Three Tips to Create Urgency With Buyers

Tip #1 - Conduct a Consultation - For some reason, I have observed over my career - going back to 1991...most real estate agents have always approached working with buyers differently than with a seller.  With a seller, we make an appointment, go out to meet the seller at their home and have a meeting - or - we refer to this as a listing presentation.  However, (and I say for whatever reason) our industry as a whole doesn’t approach the buyer lead the same way. Why is that?  Is it just a matter of watching what others have done and doing the same as what everyone else has seen people do?  It reminds me of the story…

A young girl was watching her mother bake a ham for a family gathering and noticed her mom cutting off the ends before placing it in the oven.

“Mom, why do you cut the ends off before baking the ham?” she asked. “Hmmm…I think it helps soak up the juices while it’s baking.  I’m actually not sure, though. That’s just the way your grandma always did it, so I’ve just always cut them off. Why don’t you call grandma and ask her?”

So, the little girl phoned her grandma and asked “Grandma, mom is making a ham and cut off the ends before placing it in the oven. She said that it’s probably to help soak up the juices but wasn’t sure. She said you’d know because she learned how to cook from you.”

“That’s true. I do cut off the ends of the ham before baking. But I’m actually not sure why either. I learned how to cook from my mom. You should ask her.”

So, the inquisitive little girl called her great-grandmother and asked “Great grandma, mom, and grandma said they learned how to cook a ham from watching you. Do you cut off the ends of the ham to help it soak up the juices?”

The great grandmother chuckled.  “Oh, no sweetie.  I just never had a pan big enough to hold a whole ham, so I always had to cut off the ends to make it fit.”

The story of the ham is not new, and has been told numerous different ways, but it is a great example of the critical thinking errors we make every day.  When we do things “because that’s what we’ve always done” we fail to seek opportunities for improvement. We fail to see the assumptions we make every day out of habit and routine. When we just keep cutting off the ends of the ham, we fail to innovate.

“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”  - Albert Einstein

All that to say, just because that is what may be “common” is it the most effective?  I understood and did this myself in the earlier days of my career.  Since then, I have learned that (for me and I found to help me be successful) was to treat the first step with the buyer, no different from the seller.  Have a consultation, get face to face and see what’s really going on.  When you do this, it sets up the rest of the process to go forward with fewer issues and a more fluid manner.

At the consultation be sure to do the following:

1. Present you plan of action -  (POA) for the buyer.  This is the equivalent of a listing presentation for the seller.  What are the steps you will take as you represent the buyer? This builds value and emphasizes your professionalism.
2. Use a questionnaire Have a well thought out “questionnaire” that you can use to perform an in-depth needs analysis. When you “wing it” you risk missing important details that can come back to haunt you later.
3. Get commitment - Are you willing to work for free?  I don’t think that is your plan, and yet it happens all the time.  People go forward working with a buyer and everyone “feels” good about everything….until...they find a home and opportunity they can’t pass up with another agent.  - It’s an extreme example and yet effective.  Would you get married to someone who says “ok you can marry me, however, I don’t have to be married to you”? Of course not!  My experience and suggestion here is it’s just fair - it’s an exchange of commitments - your time and expertise to the buyer - and your buy