2013 Prospecting – Use Your Hot Buyers to Get New Listings

With the market heating up and next year promising to be a big year in real estate, why not take the opportunity to prospect for listings using your buyers?  Consider the following scenario:

You’ve been working with serious buyers that have expressed an interest in a very specific type of property.  The buyers are well qualified and are willing to move forward as soon as you find what they’re looking for, but there’s a problem.  Although a number of homes meet their qualifications, none of them are for sale.  You keep hoping that a property will show up that meets their needs.

In the above scenario, hope is not a plan.  The longer you wait, the more likely the buyer is to do business with someone else.  When this situation arises, which is quite often, why not use it to your advantage by prospecting with your buyer?  If you use your buyer to identify a seller, you’re likely to end up with both sides of the transaction.  Even when the property isn’t a perfect fit for your buyer, you’ll still end up with a new listing.  It’s a win-win situation.

Consider sending a handwritten note to every homeowner that lives in a home that meets your buyers criteria.  Use the following outline:

Dear Jim,

My buyer is moving from Houston, and wants to buy a home in the estate section of Royal Palm.  Do you know of anyone who lives in the estate section?  Perhaps you would consider selling if the price were right. 

Please give me a call or send me an email if you can help. 

When you get a call back, send the following response:

Thanks for your reply.  Would you consider a one-time showing agreement that will allow me to be compensated for this one buyer? 

The above approach will lead to windfall opportunities to generate more business.