Your pipeline is starting to get short, and you’re on the hunt for leads.
Like many other agents, you do what comes easy…
You offer a free market analysis on your social media page or run an ad.
Leads are coming in, and you find yourself busy creating reports for all these potential clients. You spend hours over the course of the next several days responding to everyone and working on setting appointments.
The only problem, most of those leads only wanted the information; they weren’t actually interested in selling.
Maybe they wanted the information so they could talk to their bank about refinancing, and it was easier to get your free report before dealing with the bank and an appraiser.
Perhaps, they just wanted to see if they would receive a full report that included how much that house down the street sold for…
Or, they just did a lot of renovations on the home and wanted to find out if it increased their home’s value.
Whatever the reason, you just spent time and money trying to bring in new leads, and so far, it’s been a bust.
So, here are two reasons it’s time to ditch the free market analysis’ now.
In Real Estate…Time Equals Money
Putting together a market analysis takes time, and that’s time you could spend working with clients who are ready to buy and sell now.
I know there are programs out there nowadays that provide a quick analysis by offering a value range, but what happens when a person sees the range, calls, and says, “but how much is my home actually worth.”
Now, they’re expecting you to work for free.
Instead, simply respond and let them know you only provide detailed reports and numbers to clients you are representing because it takes time to pull all the data; then provide them with 2-3 available times for a listing appointment.
Not only will this show the potential client that you value your time, but you’ll quickly be able to figure out who is truly interested in selling their home. It’s a quick and effective way to set boundaries upfront before you even have a signed contract.
Every Real Estate Agent is Offering Free Market Analysis
Whether you’re new in the business or a veteran real estate agent, one of the most common ways to find seller leads is to offer home evaluations.
But here’s the problem…
Every real estate agent is offering free home evaluations.
Don’t get me wrong; I completely understand why every agent is offering free evaluations.
Free home evaluations were a valid way of looking for business.
They were used as a way to introduce yourself and get the conversation started with people who were interested in buying or selling houses.
But, if every real estate agent is offering the same freebie and someone else’s evaluation comes out higher, who do you think the client is more likely to call?
Probably the other real estate agent.
Not to mention, if everyone is offering the same thing, how do you stand out from the crowd?
Instead, think of a different way to capture a seller’s attention.
Here are other offers that you can have put together to send to potential clients right away that won’t take additional time for each lead.
- Top Renovations that Increase Your Home’s Value
- A Checklist for Preparing to Move
- Steps to Staging Your Home to Sell
I realize that my one single rant on why agents should stop offering free home evaluations isn’t going to change the real estate industry overnight, but maybe this helped you open your eyes to an outdated marketing method.