REALTOR® Magazine Online: Prospecting For Buyers

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	Fifteen Benefits of Working with a Buyer’s Representative Advanced tip Understanding Agency Broker tip Contract Terms for Buyer’s Representatives Qualifying the Buyer Advanced tip How Well Do You Listen? Advanced tip Who Are Today’s Buyers? Advanced tip Advanced: Psychographics —Understanding Buyer Motivation Prospecting for Buyers Working with Internet-Empowered Buyers Servicing the Buyer Advanced tips Closing the Deal Advanced tip Due Diligence and Disclosure Advanced tip Staying Safe While Showing Homes Broker tip When to Call It Quits Quiz: Buyer’s Representation Bright Ideas: Working With Buyers Code of Ethics: Working with Buyers More Resources: Working with Buyers Vendor Resources: Working with Buyers		PROSPECTING FOR BUYERS Many of the techniques you use in Prospecting for Sellers are equally effective in finding buyer clients. Work open houses. Be sure that every visitor signs the guest book and, if possible, chat with each visitor not just about this listing, but about their general buying needs. Develop contacts with the human resources departmentsof any major employers in your area and offer your services for relocating employees. Be sure that your Web site has a buyers’ sectionwith information on schools, shopping, and services in your market area. Offer a buyer-oriented report on your Web site—for example, “A Buyer Checklist for Evaluating a Home.” Let buyer clients e-mail you for a copy and develop a mailing list based on these responses. Or create a form they can use for requests. Promote the same buyer's report on postage-paid postcards that can be mailed back to you at no cost. Mail these cards quarterly to past clients in your market area. Obtain bridal registry lists from department stores. In a year or so, these new-marrieds may be considering homeownership. Target renters in higher end properties; they’re more likely to be able to afford to buy. FSBOs might welcome your assistance in finding a new home for them, especially if the sellers pay your fee. Suggest to sellers that you also assist them in locating a new home. Conduct homebuying or other real estate-related seminars for your target buyer groups. Work with a public or private adult education to develop a course on real estate ownership. —Adapted and expanded from tips by Avery Yarbrough, Avery Yarbrough and Associates, ARB, Birmingham, Ala,. in Today’s Buyer Representative. TIP: Be creative in selecting organizations for your seminars. Ski clubs, adult sports leagues, and even the local singles hangout may be great sources for first-time buyers. PTAs, garden clubs, book clubs, fraternal organizations, and professional groups may be interested in presentations on move-ups, second homes, or housing retirement. TIP: The growing number of FSBOs are a prime target for buyer’s representatives, says real estate trainer Julie Garton-Good. Show FSBO sellers that you can help them achieve top dollar for their properties and ensure the sale is completed easily. 9 Points to Help Turn a Prospect Into a Buyer Client Ask your prospective buyers to answer these questions honestly, and then decide if they need professional help. 1. Do I have time to research the residential housing market? 2. Do I have the knowledge to integrate and understand the information available to me? 3. Can I integrate the information available on real estate Internet sites into useful data that will help me buy a home? 4. Do I have the expertise to negotiate on my own behalf? 5. Do I have the ability to find a qualified home inspector? 6. Do I have the time to research the home-loan programs available on the market? 7. Do I have the time to interview mortgage-loan officers? 8. Do I have the time and expertise to target market the type of home I want to purchase? 9. Do I know the zoning regulations and building codes pertaining to residential real estate in the area where I want to live? —Courtesy of Kim Daugherty, Real Estate Checklists and Systems, Gundaker, REALTORS^®, Maryland Heights, Mo. TIP: Most buyers don’t recognize the amount of time it takes a real estate professional to find a home for them because so much work goes on behind the scenes. Develop a lists of the tasks you will perform for buyers and realistic estimates of the time each will take. —Julie Garton-Good, Garton Seminars, Lenore, Idaho Internet-Empowered Buyers, next page >

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