 TIP #11
When Buyers
Phone
You've carefully determined a realistic
asking price
for your property, and, through your
classified ads, PrivateList
display and your lawn sign,
given it maximum exposure . Now you wait for the
calls to come in . . .
The Point
Your lawn sign, your ads, your neighborhood leaflets,
your word-of-mouth campaign and your Internet
exposure have but one objective: phone calls from
serious buyers.
But don't feel you have to invite every person who calls
over for a look. Be choosy: it takes a lot of
energy to get the house ready for showings, and you
don't need the frustration of having a bunch of
unqualified tire-kickers wandering through your home.
Serious buyers will also be wondering if a visit is
worth their while. Your mutual purpose during
their call is to clarify whether there is any chance
of its leading anywhere. They ask you some questions,
you ask them some, and only if everything still
looks promising do you invite them over.
Can You Be Reached?
Step one, then, is for you to get together over the
phone. The onus is on you as seller to make that as easy
as possible for the buyer, who may simply move on to the
next ad if you don't. Can you be reached?
Here are some ways you can facilitate
productive calls from potential buyers:
- contact your phone company about setting up, for a
modest monthly fee, call waiting and call
forwarding;
- as well, arrange for call tracing, or perhaps
lease a phone that displays the number your prospect
is calling from;
- to be constantly available, consider a cell phone or
pager;
- decide who is going to deal with callers and who is
not - have the kids fetch you immediately if a
prospect calls, or take a number if you're not
available;
- see if your phone company can temporarily attach to
your existing line a second phone number,
which you will then mention only in house ads, and
which by its special ring will tell you that someone
is phoning about the house, so you can mentally
prepare yourself before picking up the receiver.
Be Prepared
Now that you're on the phone, understand that serious
prospects want to qualify your house as much as you want
to qualify them. Be prepared to answer any and all
questions concerning details of the property. Have your
marketing folder at hand, with
information on the title, mortgage (if it's
relevant, neighborhood, and so on.
Familiarize yourself with current mortgage rates.
Mortgage payment tables (which you can
pick up in any book store) give the following monthly
payments, per thousand dollars borrowed, for 15-year and
25 year amortizations, respectively:
| |
rate |
15 yr. amort. |
25 yr. amort. |
| |
6-3/4% |
$8.80 |
$6.85 |
| |
7% |
$8.94 |
$7.01 |
| |
7-1/4% |
$9.07 |
$7.16 |
| |
7-1/2% |
$9.21 |
$7.32 |
Should callers happen to indicate how much money
they can put into a down payment, you can use this table
to quickly calculate what mortgage payments they'll
be facing ($80,000 borrowed at 7% over 25 years, for
example, means monthly payments of 80 x $7.01 = $560).
Mention that figure over the phone or during their
walk-through and look for a reaction. If your prospects
seem uncertain, refer them to our
mortgage page, where they
can find determine exactly what they're getting into
financially.
Finally, having a lot of information at your fingertips
does NOT mean you lay it all out in an effort to sell the
property over the phone. Give when asked, but otherwise,
focus on learning more about your callers. Remember: a
volunteered detail might unexpectedly create a problem
for a particular buyer. It's better for negatives to be
uncovered in the presence of off-setting positives, ie.,
while your prospects are walking through the home.
Being prepared also means not over-reacting to your
callers' telephone manners. During the first phone contact,
both parties are naturally a bit reserved and wary. Try
not to prejudge prospects by their tone of voice or
mannerisms - what you learn about their circumstances
is much more important than imagined meanings behind their
tone of voice.
What NOT to talk about
Two things you definitely DO NOT discuss over the phone:
your asking price and your reason for selling.
You've stated your asking price in all your advertising,
and even drive-bys will know it if your lawn sign has
referred them to PrivateList. If the caller still asks
about price, simply give it, with no justification or
further comment.
You cannot negotiate on the phone! Should the caller
express doubts as to whether they could approach your price,
take the opportunity to ask what sort of down payment or
monthly payments they had in mind, and whether they've
considered pre-qualifying for their loan. You're not
bargaining with them, simply trying to determine if they're
serious.
If the caller STILL wants to talk price, simply
indicate that you will consider a written offer, but of
course that would be premature until they've seen the
property. And be prepared to hang up if the hint isn't
taken.
Similarly, beyond a general comment like "We've really
enjoyed our time here, but we're ready for a change . . .",
avoid discussing your reasons for selling. Any hint that
you're pressured by a deadline or other circumstance may
cost you money down the road.
Asking Questions
You respect a caller's need to find out if your
property is worth visiting as well as YOUR need to
discover if it's worth having them visit. So don't turn
your caller off with an immediate third-degree.
Instead, by working into a pleasant conversation a few
open-ended questions (ones which require more than a
simple "yes" or "no" for an answer), encourage callers to
tell you about themselves, their circumstances and their
priorities:
- Do they have children? Pets?
- Are they currently renting? Transferring in?
- Will they have to sell first? Have they sold already?
- Are they clear on what they can afford?
- Have they been looking for long?
- What's their ideal possession date?
As soon as you've heard enough to indicate that these
are serious buyers, set up the viewing appointment and
end the call! You've got nothing to gain by talking any
longer, and a lot to lose, should some further detail turn
the buyer off.
Set it up!
How do you set up the viewing?
Perhaps you can give the caller a reason to visit
sooner rather than later: other calls, an impending open
house or a new series of ads, an interested realtor.
But DO NOT ASK IF THE BUYER WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE PROPERTY!
Instead, ask WHEN would be the most appropriate time:
"Would Tuesday or Wednesday be more convenient for you
to drop by?"
By giving likely prospects two clear choices,
both of which lead to an appointment, you invite them to
demonstrate how serious they are. The property seems like
a possible fit - it's time for the next step. If they're
not prepared to take it, you've lost nothing but a few
minutes on the phone.
Then if they accept a time for a showing, make sure you
get their name and phone number, in case you have to
re-schedule. (This is also a security issue: you SHOULD
call them some time before the showing, "just to confirm,"
then leave their name and number with a friend or
neighbour. Also, don't show the property alone,
particularly at night.)
Dealing with realtors
When you wave a red flag, expect some bull, er, bulls.
Of course you're going to get calls from realtors
as soon as you start advertising privately! Don't get mad,
get sold!
Good realtors will often be quite helpful, in the hope
that you'll either eventually list with them, pass along
a few leads to buyers, or at least mention their
professionalism to friends. Take advantage of their
offers of
- tips on preparing and showing your home
- information on recent sales (or even a full
comparative market analysis)
- blank offers to purchase
Just make it clear from the start that you intend to
sell privately. They won't believe you, but at least you
can accept their help with a clear conscience.
And consider ahead of time whether you're
prepared to co-operate with
realtors, with the purchaser paying any commission.
So long as your bottom line is met, why not?
The point is to SELL on terms your happy with.
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