Past Appraisal Follow-Up
To be honest, you’re not going to be successful on the first time every single time, there’s going to be some occasions where you’re not going to secure the listing at the first initial listing opportunity and there are perfectly good reasons for this.
Some sellers tend to jump the gun and get agents in a lot sooner than when they’re ready to sell. Some get very overwhelmed with what you have to say about prices, strategies, and marketing that they actually get completely turned off from the process. Others realise that the price is not where they need it to be and they can’t sell at all at that price. Sometimes it just comes down to the sellers being embarrassed to come clean with you as to why they’re not pushing ahead even though they answered some questions which made it sound like they were gung-ho and ready to go.
It is crucial that you stay in touch with these people, you’ve got to do Past Appraisal Follow Up.
Here are some ways of doing good past appraisal follow-ups and staying top-of-mind:
The first, and most important one is to continue calling them. This is not to say that you just call randomly, you ask them “when would you like me to call you again?” Now that could be weekly, monthly, or quarterly. This would depend on the motivation of the seller.
They should also then become part of your multi-layered prospecting trails, where you continue sending them things like newsletters, invitations to events, properties that you are selling and your solds, any competitions you are running, or updated sales in the area to keep the prospective clients up-to-date.
A great way to keep engaging with them is to invite them to your auctions, launch parties, and just getting in front of them and continue building trust. This will show that other sellers have trusted you and you can also show off the great job that you do.
Another really good thing to do is to find out where they are moving to. If they say they would like to move to be close to the beach, find out the suburbs that are near the beach that are within their budget and currently on the market. This may encourage them to fall in love with something and pre-empt their property coming on the market.
It’s all about building trust! Some sellers don’t jump in boots-and-all first time. Sometimes it comes down to the agent with the most patience that wins the business in the medium to long-term.
Here are a few examples of times when I have been interested in making large purchases but have failed to receive a follow-up call:
A few years ago, I decided I was going to have a look at some boats. I actually found a boat that fit perfectly within my budget and with a bit of encouragement, I probably would have bought it. After leaving my contact details with the salesperson, he promised to call me, and I remember saying to myself after leaving, “I’ll probably buy that boat, but I’ll just wait for the salesman to call me”. Well, the salesman never called me and as a result, I never bought the boat.
Another time, I went to a car dealership, I remember clearly that I had some time off because I was going away on holiday. So, I had a look at a car, I even took it for a test drive. Before leaving the dealership, I handed the sales manager my business card and told him I would be away for a few weeks and would decide while I was away. I asked him to send me the specs and the best possible deal and I would give him a call when I got back. Once again, the sales manager never emailed or called me. As a result, I bought the exact car a few months later online, and I still have the vehicle today.
Those are just two very good examples of times people didn’t follow-up on potential business, resulting in them losing out on the sale. So, follow-up, follow-up, follow-up.
For more information on how to stay top-of-mind with prospective clients, come along to my upcoming FREE half-day Real Estate Brilliance webinar by clicking on the link below for more information. I look forward to seeing you there.
