These 7 ideas, brought to you by the acclaimed RRi Coaching Team, are the best strategies being used today to help agents succeed with sellers in a buyer’s market.

1.   Stop working with sellers who are not serious.

This strategy goes for both a buyer and a seller’s market, but it’s particularly important in a buyer’s market.  Prequalify all potential sellers for what I call the 3 W’s.  A qualified seller must have a where, a when and a why.  Taking listings that you know won’t sell is not helping the sellers and it will only cost you time, energy and money.  Focus your time on finding motivated sellers rather than wasting time on unmotivated ones.  I promise they are out there.

2.   Be truthful.

Be 100% truthful with sellers about the pitfalls of pricing a home too high in a buyer’s market.  Educate sellers on the fact that if they price their home ahead of the market, they risk following it down.  Pricing a home competitively in a down market will attract more buyers and more money.  Provide factual evidence and statistics of what percentage of homes in their price range are actually selling monthly.  Help them see who the competition will be and why they want to be ahead of their competitors.

3.    Build trust and avoid surprises.

Sellers are nervous and building trust in your relationship is essential.  There are two ways to build trust.  One:  Stay in touch with your sellers frequently.   Keep them informed of everything happening in their neighbourhood, any showing feedback and any change in real estate market that could impact the sale of their home.  Two: Make them feel comfortable about selling.  Remind them that if they sell lower than they want to, they could also buy at a lower price.  Help them understand in advance that they may have to make a few concessions or compromises when an offer comes in.  Forewarn them that buyers may be aggressive when making an offer, not just in the price but also in the inclusions or terms.  Ease them through the process and remind them not to take it personally, the final decision always rests in their hands.

4.   Make the house POP!

Studies have proven that staging helps homes sell faster and for more money. Consider the services of a professional stager and a top-notch photographer, so that the home stands out as a jewel amongst the competition. Make sure the home is in excellent condition; otherwise you may be helping to sell other homes in similar price ranges.

5.   Get social.

Harness the power of social media and post stunning photographs, open house info and video tours on all online channels to inspire potential buyers to want to see the home in person.  Also, be prepared to offer more aggressive marketing strategies to attract buyers.

6.    Incentivize the membership.

Hold an agent open house offering lunch to ensure a great attendance from the agents. If you wow the agents, they will keep the house in the top of their mind when showing homes in that price range and/or area. With this in mind, consider increasing the listing commission for a buyer agent and/or bonus if sold to ensure buyer agents will add the listing into the mix to show any active buyers.

7.   Up your game.

Get two folders. Label one folder “Trending,” which will house all the price reductions of comparable listings so that when a lower offer comes in, you are prepared to educate your sellers as to why the offer may have come in at a certain price.  Label the second folder “Headlines.” This folder will house the doom and gloom headlines and the reality of the market.  Again, your job is to educate your sellers and help them see what buyers see.