7 Basics of Serving and Selling a Listing

Sarah Richardson
Founder and CEO, Tru Realty

 

Whether you’re a seasoned vet in the field or a newbie fresh out of school, it’s a good idea to take a moment from time to time to ensure you’re still covering the basics when it comes to selling a home. Every home is different and it’s easy to get stuck tackling the big hurdles, forgetting the basics you should be checking off along the way.

Here’s a reminder of seven basic ways to serve and sell your listings:

  1. Price it You’ll need to be well-versed on comps in the area and have an open dialogue with your clients to make sure the home is priced correctly. Your clients need to understand the importance of being upfront about any issues with the home if they want to keep the selling process moving. Home inspectors and appraisal experts will always find out a home’s secrets, so it’s better to be upfront to make sure the home is priced with the whole picture in mind.
  1. Stage it It’s a tough job, but someone has to convince your clients that their daughter’s bubblegum pink playroom walls are not going to be a selling point for most buyers.
  1. Leave photography to the Do not forget or underestimate the value of hiring a professional to take photos of the home. Not only do they “have an eye for it,” many of them are specifically trained for the industry. Or, consider a photo enhancement software company like Boxbrownie, which offers virtual staging, twilight photos, renderings, floorplans etc. It’s an amazing way to get better reach and more traffic on listings. First impressions are everything, so that means using high-quality images to help the home look its best.
  1. Communicate your marketing Make sure you’re thinking long-term when it comes to serving a listing. You want your clients to share with all of their friends how wonderful an experience it was to work with you. A great way to do this is to put together a plan of how you’ll market the property and share it with your clients. Even if it’s a bulleted list of the simple things you plan to execute (like putting a sign in the front yard, for example), share it with them. They’ll be grateful you’re keeping them in the loop, and as the saying goes, “if people don’t know how you’re spending your time, they assume you’re not doing anything.”
  1. Make sure your clients are flexible and always ready for Making it difficult for potential buyers to see the home is one of the worst things you can do. Prepare your clients for the unpredictability and uncomfortableness of showing their home. Remind them that they need to be ready to show their home at a moment’s notice – so that means making sure the house is always neat before leaving for the day. Keep it top of mind for them that it will pay off (literally!) in the long run.
  1. Be there for the home You are the person best equipped to answer questions like, “What are the most recent updates to the home?” Plus, you can share feedback directly with your clients.
  1. Attend the home Although sellers might not expect you to attend the home inspection, it’s a good idea to go anyway. Why? Because you’ll hear directly from the inspector what the issues are – so nothing gets blown out of proportion and the buyers won’t try to take advantage of a situation. You’ll know exactly what’s reasonable if there’s a need for any adjustments to the selling price or process.

If it’s helpful to you, keep a task list of these seven selling basics for every listing you encounter. It’s easy to get overwhelmed just keeping your head above water that you forget to execute some of the more basic concepts. Remembering the “simple stuff” will not only help you sell a listing, it will help you grow your network and cultivate more clients.