I got a question recently from Carla Harden, a Century 21 Agent out in Rio Vista California, asking the following: "I sell to people who come to see our adult community and they’re all from out of town. After talking to them, some people come back, some never do and some have to sell their other house first before they can buy something with me. Do you have some questions I can ask to determine how serious a person is in actually buying a home so I’m not wasting my time? Thanks." Great question Carla, since this is something as Realtors™ we face a lot: People coming in, wanting to talk, and then after it’s all said and done, not being a legitimate prospect for whatever reason. Very frustrating.
So with that in mind, let’s take a look at some questions you can ask to help gauge a prospect’s interest level, and avoid going down the "long road to nowhere" when it comes to turning prospects into clients.
Question #1: If you don’t mind me asking, what got you thinking about moving anyway? This is a great question because it allows you to understand their motivation for wanting to buy a house in the first place.
Something I tell clients all the time is that people don’t come to you to buy a house. They come to you to buy the deliverable that house will provide. So as an example, people are less interested in the house itself, and instead, are more interested in a good, safe neighborhood where they can call home.
Or as another example, they’re not interested in the condo as much, as they’re interested in the shorter commute having a condo can provide. The point is, generally speaking, people are less interested in the house itself, and more concerned about the problem they’re trying to solve, or the "state of being" they’re looking to achieve, as a result of buying or selling that home. And as the Agent, your job is to uncover that motivation for why they want to move, and then determine if that’s a short or long term contributor for them ultimately buying or selling a home with you.
Question #2: What kind of timeframe were you looking at for making a move? Is this something you’re looking at over the next couple of months, later on this year, or maybe even 2010?
I like this one because it gets right at the heart of when they expect to move - without you coming across as too pushy in the process. Sometimes I think Realtors™ are hesitant to ask this question because they’re afraid of the answer. "What if they’re not ready to buy right now", they might be thinking. "Well, let’s not worry about that, and instead just work really, really hard and get this sale pushed through." Only to find out that their client’s company can’t relocate them until another 6 months, and all their hard work goes right down the drain.
Instead, I advise Agents to ferret this out early on, that way you can prioritize your own efforts in the context of other prospects you have in the pipeline. And just for the record, I’m not a big fan of finding people who are necessarily ready to buy "right now".
I know a lot of people talk about not wasting your time with "tire kickers", and I agree with that 100%. But at the same time, buying a home is a big decision, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to work with people who have a 3-4 month timeframe for making a decision and ultimately pulling the trigger.
Question #3: Besides yourself, is there anybody else who might be affected by this move? Your husband, parents, kids…?
This is a great one since it provides a good feel as to who the Stakeholders/Decision Makers are in this particular situation.
I’ve heard stories where Agents talk to prospects for weeks on end, only to find out that their parents are providing the down payment, and they don’t like this neighborhood one bit! So to help you avoid this "back to the drawing board" situation, I’d recommend asking people right up front who’s involved. And while you don’t have to get them into the process right away (I know my wife spent a few weeks actually looking at houses prior to me getting involved, that way I was only looking at houses that both she and the Agent liked), you do want to stay aware of this potential X Factor.
If you’d like some more ideas on how to get more business in today’s tough market, just email info@agitoconsulting.com (Subject: Today’s Tough Market), along with your name and zip code, and we’ll be sure to send out our free report right away.
And in the meantime, thanks for the great question Carla. Hope it helps.
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