How to turn a visitor into a buyer?

Before visitors arrive, make sure the house is tidy and that there are no unpleasant odours (animals, cooked fish, cigarettes, etc.):

1. Turn on all interior lights in the house to provide maximum brightness.
2. Open all the curtains and close the windows.
3. Put away the crazy items or items that are lying around. A good de-cluttering will make your rooms more attractive: less is better.
4. Turn off TV and computer screens
5. Make the beds impeccably
6. Make sure that toilet lids are down and that no paper rolls and towels are lying around
7. Streamline and depersonalize rooms as much as possible. Remove family photos, memorabilia, collections, religious objects and cleaning and hygiene products.

Unfortunately, there are visitors who:

1. do not take the time to consult your ad before visiting, so they discover that many elements do not meet their needs.
2. shop around to establish what they want and don’t want for their future construction.
3. are looking for the deal of the century.

Moreover, by lowering your expectations, you will be more serene during the visit and you will be less disappointed at the conclusion of the visit if the visitor has clearly demonstrated that he or she is not interested.

When visitors are on site, be relaxed and don’t talk too much. When you talk too much, you may show signs of nervousness to visitors. Your nervousness could be contagious and make visitors uncomfortable. You want to make their shopping experience enjoyable, so just be friendly and smile. It’s all about first impressions and trust.

Avoid being two people introducing the house. You increase the risk of contradicting yourself and stunning visitors.

Regarding the characteristics of your home, as much as possible, just answer the questions of visitors. The more you go into subjects, the more likely you will mention things that visitors don’t like and that don’t necessarily reflect reality.

Let visitors make their own assessment of your property. Don’t start stunning visitors with all the changes and improvements you’ve made over the past 20 years. They may feel that you are desperate and that you are trying to seduce them at all costs. Visitors sometimes play the role of “police inspector” by becoming suspicious when “it sounds too good to be true”.

Invite people to open closets so that they can appreciate the storage space your home has. Since you want it to be their home eventually, they need to feel at home. Of course, make sure that these spaces are tidy and that they are not overcrowded. Ask your family or friends if they can accommodate your extra items while you sell your home. Another alternative would be to rent temporary storage space.

Only at the very end of the visit, make a summary:

1. of the renovations done in the last 5 years.
2. the strengths of your property and its neighbourhood based on the needs that visitors will have shown you.
3. the potential of your home based on the needs that visitors will have shown you. Therefore, you will have to listen more than you talk if you want to be able to identify these needs. Don’t hesitate to ask them questions about the type of household that will live in the house (several children?). Person with a mobility impairment? Work abroad? Hobbies? Etc.). They will probably appreciate the fact that you are interested in them and you will discover many of their needs.

Avoid talking about improvements you should have made or could have made. If your roof is due for reroofing and visitors have noticed it, don’t worry, they will ask you questions about it if they are interested in the house. However, if in the asking price you had planned to replace your roof, don’t hesitate to mention it.

Before the visitors leave, warn them that you will contact them in about 3 days to find out their intentions. If their intentions are positive and they wish to make an offer to purchase, suggest that they complete the “offer to purchase” provided by Flex. If their answer is negative, ask them to do you a favour by listing the reasons why the house is not suitable for them.

It is likely that, once visitors have left, you may feel that you have forgotten some things that are important to you, or that you could have said things differently. Luckily, you have their contact information, but take a nap before you call them: “sleep on it”. You will be better able to judge whether it is necessary to communicate these elements and you will not give the visitors the impression that you are desperate.