Find Out The Little Known Connection Between Showing Many Homes and Getting Fat Part 2 of 2

In part 1 of this article, I had made a comparison of how showing buyers too many homes is similar to going to a fast food restaurant that has an extensive menu. When there are too many choices available, people have a natural tendency to not make a decision and to avoid it altogether. To prevent that from happening, in part 2 of this article, I’ll go into how agents need to strike a balance between giving the buyers houses to choose from and not showing too many that it makes the decision too difficult to make.
So,
1) How MANY homes do you show?
2) How OFTEN do you show them to your buyers?
I would say that of agents I’ve spoken with in the last few months, most show about 5 homes each time they go out with their buyers and altogether, they show an average of 20-25 homes before their buyers decide upon a home to purchase. When making the choice of how many homes are appropriate, you need to tailor it according to the type of buyer you’re working with. Buyers that come in from out of the area may need to see areas before they see homes, whereas the local buyer has more familiarity with the areas around them and they are down to the specifics of the home itself.
In showing the homes, you can experiment with the following idea as well. Select the best six from the homes that match the desired criteria. Show the best one first. That becomes the "house to beat." As you show the others which are not as good, the buyers get a good comparison of the homes which then makes the winning home more clear cut to them.
A different way of going about this is to select a maximum of five homes that really match the criteria, one that is close but "out of the box" and one that is so far away from their wants they quickly say "no way." That tells you that the buyers know what they want - that they they are focused on what they want and will not waste time considering everything under the sun.
You will no doubt come across buyers who insist on seeing many homes since they feel this is such a momentous decision that they want to see everything so they don’t miss out on anything, then another method to handle the showings is to invite them for a buyer’s consultation or orientation where you explain the entire house-buying process in a buyer’s packet that you create so they know exactly what to expect. They are asked to fill out information about what they picture to be their ideal home. From the information in this form, you pull up available listings on the MLS that match the desired features. You review these with the buyer—checking out the interior pictures, going through the details of the property, and selecting the ones that meet their needs. The buyers can then start with the list of homes and run by them on their own to get an idea of what elements they most prefer.
For many individuals, the first aspect of the home buying experience is in choosing the location of the home, so this is an easy way to weed out the ones that they won't consider based on location. Think of it, how many times have you pulled into a driveway and they say before setting foot out of the car, "We don't like this one." By having the buyers preview the homes for themselves, they can decide what they want. For the homes that the buyers are most interested in, you would then schedule in showing appointments and drive them to those select homes. It is a good point to suggest to clients that they drive neighborhoods before scheduling an appointment to view. There may be some buyers who will express discontent at having to drive themselves around to scan the home and neighborhood, and in those cases, make adjustments so you get involved in showing them some of the homes.
A good rule to follow is to have three showing sessions with the buyers showing a total of 12-15 homes. If the buyer has not made a decision by that time, it’s best to sit down and reevaluate what the buyers want and to determine how far away from the ideal you currently are at with the buyers.
There are situations where your buyer is very flustered by the whole house selection process. For those individuals, you may need to use the “one house at a time” game plan in order to get them to focus and to buy. By limiting the homes they see and compare, it may make it easier for them to make a decision. In the really extreme cases, you can always refer them to another agent and collect a referral fee. Then you can go on to a more serious buyer.

Article Source: http://www.propertymagnate.com/articles

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