And Preempt Potential Problems

Please don't tell me you rush out the door to meet a new buyer just because they asked to see a house.  Please don't tell me you do that!

Behavior like this creates a huge pain in my chest. Back in the 70's there was a television character, Fred Sanford, who used to say, "This is the big one!" That's how I feel when I hear agents ignoring all common sense and good business sense.

The fantastic Floyd Wickman (in his Sweathogs training course) always taught the concept of CITO.  This stands for Come Into The Office. Now, recite that phrase 25 times so it becomes subconscious and natural for you to say it.

When you receive a call on your sign or ad and they want to see the property, just insist on... (hey, you remember!) Come Into The Office. To be more exact, "I'd love to show you that house.  Come into the office and we can get together for a cup of coffee - we'll go over some details and I can select a few more properties and have the latest financing information put together for you to study and then we can go." If they still resist, try this: "Frankly, we have an office policy about not going out with strangers.  It's for our own personal safety. So let's just meet first, okay?" (So what if you're a 6'4" 320 lb. football defensive guard? Say you do this to support the women in your office.) Take note: if they won't come in...forget about them!  They weren't buyers for you anyway.  Just lookie-loos or someone else's client.

Meeting with them first will accomplish some very important things:

1. You can advise them about getting pre-approved for their loan.  Shuffle them out the door without showing any property when you don't know if (or for how much) they are qualified.

If they say they are pre-approved, ask for the letter and review the Good Faith Estimate.  The odds are good it's a worthless 'pre-qual' letter and there are better rates to be found, anyway. If they want to see a house right away, tell them "I'd hate for you to fall in love with something you can't get.  Sellers want to negotiate with pre-approved Buyers."

2. You can thoroughly explain Buyer Agency (if you chose to go that route) and get them to sign the agreement once they understand it and aren't afraid any more. If the showing was going to be for your own listing, explain Seller Agency and that you'll be their Buyer's Agent later on.

3. You can question them about motivation, desire, urgency, preferences and whether they have a house they need to sell first.  Wouldn't it be nice to know they've already seen 52 houses and they're still saving for their down payment?  You wouldn't have wasted time showing them anything, right? (At least I hope not!  With the time you would have wasted you could have called 25 people on your Center of Influence list and been looking for real buyers and sellers.)

4.  You can get them aquainted with you.  Talk about your background, education, services, dedication, love of small animals and children, expertise with short sales and foreclosures, etc.  Bond with them and win them over so they'll stick with you. (Maybe even give them chocolate.)

5.  You can caution them about walking into open houses or new homes areas or calling ads in the newspaper or talking to FSBO's without you. Explain they'd be in dangerous waters without a buyer's agent to protect them.

6.  You can prepare them for what to expect regarding inspections and the costs, the potential time line for house hunting, negotiating and closing. Send them home with a blank sales contract to study.

7. You can weed out the serial killers. Okay, I know you're laughing. But how else can you be sure the person(s) is legitimate? Send them to get pre-approved!  I don't think Ted Bundy would have gone to apply for a loan.

Please postone perilous proceedings and preempt potential problems!             CITO!

Happy sales to you until we meet again,

Jan

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