If you joined us for our Safari last week, you know we spent a lot of time talking about your Potential Income Tracker, or PIT. It is so important to not only keep track of those folks in your pipeline, but also review your PIT weekly and think about what care or information each client needs.  This goes well beyond sending emails with new listings.  Instead, you need to create client care toolbox that is so irresistible that your potential buyers won’t even consider working with someone else.

Here are five suggestions for buyers in your Potential Income Tracker.  Note: these suggestions are geared for potential buyers, not buyers you are actively working with:

1. Preview three homes that are new to the market and have the traits your buyers are looking for. Insert the photos into a Microsoft® Word Document or Microsoft® Publisher document and include notes below each photo which point to specific details you want to share. Think of it as your own special feature tour. It is preferable if you pop this report in the mail, but you can also scan and email if you are working in a market that is seeing some traction and you want to get your buyers in the house sooner rather than later. Be sure to include a powerful call to action.
2. Providing a sampling Inventory Report is a good complement to the above preview. In a sampling Inventory Report, include the MLS data for several listings that the buyers have either looked at online (your MLS  may track if the buyer has clicked on a link or you  may be able to see if your buyer has opened your emailed “new on the market” email) or listings that are good market barometers.  Go through these, making notes in your handwriting. You can point out things such as number of bedrooms, square footage, size of lot, etc, but you can also look at original list price, days on market, etc. The key is to show that you might look at this information differently than they might and to consider things they may have overlooked.
3. Inform your buyers about The Danger of Waiting in a two-page report. The Danger of Waiting refers to the trade-offs between buying now (when rates are low) versus “waiting” until prices would theoretically drop.  Page one should be the interest rate table we are providing in the link below, and page two should include your assessment of the data. Let them know that every 1% increase in an interest rate equates to a 10% decrease in purchasing power. Be sure and outline what their particular situation could look like if rates were to increase even 0.5%. Show the difference in both the monthly payment and how much more they will pay over the lifespan of the loan. This can be a huge motivator. If you are a Club Zebra PRO member, you can download this form to help you get started.
4. Create a Neighborhood Appreciation Analysis. If you have a potential buyer who is looking at a few neighborhoods, or if you have a lot of potential buyers looking at an entire town, putting together a neighborhood appreciation analysis is an excellent idea!  This is a phenomenal tool to help build credibility.  In fact, build this for your area and be sure to have extras when you do an open house because these are going to go like hotcakes! In this analysis, show the appreciation (or depreciation) rates for each neighborhood or area over the last 10 years, 5 years, and last year (or any combination thereof). For each one you send out, write down a few notes on the particular neighborhoods the potential buyer may be looking at. Something as simple as, “You may be concerned about the xx% drop in the West Hills neighborhood, but that new shopping center and school will be opening up this summer and I am anticipating high demand for that area beginning this spring.” Since there are a few different ways to look at appreciation, we have provided some direction for you if you are a Club Zebra PRO member.
5. Follow up with one call – or two! Calling the potential buyer before you send this is great customer service AND it builds anticipation. Think if someone called you and said, “I created a custom report for you. I am dropping in the mail today. I encourage you to call me if you have any questions.”  Wouldn’t you be really curious to see what that report contained? When it showed up in the mail, wouldn’t it be the first thing opened? Create that kind of experience for your clients. Give the buyer a few days to receive and digest the information, then follow up with a second call: “Hi Jane, I hope you have had an opportunity to look through the custom report. Was there anything in there that caught your eye? I thought you might find the xxx on page xxx interesting because <whatever your reasoning here>.”  This is meant to be a door to open the conversation as to how you can best serve them in the days – or weeks – to come.

I urge you to review the potential buyers on your Potential Income Tracker this week.  Ask yourself what each needs, and how you can meet those needs with unforgettable service.

• Watch Denise’s video on the Potential Income Tracker >
• Read more about how to put this powerful tool to work! >
• This tool is available at the Club Zebra Pro level. FIND OUT MORE >