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Success, I believe, can be all in the mind.

There’s no need to tell you it’s a competitive market out there. In terms of valuation figures and fees, it’s very much a level playing field as agents scramble to secure instructions.

So what tactics are agents using to win business? There’s suddenly great emphasis on marketing campaigns, portal feeds and even social media interaction, but it’s the ‘below the radar’ efforts that might be sealing the deal.

The psychology of the sale is now more important than ever, and we’ve heard of a number of techniques and approaches being used to influence would-be sellers and buyers. Agents are adopting subtle yet clever ways of presenting information in tough conditions.

Of course, the biggest mind game of all – the phantom offer – is an unethical practice, but here are some psychological snippets that just might help:

Price brackets: From and To

Mind power in property is so important that psychologytoday.com has even carried an article about home sales. It touches on ‘loss aversion’ – a syndrome suffered by many Americans who are trying to sell their homes during the recession. They keep remembering what their home would have sold for at the market’s peak and can’t face selling at a much lower price.

One way to appease anxious vendors like this is to offer them a price bracket method of selling, which is commonplace in Australia and America, and is now catching on here. The seller sets the ‘From’ price at the very minimum he will accept for his home.

The ‘To’ price can be quite ambitious as it’s unlikely anyone will make a first offer at the maximum price. And the psychology? The seller feels there is only a positive gain by making it clear what the minimum offer should be.

The ‘From’ price deters unsavourily low offers, which can demoralise the vendor and damage vendor/agent relationships. The ‘To’ price gives a sense of optimism and guidance should a bidding war erupt.

Not what it’s worth but what they want

The power used to lie with you, the estate agent. Right? Now estate agents are handing the power to sellers. It’s not unknown for an agent to walk into a valuation and ask the home owner what he wants to sell his home for right at the start of the appointment.

Note, he’s not asking what they think their home is worth and he’s not leaving this crunch question to the end. Subtle shifts in language and timing. The emphasis is placed on what the seller needs to achieve and the subsequent pitch is tailored to how the agent will help them achieve this figure.

It’s a very clever method, as effectively the seller is taking control of the asking price and relieving you of the risk – you’re not suggesting an asking figure that might not be realised. There’s also a (flattering) assumption from you that the seller has done some house-price homework and that they’re not a complete property dunce.

Outwards signs of investment

The old adage ‘speculate to accumulate’ is hard to swallow during a recession but it can pay dividends. We recently refurbished an estate agency branch in a pedestrian area where every agents’ office looked tired and dated.

The refurbishment instantly put the branch head and shoulders above the competition. The branch manager told us about a month after the work that sellers coming in to the office were ‘mentally preparing themselves’ to pay a higher fee. They saw the new look, swish furniture and more sophisticated signage, and that told them the agent was in a better class and investing money into its company. The agency says it is doing better business with fewer properties to sell, and is almost always achieving its desired fee.

Harry Simons is a partner at MPL Interiors – an office refurbishment company specialising in estate agency and commercial premises

Comments

  • icon

    Good Blog

    Leicester Estate Agents
    www.vincent-s.co.uk

    • 30 May 2012 13:11 PM
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