The Big Sell: Avoid the Pitfalls of Real Estate Selling

Like other careers, being a realtor comes with a list of responsibilities to clients and the property in the market. The obligations may pose as challenges, but the payoff makes it worth it. A house and lot for sale in Laguna that has a history, for instance, can open opportunities for you and serve as the big break you wish to have. For others, it can be real estate properties in Cebu which are priced beyond the typical household’s capacity. Either way, being a real estate agent can result in a rewarding career as long as you follow the guidelines for selling a house, condo or apartment complex.

If you’re at the beginning of your career, it can be challenging to identify the things you must do to close a deal successfully. The same goes for knowing the things to avoid when dealing with a client. There’s a high chance that your encounters with clients and other professionals in the industry are far from a smooth sail. Fortunately, this list provides a few pointers on how to avoid the pitfalls of real estate selling.

Here is how you can sell the property under your belt without waiting to gain experience.

Show the property’s best features 

As a realtor, you should be on your clients’ side while leaning a bit towards the property. It is important that you remain objective and serve the client as much as possible. But if you are assigned to sell a particular property, you should also be bent on offering it to house hunters. You should always highlight the house or unit’s best features, so people take an interest in it. 

Showing the property’s best features might pose a challenge especially if it’s a fixer-upper. The key is to look into the trends in real estate. Knowing your clients’ wants and needs also help in finding the features that would help you sell the property without a hitch. Before offering the property, you must first look into a clients’ background and assess if what the look for in a property is present in what you are trying to offer them. If it is, then you should point them out during the visit. If not, you should highlight the structure and other aspects of the home that can make potential homeowners reconsider it.

Use natural light and other types of home lighting 

Sufficient lighting indoors is a game changer. When you have enough light in a room, the property transforms into a warm and cozy space ideal for growing roots and raising a family. It helps house hunters and property buyers to see the potential of the house, apartment or condo you offer to them. Therefore, you must ensure that the property for sale has access to natural light and have working bulbs installed.

The first thing you should do is to have a room-by-room audit. Open the windows, push away the curtains and blinds while all of the lights are on. Look at each room through a buyer’s perspective. Taking photos of each room helps you see objectively. You should also do this at different times of the day—in the afternoon and night. It’ll help you address light issues such as dimming bulbs, shadows, and energy efficiency. The light audit also applies outdoors. Don’t forget to check them after you finish inside the property’s structure.

Wait for the right time

Like other things in life, there’s a right time for buying and selling real estate properties. Do not rush to find a buyer. If you do have a buyer, you should not pressure him or her to reach a decision overnight. Most buyers like to think about their choices before having a final decision. In that case, it is much better if you busy yourself with other clients. It prevents you from pressuring potential buyers and offering the property less than its original price.

Part of timing is having a buyer who can afford the price you offer. You might have clients willing to buy the property on the spot, but they won’t take it with the amount you set. Sometimes, the change in price isn’t under the influence by the buyer. It can also be from the ongoing market conditions. The supply might be higher than the demand which pushes you to slash the property’s price. Always consider these things before prioritizing the property in your sell list.

Cooperate and retain your professional stance

Real estate selling is a service. As a realtor, you assist people in finding the right home or office space. These people are placing their faith and trust in you to match them with a property fit for their needs and personality. It’s only right you provide the service they need. Thus, you should always remain truthful and hands-on with all your transactions. As much as possible, you must dispense the information you know about the property to clients.

Being a real estate agent also means you must remain professional during real estate transactions and negotiations. When you are calm and relaxed, you can quickly deal with all kinds of people. Whether they are crass, loud or fussy, you can be useful and seal the deal when you choose to be objective and level-headed. Choose your battles wisely and be alert when facing money matters. It can help you in the long run and make you the best realtor out there. Most of all, it becomes a smooth sail to sell properties.

The pitfalls of real estate selling often come from a lot of factors. However, most of them are with your influence and control. It means you can determine if you are successful in an endeavor when you think of how you can improve your skills and change your tactics.

These tips can serve as a hack for selling properties. You can also use them as a guide to improving your selling skills as a realtor. Whatever purpose these may serve, the tips are-without a doubt-a huge help in advancing your career.

Note: This article was first published on April 8, 2015, as "4 Things Home Seller Must Avoid." It was updated to serve as a guide to all realtors and professionals in the real estate industry.

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The Living Nightmare: Working in Sales and Retail

Halloween is over, but for some people, the horror of dealing with the unexplainable and unknown happens every day. Most people look forward to catching up on the spooky and thrilling movies on Netflix, but people dabbling in sales or retail would instead take a shot of tequila or vodka to forget the day’s horrors.

There are lots of unforgettable stories when you work with people. Some stories bring chills and raise the hairs on the back of the neck while others just have the shock factor. They make you forget to form the right words because of the extreme emotions it produces. A haunted office space for rent in Quezon City sure has more appeal than dealing with inconsiderate or rude customers daily.

Of all the industries in the world, there’s nothing crazier and more chaotic than Sales and Retail.

Customers

Some people are just insensitive and mean.

