Being in the real estate business is hard, especially when the market is so turbulent due to inflation and the pandemic. Competition is severe, but referrals and recommendations still work wonders in this industry. So, if you have a great sales process and can satisfy the customers you onboard, you will surely get more customers through them. How do we know that?
NAR survey reports have stated that 87% of buyers closed their home deals through professional agents and brokers. And 90% of these people would also recommend these agents to others or reuse their services if the first sale was up to the mark.
If you have a disorganized process with no pattern and concrete steps to crack a deal, then the process can become time-consuming and frustrating for all parties involved.
But when you optimize your sales process, you crack deals faster and retain more clients. It will also ensure that the next time a seller or buyer needs an agent/broker, they will always come back to your company. Read this blog to get a structured plan for your sales process, from listing properties to closing deals.
Follow these steps to complete your sales seamlessly
Want to get better at streamlining the sales process and win the loyalty of both the buyers and sellers you work with? Here is how you do it. Read on to find out.
Prepare a sales listing
Preparing a sales listing can be cumbersome, but you can follow a few steps to crack the process and simplify it. Understand what customers/market is looking for. Then stage your property accordingly, and understand where you should promote the listing.
This process can become an overload of information. It is better to use a selection of technology in project management, like CRM software, to organize the data. It will also help you keep track of clients, property inventory, and sales process milestones.
What are sellers/customers looking for?
What is your seller or your customer market looking for? You need to get a detailed understanding of why your seller is selling a property, what is their desired property value, etc. But you also need to understand the current market demands and what potential customers are looking for in properties. This will help you find a middle ground to start the sales process.
Also, when you conduct background research on the property and the seller, you will get a clear picture of outstanding debts, taxes, insurance, etc. If there are third-party stakes on the property, you can also make your seller aware of it and get the issues sorted and bills paid.
Staging the property
Once the ask of your seller is understood, the next step is to revamp and make the property attractive for potential buyers. When a house is lived in, the whole place becomes mundane. You need to stage the place in a way that the best features of the house are highlighted and bring out the USP of the property. This will help buyers visualize their future homes and move forward with the sale.
Promoting the property
You can promote your listings in many places, like real estate listing aggregators, social media sites, word of mouth, email marketing, local newspaper listings, and more. But conduct market research to understand which platforms your target audience and potential customers spend the most time at.
Research says an average American spends more than 2 hours on social media daily. Millennials and Gen Z spend more time than that, the older generations lesser. So, if your target audience is the younger generations, you have got to promote your listings on social media than through newspaper postings.
Decide your price
As a professional real estate agent or broker, you must have formal training in pricing a house. No matter what price your seller asks for, you, as an agent, must never violate the NAR code of ethics while pricing. Of course, you should always get your seller the best and highest price possible in the market, but that should not result in extortion from buyers.
To remain impartial and crack the best deal, conduct market research on,
Understand the prices of similar properties in the area
Know the kind of amenities/features your seller offers that are better than other sellers. Like pools, gyms, yards, etc.
Is the potential market balanced between the number of sellers and buyers?
Organize property viewings/tours
After you have listed the property and decided on a price, it is time to start home tours. Be it virtual home tours or physical tours; you need to organize your potential leads according to priority and organize tours accordingly. CRM software usage can help you streamline this process.
Negotiations on property price/sales pitch
Negotiations can be tough because one wrong step and the buyers can easily go out of hand. You will have to restart from step one. So here is how to ensure solid negotiations.
Screen the potential buyers
Use tenant/customer screening software like Yardi or MRI to run background checks on your buyers. Learn if they have the financial stability and income to pay for the house they are trying to buy. Track their criminal records and start negotiations.
Be present during property appraisal
When the authorized person comes in to verify the property's asking price, it is important that you be there to build your case. Notify the concerned person about any upgrades in the property that might impact the sale prices.
Closing the deal
Closing a housing deal is not an overnight task. Here are the last and final stages of it.
Final negotiation
A final negotiation is not always needed if the buyer and seller have both agreed to the asked price on the first go. But sometimes, after upgrades or last-minute market reviews, buyers come back for a final negotiation. Conduct this negotiation on your seller's behalf and close the deal to the original price as possible.
Contract signing
The last step is to sign the purchase agreement, be it digital or physical signing, the process needs to be full proof, and all credits due should be cleared before all stakeholders sign.
Make Real Estate Project Management Easier
Is the long-drawn sales process becoming a hurdle for you? You can get in touch with our project management experts and strategy and leadership team to streamline the process and take charge of this tedious but crucial process in business.
Talk to us for more!