In almost every corner of the United States, there are more buyers than there are houses to buy.
And while so many real estate agents keep doing the same thing they always did, which is waiting for homes to come on the market (and then proceed to get outbid most of the time), my hope is that today’s podcast convinces you NOT to be one of those agents.
Instead, today’s strategies will help you be a few steps ahead of those agents and help your clients get a home well before it comes on the market (or at the very least learn about a home before it comes on the market so they can get prepared to pounce. Even 24 hours makes a huge difference).
Not only will this help your clients who truly need to move, but it also helps you continue to reach your goals too.
And, an added bonus is you’ll likely get even more clients because who wouldn’t refer their friends to someone who got them the house they wanted when it seems like everyone else they know is still looking or getting outbid.
There are many more strategies that work than what I’ve listed here, but here are my favorite three that I’ve personally used and that have worked for me when there is no inventory:
- Send “The Letter” to everyone in the neighborhood your client wants to buy. This infamous letter is so simple, yet so effective. I spoke about this last year here. You can get a copy of one I’ve used in the past that got responses. Be sure to explain the benefits of selling to your client. Maybe your client can be flexible on timing and give them up to six months to buy a new home or maybe they are willing to buy it without them having to do any repairs or staging.
2. Be in touch with everyone you know and ask if they or anyone they know has _____________ (list your buyer needs). Yet another reason to have an email list of people you know and be communicating with them weekly. I’ve talked about that many times so won’t go into depth here.
3. Prospect absentee owners aka landlords. Not only are they not in need of finding a new home to move into, making them more likely to sell, but many landlords (myself included) had issues collecting rent over the last year due to the financial impacts their renters were facing. You might be able to truly help them sell a property that has become a headache for them. For example, maybe your buyer is willing to take over the tenant until the current lease is expired and can move in when the current tenant moves out.
Listen in to today’s episode and learn more about how to implements these tactics into your business now.
These are just three of the many ideas that work to remove obstacles and put buyers and sellers together. There are many more options out there. Pick one or two and do them. Not only could it result in helping your buyer get a home, these can also help you get referrals and could also result in a listing if your buy isn’t interested or has already purchased another home by the time you hear a response from your outreach.
If you are an Agent Grad School student, but sure to go to the Bonus Lesson of the Month for March to get even more ideas and download my templates to use as your own.
Now is NOT the time to sit back and do what you’ve always done. Times like these means having to do a little more than the average agent if you want more than average results not just for you, but for your clients too.
Always remember: where there is struggle, there is an opportunity to provide real value to people and truly help them in ways they can’t do on their own.
And, isn’t that what we are here to do as real estate agents?
Yes, it is. Otherwise, we’d be out of a job, and rightfully so.
So, see this moment as an opportunity to provide even more value to your clients and remind them why they should choose you and why they should tell everyone else they know to choose you too.
Do the work that will get you the results you want. These three strategies are just the beginning to help you do just that.
To your success,
Jennifer
