Real estate sales can seem so random and competitive.
One property sells for 30% over ask, while another equally appealing house in the same neighbourhood, for sale at the same time, languishes for weeks with price reductions.
I've found there is one very simple reason why otherwise excellent properties don't sell the way they really should sell. The many details that go into the execution of a sale, if unaddressed or handled incorrectly, all point to this one simple reason why the sale didn’t pan out.
Here’s why:
Brilliant insights don’t sell.
Facts and figures, even when perfectly accurate, don’t sell.
A new and better property doesn’t sell automatically.
And the promise of huge profits might attract attention ... but still doesn’t sell.
I’ve learned what it takes to get someone to pay attention ... and to buy.
Here’s the secret:
You can have a brilliant strategy, a great property, you can offer the best value the world has ever seen, you can promise to cure cancer, and bring Tupac back, but this is the only thing that matters:
Creating CERTAINTY.
There’s the kind of certainty that’s needed for the property itself: If your property is at the end of the block next to a busy street … How noisy is it? What are the development plans nearby? How long has the basement been wet? If I pay a premium for your renovation, will I get out unscathed when it’s time to sell? Your interior stair is crooked, what does that mean for the rest of the house? Your neighbour’s house looks sketchy, what’s up?
And there’s certainty required, sometimes even more so, for the people involved in the transaction. As in: “Yes, I would like to buy your property. But you're offering me the opportunity to buy it only in a competitive bid scenario, when the price already seems high for what it is, and, my calls haven’t been returned, and the information I’m looking for, you don’t know and have no intention of looking into. Since I’m now only 1% certain that my time, effort and heart will amount to anything resembling a fair deal, I’m sorry, I’m “OUT.”
Or,
You want me to buy your property? It seems fairly priced for what it offers, and I appreciate your transparent process that has me feeling at ease, my calls have been returned, every minutia of detail asked about has been answered. Now I’m 90% certain I’ll have a fair shake. Great. I'm "IN".
Certainty creates sales, or kills them, because a sense of uncertainty generates a strong threat or 'alert' response. Uncertainty is a type of pain, something to be avoided. Certainty, on the other hand, feels rewarding, and we tend to steer toward it.
Everyone is anxious about their potential real estate purchase.
And since buyers are so anxious, it doesn’t help the buyer to hear your agent promise how great your property will be for them. Or your property will be a hugely successful investment for them. This does nothing because you and they are self-motivated to say these things.
Instead, here’s one way to offer the buyer the certainty they need to buy.
Know your property and the market inside and out and know what makes it different from others, looking closely to your market competition to understand how your property relatively fares. Knowing full well where your property stands at this moment, and how it addresses (and doesn’t address) the hopes and fears of current buyers, you can confidently enter the race with an appropriate strategy. Then you handle every ounce of interest with respect, each person with dignity, and every detail with honesty, follow through and integrity. Combined, this will make people feel that FINALLY, someone around here knows what's going on, knows how things work, knows what's going to happen next, and what will and won't work.
That’s why I believe that one of the most vital skills in sales today is understanding the science behind creating that feeling of certainty that buyers require to move forward.
Buyers crave certainty in a similar way to craving food and other primary rewards, and we all tend to make the ‘certainty’ call pretty quickly upon first impressions. Certainty is quite simply that elemental to a buyer, and as a result, equally fundamental to your sale.
I'm a realtor who helps people like you buy & sell with confidence. If you're looking to buy or sell, you can reach me here. My observations about people and how they buy from each other led to this blog. I take the time to share these stories with you in recognition that it may give us a reason to connect. sdelean@sutton.com