Showing Suite Real Estate Blog

A listing agent is not the only person that should be motivated to get a home sold, although sometimes this appears to be the case. As a result, listing agents may find themselves struggling to convince a seller to make changes (like price reduction or repair) to get the home sold.

Do you know how to find motivated sellers?

Although finding motivated sellers can be difficult, they can be easy to spot if you know where to look. With the right marketing strategy you can even have motivated sellers coming to you!

3 Ways to Find Motivated Sellers — Or Have Them Find You

1. Check tax records and investigate neglected properties.
   If a homeowner is behind their mortgage then they will be motivated to get rid of their home before their credit rating takes the plunge. Stop by the county clerk’s offices in any county where real estate records are filed and browse through foreclosure notices and you’re bound to find motivated sellers that need your help. Additionally, properties that appear neglected may belong to someone who’s relocated, lost interest, or ran out of cash so they may be interested in listing the home.

    

2. See a “For Sale by Owner” Sign? Call!
   This can be a great way to find motivated sellers – after all, they’ve already taken the initiative to sell the home themselves, so they’ve already got the ball rolling. While you may think it’s a waste of time, it could pay off if they’ve become drained from the home selling process and would prefer to leave the sales job up to the professionals. That’s where you come in.

    

3. Advertise, advertise, and advertise!
   A great way to find motivated sellers is to put your name right where they can see it. Place a short and sweet advertisement in weekly newspapers that simply states why they should list with you. Get a simple vinyl sticker for your rear windshield with a catchy slogan and possibly your website URL or phone number. Order some pens with your company name and contact information and pass them out – make sure your name and brand is readily available.

After awhile you will see that finding motivated sellers is somewhat of an art and will become easier as you explore different methods to find them.

Real Estate, Real Estate Agents

Ever wonder if the registration requirement is hurting the search volume on your IDX website?

Visit a variety of real estate websites and you will quickly find that it’s a common practice to require visitors to submit their contact information before being able to search for listings. With good reason, I mean how else would you be able to follow up and get new leads?

However, just as you are gaining clients, you can potentially be missing out on some too.

Deciding whether or not to require registration on their IDX website can be tricky, so here are some of the pros and cons for requiring registration:

Pros of Requiring Registration on Your IDX Website:

• You capture the contact information of your visitors, which allows you to follow-up with an email campaign or phone call (depending on what information you capture).
• Builds a sense of value – after all, good information usually doesn’t come free, right?
• Helps separate the serious buyers from the casual browsers.

Cons of Requiring Registration on Your IDX Website:

• Visitors may opt to simply go to a website that doesn’t require registration.
• May be frustrating or too time consuming to folks that just want the information without the hassle.
• Possibility of false hope if a visitor’s interest lies strictly with the information and not your actual services.
• May instill the fear that you will start hounding them for their business (hopefully not the case!)

Still think it’s a good idea to require registration? Here are a few tips that you may find valuable if registration is mandatory on your IDX website:

1. Keep registration forms short – do you need much more than a name, number or email address? Visitors should not have to answer a mile long list of questions in order to perform a search.

 

2. Clearly state your intentions – what do you plan on doing with the information you collect on your IDX website? State whether you intend on emailing or calling, that way there won’t be any surprises.

 

3. Build value before asking – consider allowing visitors to perform a few searches before bringing the gates down. If they get a taste, they’ll be more open to forking over the information needed to continue the hunt.

Is registration required on your IDX website?

Photo Credit: Shane Roxburgh

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