Open for inspections are a great way to meet new prospects and keep in touch with current clients. It’s important not to let your presentations falter during the rush of a busy Saturday. One quality showing of a property is far more effective than several poor ones.
When deciding which clients to invite to an open for inspection, remember to include prospects other than your most obvious potential buyers. Naturally you want to contact people you know are looking in your market, but include other people looking at properties up to $50,000 more or less than the list price for this property. You will also advertise in order to attract new potential clients, but stretch your thinking a bit to include market appraisals, past clients, referrers, and area landlords. What you want is a group of people at your open inspection whether they are all interested in buying or not.
Having several people at your open for inspection creates a sense of competition and urgency for anyone who is actually interested in buying a property. It also gives you an opportunity to stay in touch with your other clients and maintain your presence in their minds. Once you have people in attendance, make sure your presentation to them is powerful.
Make a checklist of the things you want to accomplish during your open for inspection. You want to be organized and thorough. Timing is also a factor for an effective presentation: short presentations of around 30 minutes are powerful and increase the sense of urgency for potential buyers. Not only does this allow you to have several people through at the same time, but it also allows you to present more properties to more people in a single Saturday by spending less time at each one.
Make sure you set the open for inspection for the time agreed upon between you and the property owners. You should arrive at the property 10 to 15 minutes early to prepare. Turn on lights, set a comfortable temperature, play music, and generally make sure the property is attractive and ready to show. Use a simple system to register basic contact information for attendees whether you use a digital system or a simple notepad and pen. Have a professional brochure to hand them as they walk in, as well as other handouts available in the house for your other current listings. And wear a name tag or badge so people know immediately that you are the agent.
During your presentation have a cheat sheet handy with details about the property such as when the home was built, when it was renovated, whether it is gas or electric, and even estimated rent per week. Be polished and prepared so potential clients will trust that you can handle their requirements. Also consider the importance of having an assistant to handle basic tasks so that you can focus on clients and the presentation.
Open for inspection is not just about selling the property – it is also about prospecting, so your presentation should be impressive to buyers as well as potential sellers, past market appraisals, past clients, and new people who saw your ad in the paper or online. Be fresh, rested, prepared and healthy. Saturday is your day to sell yourself and your business, so make it work for you.
I hope you enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.