Now, while we as agents can’t help everyone, we can assist a number of folks with disposing of their home in a timely manner, while saving them time, money, and a considerable amount of stress in the process.
The challenge is, however, getting these folks to raise their hands so you can have a substantive conversation about the options available to them when they are in a distressed situation like this.
In my experience, one of the best ways to get these folks’ attention is to offer a Guaranteed Sales program.
Many agents say it’s a gimmick (it’s not). Some agents say it sounds hokey (the sooner you stop caring what other agents think, the better). And yet, still, other agents say it’s misleading and doesn’t work (it does work and if you employ it properly, it’s a legitimate lead generation strategy).
All of this said, rather than me just defending it, let’s talk about why it works and then how to use the guarantee to generate leads in a down market.
Why a guarantee works
Consumers of any product love a guarantee because it lowers the barrier of entry for them to take advantage of your services. It
offers them the peace of mind they need to move forward because it gives them options should things not work out well after they choose to do business with you.
When it comes to home sales, a guarantee is a true differentiator and it makes the phone ring. In most cases, people call for one of three reasons:
1. They want to see if it’s a real offer
2. They think it might be a gimmick
3. They really need to sell their home
The good news is that you don’t care why they call...you just care that they call. And that’s the magic of the program. It’s going to hit some people right between the eyes. For others, it piques their curiosity enough to the point where they want to do more discovery to see what’s real and what’s not.
Again, why they call doesn’t matter. It’s that they call that matters.
Now, as it relates to a down market, the guaranteed sales program offers folks a ray of hope, if you will, that they can get out from under a financial obligation that is likely crushing not only their finances, but also their credit.