On a clothing retail store, some customers tend to try on a lot of stuff and ask about everything. Later on, they come up to say they want nothing from the pile. These customers don’t understand how difficult it was to pull out a pair of jeans under the mass of clothes. You had to twist and extend your body to reach the box of size 9 shoes only to find out they dropped the order.

On top of that, some people leave their trash in dressing rooms. All the gross stuff that shouldn’t be there all over the floor. Soiled diapers, napkins and fast food wrappers are examples of things that shouldn’t be in changing cubicles. 

Meanwhile, this happens in any store. Snoopers probe a lot of questions about the product condescendingly and tell you they are just “looking.” Then, there are “frequent shoppers.” They boss around and act like they own the place because of their loyalty to the brand or store. If they love it so much, why don’t they work there? Also, if they are loyal shoppers, they should know the company’s policy of asking for i.d. A lot of people still complain about this.

Of course, who would forget the live-fast-die-young people? These people will shop like there’s no tomorrow only to return the items by Monday. Unfortunately, some of these shoppers replace or exchange the stuff in a less-than-stellar state, which makes the job ten times harder. 

Don’t forget the teenagers. The young crowd is excellent for attracting crowds. Their high energy and unrefined tastes are great for marketing the basics - food and clothing. Sometimes, their energy gets out of hand that they are starting to bother other shoppers. Moreover, they TOUCH everything and wreak havoc in the store.

Children are cute, but once they start to open their mouth, annoying cries and loud screams come out. Toddlers who are beginning to walk or like to run around the shop are also prone to breaking stuff and cover everything with saliva.

The Crouton Lady

If you think you’re done dealing with children, there are those who act like children. Children are not into responsibilities so those the kind of shoppers who enter the store before closing time. These people don’t think that store employees and shopkeepers are human too. What’s worse, they specifically ask you for help after you’ve clocked out. The same goes when people give the exact money after you’ve entered the amount they gave you on the register.

One thing that would add to a great day is when clients and customers ask for the manager, and they won’t talk to you because you are too YOUNG to be a general manager.

Management

There are days you doubt there’s someone out there who plays tricks on you especially when you have to work on your day off. It’s only been a year since you’ve been in this job and you like you’ve gained years because of stress and exhaustion.

If you’re the middleman, you’ll eventually get tired of customers complaining about management and the quality of service they got. If they want to change something about the company or service, they should go ahead and complain to the manager. They should go ahead and do it because no one can hold their pee that long.

Top 3 Relationship Goals Realtors Should Have with Clients

If there is one ingredient for a relationship to work out, that is when both parties understand each other.  Well, if you don't want to disappoint with one another, you both have to work out the things that make the relationship last. It is no different with the relationship between the realtors and the clients. Especially when a client wants to invest in a condo in Manila, there must be a good rapport to make the investment success.

If you want to have a good outcome of the investments, then you should possess the right attitude. It is just a matter of how you approach and handle the situations. Well, if you have the right character, then there would be room for a relationship to work out. Below are some of the relationship goals, you might want to try to achieve with your clients.

1. Maintain clear and constant communication

If you are serious about making the investment success, then you all have the right to have a clear and constant communication with your client. Of course, who would not want to take it seriously if you are serious about making it work?! However, having and maintaining a clear and constant communication with the client can also be demanding and daunting. There are times that your schedules would not match with each other. That is why it is important for you to make some adjustments.

As a realtor, you have to adjust in a way that both of you can make room for discussions about the things that you want to achieve. It is important for you to know and understand the concerns of your clients to have a clear and smooth process of investing. Also, you have to respect the client's way of communicating. If your client wants and prefers to discuss the real estate transaction in personal, for example, then as much as possible, don't discuss the things through the phone. When you do, you might disappoint your client, and you don't want that to happen. Right?

2. Anticipating clients' wants and needs

If you want to make your clients be impressed with your service, then try to anticipate their wants and needs. Of course, it is not an easy task to do, especially when you have a client who is not certain about what things he/she wants to have. However, if you successfully anticipate their wants and needs, then it is easier for you to have a good understanding with each other.

As a client, I would be amazed how a realtor easily grasps the things that I want to have. Knowing what interest your clients' the most would definitely be an advantage for you to know what are the things that they might also like and want to have. Anticipating your clients' want and needs is not just about impressing them, it is also one way to make the deal done with no complications in the process of investments.

3. Deliver appropriate services and tools

Have you ever be confused on what kind of services are you going to offer to your clients? Have you ever tried giving them the things that don't even fit with their needs? Well, you will experience that kind of situation when you don't have the right and appropriate services and tools that are intended for them and fit their needs.

Strategically, when you have the right tools and services for your clients, it will help you make your work easier and convenient since you know what kind of services that would match with the needs of your clients. You need not panic when it comes to presenting and offering them the things that interest them since you know that what you offer would be to their advantage, and that leads them to engage and pursue with their investments with you.

Also, it doesn't just be to your advantage, but it will also be to the advantage of your client since they will get what they want and need. Giving them the right services and tools would be much easier for them to choose their ideal place to live.

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