KNOWLEDGESHARE: What's the point of a market appraisal?

Here is a thought leadership article from CY Training Works

What’s the point of a market appraisal with your estate agency?

Seems like a strange question so let me explain what I mean.

As an estate agent, a constant stream of new instructions is essential for business survival and all new instructions begin with an appointment with the prospective vendor.

Persuading them that they should meet YOU is the goal, but with a shortage of properties coming to the market and intense competition from other estate agents, mastering the art of selling the appointment becomes more important than ever.

Faced with the common objection that they have several appointments already booked with other agents, why should a savvy seller spend yet another 45 minutes (or more) with you? With so much information readily available online, they probably already have their own ideas on price, so what’s the benefit to them of talking to YOUR valuer?

I often pose this question to estate agents in the training room and my experience is that very few can actually articulate succinctly and confidently more than 2 or 3 reasons for the prospective seller to give up their valuable time to see them and very few are compelling enough to get that vital invitation beyond the front door!

It is easy to stay with the habit of doing what we have always done, training new starts to learn and copy the behaviour of more experienced staff. This works when you have a consistently winning formula but not if your market share is falling and there’s not much in the diary. However, just telling people that they will learn about your services, or how much they could get is just not enough to make you the estate agent of choice.
If you want to assess your own team’s ability to sell market appraisals, try asking them to list the features and benefits of a market appraisal from the vendor’s perspective and then challenge each one with the “so what?” test to see if they really benefit the vendor or your business.

The phrase “walk in their shoes” is a mantra many use to understand what customers need and want and so now is the time to really think about compelling reasons for the prospect to want you to come and see them and then make sure that everyone in your business is able to communicate those reasons to promote market appraisals effectively.

Remember, every seller is different – those with no onward chain will want to sell quickly, whereas others are terrified of being pushed to move out without finding their next home. Some are worried about home security and others want to know whether you can offer accompanied viewings or how you vet applicants.
Good interviewing skills are vital in order to discover what matters to your customer. You can then explain how your service matches their requirements and demonstrate your interest in helping them.

Many sellers are passionate about their homes and want you to share their passion. Just asking them to tell the story of why they bought it can uncover gems of information that you can use to demonstrate empathy and understanding.

Very few of us would willingly hand over our front door key and burglar alarm code to a complete stranger. Very few of us would agree for that stranger to take photographs of our home and to show others around when we are away. The level of trust involved in an estate agency contract is simply extraordinary and so it constantly amazes me that vendors would ever make such a brave decision based on fees or value alone. The term “market appraisal” seems inappropriate as it implies you are in charge of the meeting when, in fact, it should be all about the prospective vendor, their questions, and for you to reassure them that you can be trusted.

In my opinion, the most important reason why every seller should spend at least 45 minutes with you is because it is THEIR opportunity to interview the person who will be responsible for their house keys and security. The person who will ask them to prepare for viewings and the person who will help them move.

So the point of a market appraisal should be for the vendor to pick the best estate agent for their sale, the one they feel most comfortable with and the one they feel they can trust.

About CY Training Works

Clare Yates has built a solid reputation for training and consultancy in the property industry. Her career began over 30 years ago as a part-time weekend receptionist in a local estate agent and she quickly moved on to new-build sales, holiday cottages, panel management, and ultimately sales training. She is described as an innovative trainer and communicates in a “hands-on” way using real experiences to stimulate empathy and understanding. 

Clare has worked with some of the very best estate agents in the country, helping them to generate more business, improve customer care, improve sales progression, and to cross-sell more related services.

Clare was proud to be one of the illustrious panel of judges for a number of prestigious property awards, including the Sunday Times Estate Agency of the Year Awards and Law Firm Services Conveyancing Awards, and has been a speaker at many national industry events.

Clare believes that effective communication is at the heart of all good relationships. Without it, no rapport exists and so there is no reason to connect or remain connected. We are instinctively drawn to people who we believe are interested in us and the power of this attraction supersedes price when choosing one business over another.

All CY Training Works courses focus on how great communication can achieve great results, including more instructions, more recommendations and referrals, happier customers, and higher fees.

You can expect fun, interactive and fast-paced training delivered to you and your teams, based on YOUR business, YOUR area, and YOUR challenges. Your teams will come away feeling motivated and ready to make the changes you are looking for because they understand WHY they should.

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