A Pricing Strategy that WORKS!
Superstars…
Last week, one of our great agents and I had the opportunity to have a brief conversation in our market center at Peachtree Battle. She’s a top producer who joined The Rawls Group just a few months ago from one of Atlanta’s most respected traditional real estate firms. Upon joining our Keller Williams family, she attended many of the classes that I taught in several of our market centers, soaking up the honest and strategic information that I strive to provide to our associates.
When we spoke last week, she wanted me to know what an impact our “Pricing Property to Sell” class made on her, her clients and her income. She said that she left that class, set an appointment to meet with her clients and followed every script and strategy that we discussed in class, which resulted in her getting a HUGE price reduction on a listing she had on the market for 1.5 years prior to attending this class. The best part is that she got her listing under contract in just 12 days following this class and has already collected her commission!
One of the most impactful strategies that our agent used to help her clients understand the severity of their pricing problem was one that we discussed in our Pricing class, which I would like to make sure everyone knows.
STRATEGY: Schedule a time to pick up your seller to show them other properties that agents will most likely show a buyer in addition to your seller’s home. Pull properties that are above the value of your seller’s home, properties that are similar in value and properties that are below the value of your seller’s home. Here’s the most important part: When you show them each home, DO NOT let them know what the list price is. Make your seller state whether the home they are seeing is A) worse than, B) about the same as, or C) better than their home. Then, you can reveal the list price of the properties.
In almost every case, I’ll bet that your sellers are surprised to find that almost every property, if not EVERY property, that you show them is both better than their home AND priced less than what your seller wants to list their home at (or at the price your seller IS currently listed at, if they are already an overpriced seller).
For example, if your seller wants to list at $450,000, then show them a few homes that are on the market for $500,000 (buyers will be searching $450,000 to $500,000), a few homes at $450,000, a few homes between $400,000 and $425,000, and a few homes between $375,000 and $400,000. By showing the right properties to your seller, it will most likely show them that a price of $400,000 is the only price point that will allow them to be THE BEST property available to a buyer in a certain price range. Any list price above $400,000 will only have them being compared to superior properties on the market.
I want to thank our agent for 1) coming to The Rawls Group of Keller Williams Market Centers, 2) taking advantage of the awesome education that we work so hard to provide, 3) putting our education to work and seeing the value of what we do to help our agents, and 4) taking the time to give me such great feedback that I could share with everyone in our group.
I highly recommend this exercise for anyone with a tough, or potentially tough, seller. Forcing a seller to place a comparative value on other homes is one of the best ways to help them self-discover the flaws that they have in the value they may be placing on their own home in this market.
I hope you, too, find this helpful and something that you can use to turn your OLD listings into SOLD listings!
Your #1 Fan…
SHAUN
A few things to be mindful of…
Superstars…
Ever since we started Keller Williams Realty in Atlanta, it has been my hope that we provide the absolute best real estate services available in our industry. Regardless of transactions or market share, I want for all of us to feel like we provide the best and most satisfying service experience to buyers and sellers in the market. The only way to accomplish this is for all of us to maintain high standards as we commit to strive for excellence in our craft. We’ve always said that “No transaction is worth your reputation,” and this market has provided plenty of opportunities to test this mantra.
In an effort to help you be the best you can be, I would like to share with you some things as reminders to sharpen your saw so that you don’t get tripped up by the negative energy that needless mistakes can cause. Some of these lessons come from real life issues, others simply from my concerned broker brain.
Here’s my (short) list:
• Don’t over promise and under deliver. Due to the nature of many of our client’s financial position, they may misunderstand the amount of control that you can have in trying to save their home from foreclosure, short sale or distress. What you say can be misinterpreted and what you don’t say could be as important (or damaging) as what you do say. Typically, speaking in absolute terms about things outside of your control should be avoided and you should only make promises about things of which you have absolute control.
• We must always point our clients to experts who can provide the little bits of detailed information that can make a huge difference to our clients and customers. Attorneys, accountants, inspectors, engineers, contractors, etc. should always be offered and referred when discussing anything outside of our small field of expertise (regardless of whether we think our clients can or will spend the time/money on obtaining better information from such professionals!).
• Your contracts must be PERFECT. Every “I” needs to be dotted; every “T” needs to be crossed. Not having the seller’s initials on a change in a listing agreement just cost one of our agents $8,000!
