Consider the following Scenarios:

1.   A call comes in and it’s a Hot Buyer that claims he and his wife want to buy something right now. Uh-oh, you already have a hectic day planned, what with the closing this afternoon, the ad deadline you have to meet and your two hour networking meeting planned. You  weigh your options carefully and decide that the prospects of an immediate $500,000 sales trumps all other tasks for the day. You meet the new buyer and you get along famously. It’s obvious he and his wife are ready to buy right away, but there’s a small problem. His wife didn’t come with him. He insists he can make the decision without her and you acquiesce and spend the day showing properties. At the end of the day, you feel you’re close to making an offer, but your gentlemen buyer wants to discuss it overnight with his wife. He calls in the morning and says they’ve decided they want to up the ante and look at more expensive homes. You have another busy day planned and are already behind, but now you’re looking at a much bigger commission, so you make what you think is a smart decision and show more homes the following day. At the end of the next day, you get the same result. Your buyer is going to talk to his wife and let you know which house they’ve decided to buy. The next day comes, you contact the buyer and he explains that his wife really wants to see the house. And, besides he is scheduled to leave that day.

     Results- from your two-day investment: You have no offer or sale. You’re unprepared for a listing presentation and lose the listing to your competitor. Your closing happened, but without the quality representation you give to all clients at closing. And, you’re way behind and don’t get caught up until the weekend.  How could you have avoided this situation?

 

2.   You get a call from a Seller in your farm area from a recent mailing. The conversation flows smoothly and you’re invited to come to the home the next afternoon to make a listing presentation. You spend the day researching and preparing for your appointment. The next day you arrive, preview the home and begin to present the information you’ve prepared.  After a few minutes, the husband apologizes and excuses himself, explaining that he must meet with their accountant. He agrees to defer to whatever decision his wife wants to make, so you continue on with your presentation. She is very impressed and indicates that she wants to move forward with you, but would like her husband to see the Agreement before she signs. You schedule an appointment to return the next afternoon to pick up the signed paperwork.

Results- The next morning you get a call. Another agent in the neighborhood heard they were selling and decided to drop by that morning. Having missed the most powerful part of your presentation, the husband is more impressed with the last agent. The wife gives in and they sign with your competitor. You never were given a chance to impress the husband.

So what’s the solution to the scenarios presented above? 

    Answer– Never, never move forward with a full presentation when you don’t have the decision-maker involved in the presentation. Or, never do a one-legged presentation! In both cases above, the spouse was an integral part of the decision-making process. In the first scenario, spending two full days with a buyer that was unlikely to buy and had an easy out, was impractical given the work schedule and other priorities that needed to be addressed. It would have been advisable to insist on having a conversation with the wife before the tour began to assess for yourself the likelihood the husband could move forward without his wife seeing the property.

In the second scenario, the balance of the presentation should have been postponed until the husband and wife could both participate in the most important points in your presentation.  Obviously, there are exceptions to every rule, even the “never, never” rules, but they are few and far between.