The intent of this post is for you to hone in on three phrases that you can start using with homebuyers today. 

This is something I discussed on a recent 5AM Call—and before I go any further, I really want to stress that implementation is the game. Sitting in trainings and learning about things without ever implementing them is just going to waste your time. 

Ok, back to the tactical stuff. 

We’re at a time of year when homebuyers tend to get a little frustrated with the market if they haven’t found something yet. And they may not want to get realistic with what it takes to transact on a property. So re-engaging, and keeping everyone moving forward, is really critical.

There are a few key things that, when communicated upfront to people and reiterated throughout the process, followed by a reevaluation meeting, can really work. 

So let’s start. 

How to Keep Homebuyers Moving Forward

What I have found is there are three key phrases you need to weave into your initial meeting with buyers. If you don’t, they’re going to run you around, and they’re going to be running the show. 

The reality is, when people don’t listen to their agent and their agent knows what they’re doing, it usually doesn’t work out for them. So with that in mind, here are three things to reiterate with buyers throughout the process.

#1: Drive By Properties Before Touring

First, train your buyers to drive by properties before they want to tour. Now, in 2020, 2021 and 2022, you couldn’t do that. It was impossible because the market was moving too quickly. Now there’s an opportunity to be able to do that. 

Instead of phrasing it in a way that says, “Hey, don’t waste my time,” tell them:

“I really encourage you to drive by this home and maybe anything else that you like. And then after we’re done looking at a home, if you like it, drive through the neighborhood. Because you’re buying into the location as much as anything else. And if you’re not super comfortable with the location, the neighborhood, and what’s going on around there, then it may not be the right property for you. So if you’re open-minded to doing a little legwork on your own, then this is going to be a way for you to really understand whether it’s going to be the right place for you to move to or not.”

The reason for this is your buyers are going to pull up the properties and not going to want not to go tour them. So it helps you eliminate the amount of time you’re spending on properties they know they don’t want to buy. 

#2: Six to 10 Homes

Be upfront with how long the process is taking most buyers. Tell people,

“Most buyers look at between six and 10 properties before they transact. I’m not telling you this to put any pressure on you, I’m telling you so we know where we are in the process. Because if we know where we are in the process, we can make better decisions.” 

The reason you say that is when someone’s looking around, and they’re not doing their due diligence, they’re not driving by homes, they’re not understanding what they want or giving you feedback, then you could be ending up showing them 15 or more homes. And sometimes that happens—some people don’t know what they want. That’s the reality. But setting that expectation upfront will help you get them down the transaction funnel a lot quicker. 

#3: Focus on Four Factors

The third thing you can share with buyers are the most important factors to focus on when looking at properties.

“Here’s what to focus on Mr. and Mrs. Buyer, when we’re looking at homes. One, the location. Two, the condition. Three, the price, and four, the floor plan. If we look at these four factors, there are two things we can at least attempt to change, and there are two that we can’t.” 

Encourage buyers to focus on the location and the floor plan first.  

“The location, we can never change. The house is located where it is. Now the floor plan, we could change, but it could cost literally hundreds of thousands of dollars to adjust that. If those two things work, we can at least try to negotiate the price. And when it comes to the condition, that’s something we can upgrade over time, and that can be reflective of the price.”

So those three phrases—drive by properties, six to 10 homes, and the four factors to focus on— are going to get your buyers dialed in so that you can work with them more efficiently and more effectively. 

And that’s what you can start implementing today.