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Getting clients to reduce their price is not
a mystical happening. It must be
done methodically. Top-gun agents
have a set system to get price reductions.
It is followed to the letter no matter the price of the property,
economic conditions of the market place, or the client.
There are five steps to set-up a good price reduction system. Step
one: Get it priced right when you list the property.
Tell the seller the truth about the price. Be compelling and convincing in your conviction about the
price. Make the seller understand
that the other agents want the listing and will beat them up on price later.
They merely want their sign in the ground.
You want a sale and a satisfied client and you are willing to tell them
the truth up front to get that. Step
two: If you decide to take the home overpriced
initially, then get a price reduction signed for a future price and date.
Get the commitment that if in 30 days the home hasn’t sold, they are
dropping the price to a new price. Push
to get it signed and done. This
commitment will avoid discussion later. If
you do discuss this but don’t get a signature, you will have at least laid
down the foundation for a discussion regarding reducing the price at a later
date. Step
three: Get the sellers to agree to meet with you at
your office every 45 days to discuss the price of their property and showings.
This meeting will give you an opportunity in your environment to get the
price needed to sell the home. By
getting them to your office, you have control and invest less time, which is
your most precious resource. When
they come to your office the meeting will be shorter and you will save at least
30 minutes in drive time. Step
four: Create a specific price reduction campaign of
letters and phone calls. This
campaign should start no later than 30 days after the listing is taken.
The clients should receive information and guidance about the dangers of
over-pricing their home. They need
to know the importance of price in the sales process, even if you clearly
explained this during the listing appointment.
Remember we are judged by the results of getting the home sold.
If the price is hindering your success, your client needs to change. Step
five: This is the final step.
The clients have not been cooperative with getting the price down.
They have met with you and received a few steps of your price reduction
campaign. Send them the final
letter. The letter should state
that you have included a price reduction form with your recommended price and a
form to cancel the listing, and ask them to please sign one of the forms and
send it back. When I was an agent, we used to get about 65% that signed the price reduction. We had about 35% that wanted to cancel their listing. The 65% sold at the reduced price when they would not have before. The 35% we saw on the expired list months later. Clearly, our over-priced listings had no value. Yours will only cost you money and, more importantly time, and emotional energy. Don’t allow clients to dictate the conditions and success of your business by their refusal to look at the facts objectively. Reduce your expired listings by reducing the price. Price will always dictate all the other factors in the sale. Control the price today. |
