Video Mystery Shopping – House to Sell? No problem!

In a perfect world every prospect that entered your sales office would arrive armed with a per-qualification letter from their lender, an ideal credit score, and a home that they had recently sold….for CASH! Right? We call these our ‘A’ prospects. There are no road blocks or challenges that could stand in the way of them moving forward with a home purchase….TODAY!

Unfortunately, in today’s market most prospects have NOT been per-approved, and they usually have a house to sell before they are able to move forward in the purchase of a new home. These are ‘B’ prospects. So, how do you work on closing these folks when you know beyond a shadow of a doubt they won’t be able to purchase from you on their initial visit?

In new home sales I truly believe that the word ‘close’ has multiple meanings. At it’s very best, ‘close’ means that your buyer has signed a contract and written out a deposit check. Yahoo! But, in the real world that isn’t always the case. So, what are some other ways we can ‘close’ the client and move forward towards the actual home purchase?

Make a firm follow-up appointment. If you don’t get a contract on the first visit, you owe it to your prospect to make a follow-up appointment. Perhaps they need to bring other family members back in order to reach a purchase agreement. Maybe they need ‘time to think’ about it. Make sure YOU are firm in setting the appointment. Don’t ask your prospects to call you back when they are ready.
Ask for a deposit. Once you have determined the perfect home and the ideal home site, ask for a deposit to hold the site. Create a sense of urgency.
Connect the prospects with your lender ASAP. Many builders have preferred lenders or in-house mortgage services. Be sure to utilize these services. You will be doing your prospects (and yourself!) a favor.
Utilize any in-house programs your builder may have. Many builders offer ‘house to sell’ or ‘resell contingency’ programs. If you’ve got them, use them!
Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up! Just because your prospects have some obstacles to clear doesn’t mean they are never going to purchase a new home. At some point, they will.

The key is to get some type of future commitment from your prospects. If they walk out of your model center without a commitment of some sort, in most cases they are gone for good.