potential obstacles to making the sale.

It’s important to – quite literally – put your prospect’s needs first. If you first understand the concerns, objectives and requirements involved, you will be better able to position your own skills and background. Also, asking about the prospect’s needs before discussing your own expertise shows them at the outset that you’re making their needs a priority. It sounds basic, but many agents jump ahead to discussing their solutions before fully understanding the prospect’s problems. Prospects enjoy doing business with agents who get to know them and show interest in their goals and requirements.

Why tell stories? People may forget facts and figures, but they remember stories. Once you understand the prospect’s needs, you can relate a short story of how you solved a similar problem or went the extra mile to make a buyer’s transaction successful. One eNeighborhoods agent tells us that whenever possible, she makes a point of driving buyers past homes she has already sold and points them out along the way. Using stories to illustrate your value and support your sales strategy is a winning sales technique, so be sure to have your well-rehearsed, compelling success stories ready to go before meeting with buyers.

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3. Be the ultimate tour guide

Have you ever been on vacation and had an exceptional tour guide? You might remember one helpful guide who stood out because of exceptional people skills and the ability to add to your learning and enjoyment (Perhaps by telling memorable stories!). Because buyers are fickle, you are better off marketing your own skills as a guide and neighborhood expert than tying your hopes to selling a single property. Think ahead to the referral…are you more likely to get one by showing a property, or being the ultimate tour guide?

For example, ultimate tour guides Caryn and Stephen Haas work in Chicago’s western suburbs. Stephen described what happens when he takes buyers to look at homes:

“When buyers step into my car, a personalized BuyerTour is on the seat waiting for them, featuring local information, maps and color property photos. I clip one of my pens to the report so buyers can make notes about the properties they see. Then, I offer them a frappucino, soda or water! I even add my own recommendations for local merchants and service providers to their BuyerTour. We find that buyers are so impressed with our knowledge and service, they think of us when they become sellers. ”

If you’re an eNeighborhoods Subscriber, you can use the BuyerTour to help buyers organize their thoughts, compare homes and make better buying decisions. It’s easy to create personalized reports featuring active listings and neighborhood demographics. You can also provide custom loan scenarios, neighborhood statistics and school information for each client.

Have your own buyer success story? We would love to hear it – send it this way!

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