• Every contract should have a disclosure statement. EVERY CONTRACT. This is an EASY liability reducer for you simply because it’s information provided by the seller that the buyer is using to base his/her decision upon (even if “I don’t know” is the only thing checked for every question). In the absence of a disclosure statement, then unhappy buyers may try to prove that they were disclosed by the Realtor, only to find out that things were not as they thought. A disclosure signed by seller and buyer takes you out of the liability loop.
• Do not advertise any property without the expressed, WRITTEN permission by the seller and/or the listing agent to do so. The Georgia Real Estate Commission clearly understands that some websites create ads for you and other websites have ads that you create. Make sure that any advertisements for properties you key in are within the rules set forth in the Georgia license law and are approved by your team leader/broker before you place your ads.
• Georgia License law requires that buyers and sellers be given a copy of any contract they sign at the time they sign it. So, make sure that you bring multiple copies of listing agreements, buyer brokerage engagements, offers to purchase, etc. to your appointments so that your clients can leave with a hard copy of the paperwork that they signed with you.
• Any agreements that you make with buyers and sellers must be made in writing or you shouldn’t be making them. If you can’t put it on the listing agreement, the buyer brokerage agreement, the contract or the HUD-1, then you can’t agree to it.
• Never, ever, ever make a counter offer reducing the commission of the other broker. Any effort to coerce another broker into reducing their commission could end up costing you ALL of your commission…and then some.
• If you have an upset client, let your Team Leader know. Your leaders are skilled at conflict resolution and can be most helpful when their guidance is sought proactively. More often than not, unhappy clients and customers just want to be heard and your Team Leader can provide a fruitful conversation with your client that satisfies their desire to appeal to a “higher power.”
I’m sure that I’ll think of more of this stuff. It’s just that lately we’ve had a rash of little issues that could have been avoided sooner – or all together – by being a bit more proactive. Usually the best offense and the worst defense are determined by your paperwork (and your paper trail!).
This market is has produced a lot of stress for so many people. And when it comes to our clients and customers who are in distressed situations, we’re going to find some to try and take their frustrations out on anyone who makes a mistake…even their Realtor. If we are going to work as hard as we do, let’s not make dummy mistakes that can jeopardize the money we earn.
This is a tremendous time to truly help people in the real estate industry. Never before have buyers and sellers needed so much help and guidance as they do today. Make sure that you are striving to provide the most comprehensive, competent and compassionate service available in our industry today. Our collective focus on this will continue to set us far apart for our competition for many years to come.
Thank you for taking such great care of this company’s reputation by taking such great care of yours. It’s a pleasure to be in business with you.
“I got your back…”
SHAUN
The Rawls Group – Keller Williams Realty is No. 2 among Atlanta’s Best Places to Work!
Dear Superstars of The Rawls Group – Keller Williams Realty,
Ten years ago, Keller Williams Realty was started in Atlanta. And for the past 10 years, those of us in The Rawls Group have known, indeed, that our company is “the best.” Today, that belief is not only validated, but is also being broadcast in today’s edition of the Atlanta Business Chronicle, where The Rawls Group is listed as the # 2 Best Place to work in all of Atlanta! To say that this is an honor would be an understatement.
Together we have accomplished something extraordinary. In the midst of one of the toughest real estate markets in history, it was decided that The Rawls Group is one of THE BEST PLACES TO WORK in Atlanta! That is CRAZY, and yet, we deserve the recognition that this tremendous award brings. There’s no greater team of professionals; there’s no group of harder working people; there’s no more supportive and learning based and helpful and energetic and optimistic group of people than those of us who are affiliated with The Rawls Group of Keller Williams Market Centers.
“Together Everyone Achieves More.” “Success Results Through People.” These statements mean more today than they ever have, thanks to you…thanks to every single one of you who gets up, fights the good fight, and proves that honesty and integrity can thrive in this industry.
This is OUR award. Every bit of effort that we as individuals have put forth to succeed as a team has won the accolades of Atlanta’s most esteemed business news source. Enjoy the bragging rights that you have earned. If this doesn’t help your earned and unearned income, what will?
Congratulations and Thank You. What an honor and a pleasure it is to share the excitement of this award with you!
Sincerely…
Your OP Office
SHAUN, JEAN, JERI & ANGELA
