An easy way to gain new clients is to check your Listing Management System for expired listings. Often overlooked due to frustration and disappointment, expired listings can provide an abundant source of quality leads for discerning agents. These listings often have higher conversion rates than other sales strategies.
Homeowners are motivated to sell, putting agents in a better position to negotiate the best price and close fast.
In addition, pursuing expired listings is a low-cost sales strategy that gives agents the power to convert a potential customer to a current customer.
These four tactics will help you convert an expired listing:
#1 – Re-evaluate the price
One of the biggest reasons why a home won’t sell is due to an inflated price.
It’s not always easy to convince a homeowner to consider dropping the asking price but there are a few tricks you can try.
For instance, ask them to lower the price by a small amount. If the house costs R1 million, suggest a price of R990 000. They might see it as losing R10 000, but you can argue that they are going to lose more if they continue paying the bond and the house is stuck on the market for the next few months.
The owner might not even be aware of how much the market in the area has changed since the house was listed.
Do some research and offer a comparative market analysis to highlight its current state. If the owner still won’t budge, take them around the neighbourhood to see what other similar homes are selling for.
Your seller might realise that other homes have certain features that justify a higher price like remodelled kitchens and redecorated bathrooms. This might push them in the right direction.
#2 – Direct the focus away from the location
The location of a home is a factor that the homeowner can’t control.
If you suspect this is the reason why the home isn’t selling, divert the attention away from the location. Highlight features that make the home unique and other features that might make the home more desirable. There are many ways that you can spin less desirable features, so get creative with your descriptions.
If the house is close to a noisy road, for example, say that it has easy access to one of the main roads in the suburb.
#3 – Freshen up the condition of the house
A house might be sitting on the market because it is in poor condition.
This is a factor that is totally in the hands of the seller and usually quite simple to fix. If they have the financial means, suggest that they improve weak spots in the house. If they don’t have funds for huge renovations, they can do small things to tidy up the home.
Sweeping and mopping the floors, polishing the windows, giving the rooms a fresh coat of paint, and adding a few pot plants in the yard all contribute to the aesthetic of a home.
#4 – Revamp marketing efforts
Clients might tell you that their previous agent didn’t do much marketing when the house was listed.
The agent might not have used any advertisements, signage, or property websites such as ImmoAfrica and other top portals to advertise the property. Prepare and present a new marketing plan with a new timeline for selling the house.
Involve the owner in your marketing plans and show them what you want to do. Make sure that you use a combination of traditional and modern marketing methods so that you appeal to a large pool of buyers.
Keep them in the loop and update them as much as you can.
Closing thoughts
Expired listings provide a wellspring of leads for prospecting agents. For the homeowner, they present a new opportunity to meet their goal of selling their property.
Homeowners might think that an expired listing is a lost cause but this is not always the case. With the right tactics, tools and marketing strategy you can convert expired listings and most importantly, you’d have won over a new client.
