Find Out The Little Known Connection Between Showing Many Homes and Getting Fat Part 2 of 2

We posed the analogy of agents showing buyers an excess of homes and individuals trying to decide what to eat from a menu that has too many offerings. When there are too many choices available, people have a natural tendency to not make a decision and to avoid it altogether. To prevent that from happening, in part 2 of this article, I’ll go into how agents can effectively use a system of showing houses that will give buyers enough houses to look at to make an educated selection while not overwhelming them with too many houses.
So,
1) What do you say is an appropriate number of homes for previewing?
2) How OFTEN do you show them to your buyers?
I would say that of agents I’ve spoken with in the last few months, most show about 5 homes each time they go out with their buyers and altogether, they show an average of 20-25 homes before their buyers decide upon a home to purchase. When making the choice of how many homes are appropriate, you need to tailor it according to the type of buyer you’re working with. Buyers that come in from out of the area may need to see areas before they see homes, whereas the local buyer is more tuned to the characteristics of the home that they are looking for and as long as the home sits in the area they are interested in, it becomes an instant prospect.
There are different methods you can use when showing homes. Here are a few ideas. Select the best six from the homes that match the desired criteria. Show the best one first. That becomes the "house to beat." As you show the others which are not as good, the buyers get a good comparison of the homes which then makes the winning home more clear cut to them.
A different way of going about this is to select a maximum of five homes that really match the criteria, one that is close but "out of the box" and one that is so far away from their wants they quickly say "no way." That tells you that the buyers know what they want - that they will reach a selection soon.
You will no doubt come across buyers who insist on seeing many homes since they feel this is such a momentous decision that they want to see everything so they don’t miss out on anything, then another method to handle the showings is to invite them for a buyer’s consultation or orientation where you explain the entire house-buying process in a buyer’s packet that you create so they know exactly what to expect. They are asked to fill out information about what they picture to be their ideal home. From the information in this form, you pull up available listings on the MLS that match the desired features. You review these with the buyer—checking out the interior pictures, going through the details of the property, and selecting the ones that meet their needs. Print the list of homes and have them drive around the neighborhood of those homes to evaluate it.
Buying a home is primarily based on location, thus this is an easy way to weed out the ones that they won't consider based on location. Think of it, how many times have you pulled into a driveway and they say before setting foot out of the car, "We don't like this one." By having the buyers preview the homes for themselves, they can decide what they want. For the homes that the buyers are most interested in, you would then schedule in showing appointments and drive them to those select homes. It is a good point to suggest to clients that they drive neighborhoods before scheduling an appointment to view. However, keep in mind that some buyers will be offended by the idea of having to preview homes by themselves.
A rule of thumb to make the most of your showing sessions with the buyer is to visit a couple of homes at three initial showings. If the buyer has not made a decision by that time, it’s best to sit down and reevaluate what the buyers want and to determine how far away from the ideal you currently are at with the buyers.
Every once in a while, you may meet up with the buyers who can’t seem to make up their mind, so you may need to use the “one house at a time” game plan in order to get them to focus and to buy. By limiting the homes they see and compare, it may make it easier for them to make a decision. In the really extreme cases, you can always refer them to another agent and collect a referral fee. You then can remain focused on helping the buyers who are most ready to buy.