“If all you get out of a listing is a sale, then you are making life harder than what it needs to be.”
It’s like squeezing an orange – you want to make the most of every opportunity. So, what money are you leaving on the table? We partnered up with Justin Nickerson from Apollo Auctions to talk you through some tried and tested methods to multiply your listings.
What we covered:
- How to effectively run VIP viewings
- Making your Just Sold marketing stand out in the marketplace
- Setting up past appraisals when you list a property, to make multiple sales from one campaign
- The power and impact of strong post inspection follow-up and the best dialogue to use
Here are Justin’s top tips for generating more listings off the back of the one you’ve got.
1. VIP viewings
Prospecting is not a ‘sometimes’ activity, it’s an ‘all the time’ activity – even especially when you’ve just listed a property for sale. One of the most powerful ways to generate a second, third and more listings from that first one is through VIP viewings.
Now, you don’t have to go the whole hog and organise champagne and a cheese platter – VIP viewing aren’t just for high end, luxury properties. In fact, they really aren’t about the properties at all. VIP viewings are about the people who attend them. You’re trying to make them feel like a Very Important Person. It’s about sowing the seeds for your next listing by showing off your exceptional customer service, making people feel a bit special and creating loyalty.
You can’t do that by advertising your VIP viewing on social media or in a newsletter to every Tom, Dick and Harry your entire database. You need to invite specific individuals to the home, and explain to them what they’ll get out of it.
There are three key groups you should be inviting:
- Buyers
- Neighbours
- Past appraisals
To find buyers…
Use Rex’s reverse buyer match functionality to find buyers whose property needs and interests match the listing, then pick up the phone and sell them early access before the open homes start – that’s what’s going to make these buyers feel special.
To find neighbours…
You can go old-school and door knock or deliver flyers, but you can speed up the process with that same reverse match functionality. Call through your list of neighbouring homeowners and tell them that the sign hasn’t gone up yet, but you’ve just listed 1 Smith Street and you wanted to invite them round for a sneak peak.
It’s not always about price – often, with neighbours, it’s the ‘who’. Who’s selling. Who’s going to buy the property and become their newest neighbour. We know neighbours can be stickybeaks – use this in your favour.
To find homeowners who didn’t progress past an appraisal...
You can also use Rex to find people with houses in a similar price bracket who decided not to list their property with you. To get these people into the VIP viewing, sell them the comparison. Tell them they’ll get a better feel for the market if they see this house, and that you’ll keep them informed about the progress of the sale.
These conversations you’re having about the VIP viewing are the most important conversations you’ll have – whether they come to the viewing or not. What you’re doing is setting yourself up for the conversation you’ll have when the property sells...
2. Using Just Sold listings to create more opportunities
Every time you sell a property, write or record a case study. It doesn’t have to be long, but it does have to put your vendors’ and their property at the centre. Remember that it’s not about your success. It’s about your vendors’.
Then, create two lists:
- everyone who enquired about the listing or came to an inspection
- homeowners with a similar property
Send everyone who enquired about the listing or came to the inspection an email or SMS to let them know that the property has sold, and attach a copy of the case study.
Then, pick up the phone and call homeowners with a similar property to let them know about the buyers who missed out. These are people who are cashed-up and ready to make an offer on a property just like theirs. Ask the homeowners if you can tell buyers about their property and get them through for a look – no portal listings, no public advertising, no commitment, no cost. It’s just a look… and you’re in the door. Even if those buyers don’t make an offer, you’ve got yourself an opportunity to get in front of more homeowners.
3. Planning the process behind our instincts
What we need to accept as an industry is that these conditions (strong competition and a lack of supply) are unlikely to continue into 2021. We need to adapt and evolve to achieve results.
Justin’s top tips are:
- earn your sellers’ trust
- speak in facts, not opinions
- ask your sellers’ permission to deliver them information that might make them uncomfortable (i.e. set the stage for pricing discussions)
4. Set up your best buyer
Sellers probably won’t know the best buyer for their property without your help. The key here is that consistent dialogue in feedback calls delivers you consistent information. You need to be consistently making the calls inside Pocket and adding feedback to your contact and listing records. But how do you find them?
First, you need to understand the vendor price, the market value and the buyer excitement level (this is the level where buyer’s get really excited about properties – it usually sits 10% below the market value). Then, ask the buyer:
- what they think the property will sell for
- what price would they pay for the property
- if they would buy at the buyer excitement level.
What you’re trying to do is show your seller what buyers are actually willing to pay, rather than what they think it’s worth – which may be a bloated price.
All of the above is about making life easier for yourself. It’s about working smarter, not harder.
