In today’s training for Realtors, we are focused on the issues Realtors face during these low housing inventory markets. Specifically, you must build up your buyer pipeline! Do you know how to generate more buyers in order to increase the number of contracts you are closing each month?
It’s absolutely crucial that when we pipeline buyers, we adopt a pipeline mentality. Right now we are in a very unique market. For the last seven or eight years, we have been in probably the best real estate market in history. We have had steady approx. 7% appreciation each year. I’ve never seen it last that long before. But now, we are entering something different. Technically, it’s better — even though it may not always feel that way. It’s an exact repeat of what happened in 2004. This is just the start of the housing boom. It will last two or three years, no doubt in my mind.
Supply and demand is what runs this show, and I don’t see a ton of supply coming any time soon. Prices will continue to rise. Sales volume will continue to go up as well. That’s what a lot of people don’t realize. We say that the market is “low inventory” … but it isn’t really. We have had more listings in the first quarter of this year than we’ve had in any other year other than 2006. It just doesn’t feel like it because they are selling so fast. Buyer demand is out of control. A lot of commissions are being earned right now.
We have the perfect storm right now with low inventory and low interest rates. And if you are looking for training for Realtors in this crazy, perfect storm, you’re in the right place. With that said, we must adopt a pipeline mentality. Here’s the deal. Last year was a good seller’s market. This year, it’s a ridiculously hot seller’s market. Last year, if you closed 20 buyer-side transactions, you probably had to work with 30 buyers because probably 10 didn’t get a house. They didn’t qualify, they didn’t find a house they want, maybe they couldn’t sell … whatever the issue was, it didn’t happen.
This year, if you want to do 20 transactions, you better have 80 buyers. And you are going to write a TON of offers. Probably 75% of your buyers are not going to get a house this year. This is the mentality that you, or your buyer’s agent, must adopt right now. You must grow your buyer pipeline in order to increase your chances of more contracts signed.
These conversations are not fun. But this is your job. Think about it — Doctors are expected to deliver bad news, too. In fact, if you had a doctor that only gave positive news, he/she wouldn’t be a good doctor. A good doctor will tell you when something is concerning, or when you need to have a procedure or test done. That’s not a fun conversation to have, but it’s a doctor’s job.
Think about your job as a Realtor in this way. Yes, you get to do a lot of fun, positive things as a real estate agent. But you also must be real with your clients and explain the difficulties of buying a house in this current market. You can’t just pretend it will be easy, or they will be disappointed and unprepared for the journey ahead. Make sure that you watch the video in this blog regarding training for Realtors working with buyers in this position.
Learn how to leverage your networks to get buyers on your side. We’ll teach you all the tips, tools and techniques you need to address buyers’ unique needs, get them in the door for a proper appointment, make the most of your consultations, and get them on board as your clients. The hyper-focused content in this condensed course will help you quickly master the techniques top producing agents use to convert leads into buyers. You’ll learn to assess buyer needs, guide them through the right conversations, and say the right thing at the right time to seal the deal. For the best buyer lead training for Realtors, click the button below to enroll.
Sometimes, it takes more than just a good script to get through to your buyers in this market. You really need to show and not just tell. One of the best training tips for Realtors that we can give you today is to use visuals and infographics to demonstrate the condition of the current market. Here is a great chart that you can feel free to download and share with your buyers.
Believe it or not, despite the challenge of writing more offers for more buyers than ever before, this is the best possible time to be a buyers agent. Writing offers is a lot easier than showing property. You don’t have to show much property at all right now. There’s almost no property show! And usually, when showing properties, you have to show on nights and weekends. A buyer’s market is a nightmare if you are a buyer’s agent! Buyers back out of deals when they find a house they like more, you end up showing a ton of properties to one client, etc. In a seller’s market, like we have right now, the low inventory means you need to show very little property but you do have to shift to writing more offers.
How big is your buyer pipeline right now? At ICC, we created an Inventory Pipeline Tracker spreadsheet that we give to all our clients. We will also include a link to purchase this tracker below. The tracker will really help you visualize how big your buyer pipeline is right now and how big it should be in this market.
There must be a shift from simply focusing on servicing your current business to lead generation. You must generate more buyer leads to put into your pipeline. If you take anything away from this training for Realtors on growing your buyer pipeline, this is it. Lead generate to get more buyers! Lead conversion is low right now. Remember that we are at about a 4:1 ratio. For every four buyer leads you have, you will get one transaction from them. Stop focusing solely on the buyers you have and start focusing on bringing in more buyers to your pipeline.
Here at ICC, we work with Realtors like you on strategies for growing your business — like increasing your buyer pipeline. If you need one-on-one training with a coach that will help you develop a custom-fit plan for growth, reach out. We would love to set up a free, no obligation consultation call. Get an ICC coach in your corner for training like this, and so much more!
