Are you interested in getting more listings? Think about this. Over the years I have noticed that no matter how well I explain that we agents all cooperate with each other to get homes sold, many sellers still believe that the agent they should list with is “the one who has all the buyers.”

Currently with the lack of inventory many agents I work with have a long list of frustrated buyers looking for homes. As an agent this is hard for us too. We all know that buyers take a lot of time. It is especially true in this market where they are in multiple offers and it may take a few try’s going through the process until our buyers eventually are able to get their home.

Because of this frustration this has caused some agents to stop looking for buyer client leads at all.

Personally I believe that the more buyers we have the more attractive we are to the average seller.

One strategy that I have clients using is the Buyer Needs approach. This can be a letter, postcard, a Facebook ad or post, an email to your SOI/Past Clients and also a reason to knock doors.

The trick with this is to have a real buyer with real wants and needs. If you pretend to have a buyer I believe people see right through that and will be repelled. If you do have a buyer and you are earnestly working for them that is attractive. The great thing is that right now buyers are very easy to find.

Case in point: Last year my husband and I were thinking of selling a home we owned on a lake in our area. We had a tenant in the property and they were interested in purchasing it at the end of the lease. While we had it rented we received a letter from an interested buyer. In the letter they told how they had been looking for a couple of years for a home on our lake but could not find one that worked out. Since we were planning on selling to the tenant we just set the letter aside but hung on to it just in case.  The end of the lease was approaching and we met with the tenants. They had changed their minds about purchasing the home. I got ready to list the home for sale. We then remembered the letter from the interested buyer. We thought, “what if we could sell to this buyer and avoid the headache of listing the house?” It needed paint and carpet and some other fix-ups before we would feel good about putting it on the market but what if this buyer wanted it. That would be easy. This is funny to me because I am an agent! It is not difficult for me to list a property but I still wanted to make it easy on us and avoid having to do the fix up from years of renting out the home.

I reached out to the buyer from the letter. I have to admit I was a bit skeptical wondering if they were for real, but they were. They met me at the home the next day and gave me an offer the following day. We closed 30 days later. This was good for us and here is why. We did not want the house to sit vacant, we did not want to shovel the snow, we did not want to replace the carpet and paint because I knew the work would not stop there. Also my husband felt he needed to drive over there every day to check on it. I know I may have been able to get a few thousand more if I listed the home, but there also could have been a multitude of inspection repairs that could have come up. I know this buyer really wanted this location and were willing to take on all the work to be able to have the home without being in a bidding war. It was a win/win.

So, how can you make this concept work for you? Here are some strategies I have agents using right now that are working.

1) Write a hand addressed letter to specific properties that will work for your buyer. Include your buyer’s wants and needs, a little about them and that you have been looking for a while. This needs to be real.

2) Do a post card with multiple buyer needs on it. Again, state a little about the buyer and what they are looking for but not too much that people disqualify themselves.

3) Do a Facebook post about a specific buyer in a specific neighborhood or multiple buyers in multiple areas. This will make you look like a market expert and also show that you are willing to go above and beyond for your clients. You can post this on your personal and business page, you can promote this post to a targeted audience and you can post this on specific Facebook groups like local garage sale and neighborhood/housing info pages. This can also work on other social media platforms as well like LinkedIn.

4) Send an email out to your clients with the same above info.

5) Call your SOI and Past Clients asking for them to help you hunt for listings for these buyers

6) Door knock with your postcard or letter in hand. Have they been thinking about a move? Who do they know that has been thinking about a move? Who do they know who tried to make a move but were not successful?

You will get responses. Sellers want to talk with the agents that have the buyers. They want to have an easy transaction. They want to get top dollar yes but also they want to work with buyers who really want the type of home they are selling. It makes for a much smoother transaction.

And of course lastly, if the property does not work for your buyer then you have a listing opportunity that you can work!

Now get busy making your list of your buyers needs and start to get the word about those needs out there!!

Looking for some information on developing your strategic marketing plan? Check out my podcast Getting Clear On Who You Serve >>Here<<