Use These Four Closing Tactics to Increase Your Closing Rate

Having the nerve to negotiate and close deals is the most coveted skill in real estate. The ability to look a client in the eye, absorb their pushback and still emerge with a commitment is what makes the best real estate agents the successes they are. What you should know, however, is that amazing real estate agents are not born, they are made. In this article, we share four powerful closing tactics that can help you close more deals.

Negotiate Up, not Down

You are meeting with a potential client, and they look you straight in the eye and tell you another agent has offered them a lower commission rate. What do you reply? Callie Dalton, a leading realtor in Roanoke Valley, has the perfect response. She says in such a situation, making the discussion about commission rates will soon reduce the negotiation to who can provide the lowest rate. Instead, respond by explaining how you deliver value that justifies the rate you are asking for. You also need to make it clear to the client that this rate is non-negotiable. By helping the client see the increased value they will get, you help them see that to get better service, they must pay more.

Target Emotion Triggers

People buy houses because of the emotion evoked by the property, says Raj Qsar of The Boutique Real Estate. He expounds by explaining that when you are selling a home, you need to use terms and tools that help the client visualize what it would be like to own the home. Talk about the memories they can make and how the home can help give them the life they dream of. This does not mean you focus on listing boring stats about the house. It does mean taking those boring stats and making them interesting, practical and easy to understand. For example, instead of just talking about bedrooms, find out how many children the client has and then walk them through each room mentioning each child by name and how they could settle in nicely into the space.

Focus on Helping, Not Selling

Amit Bhuta sells luxury homes to celebrities and pro athletes. He, however, makes sure that when talking to his clients, it never becomes about the money. This is a key aspect of selling homes, he contends. If you genuinely want to help your client find their dream home, you should never make it about the money or the commission. Focus your pitch on how you can help the client get what they really need. In many cases, these needs are not represented by bedrooms and square footage. Instead, they are represented by proximity to work, good schools and a park nearby. Focus on these deeper needs, and you will connect with your clients at a deeper level.

Pre-Marketing Is a Must

Why do iPhones sell in the millions on the first day they go on sale, asks Kris Lindahl, a top-performing RE/MAX realtor in the Twin Cities area? Because they pre-market the phone like crazy before putting it up for sale. To mirror this strategy, he says, start marketing your inventory before it is even available to go on the market. Don’t wait for it to be ready and available to start marketing; that is too late. What you want is to generate enough interest in the property beforehand so that when it does go up on sale, you already have a list of prospects ready to view the home and make an offer.