‘Indecision is the greatest thief of opportunity.’ – Jim Rohn
It’s safe to say that it’s an odd market…right?!
The cocktail of curveballs that we’re having to contend with has produced a set of customer behaviours that even the most vintage of veterans have been scratching their heads slightly.
From orange-faced individuals lobbing really big darts across the world, to the great petrol crisis of 5 weeks ago (remember that one?!), interest rate rises, legislation changes … oh and a Federal Budget, in case you had forgotten!
Then across all of this we have the surface-level market barometers telling the headline readers that the market is in tremendous strife, with clearance rates dropping to early lockdown levels.
So much (understandable) confusion and concern amongst so many operators, because it doesn’t seem to be calming down anytime soon. And yet…last time I checked, the Sun will rise in the morning, the day will kick into gear, and the world will keep turning.
So how can we make sure our business is still turning with it?
The Current State Of Play
From what I’m seeing myself on the front line, along with the intel I’m getting from agents all over Australia, there are some common trends across the board:
- Investors are (largely) hitting the brakes, until their accountants have at least made some sort of sense out of the new Federal budget when it locks in.
- Owners that are on the market currently are generally forthcoming when it comes to accepting market feedback and adjusting accordingly.
- Owner-occupier buyers are still showing up at inspections, showing interest, but are tremendously hesitant to engage with an offer (via auction or private sale).
A lower volume of offers, less bids, but oddly a healthy number of buyers still making their way through properties.
Not quite the buyer’s market that the public numbers would suggest, but we’re still struggling to keep moving.
But all is not lost. In fact I’d say that if you’re keen, and you open your eyes to the possibilities that our beloved industry will continue to provide…these next steps could have you leapfrogging established players if you add them to your fundamentals. Because sellers are turning up, and buyers are still talking with their feet so the business is right there!
Back to basics? Absolutely NOT…but we need those simple fundamentals
Before I go further, I’ve got to get this one off my chest…
Whenever I hear the phrase ‘back to basics’, my skin crawls a bit because it tends to refer to a pattern of behaviours used ‘back in the day’ which makes them feel antiquated for those looking for strong resolutions. They also tend to get talked about with a smirk, like the industry has become too clever for its own good.
Let’s make it clear – the basics that are being referred to don’t belong in the past, they are fundamentals that need to be at the foundation of every sales person’s efforts. Those fundamentals are simple – have a set of habitual actions that you take every day, each of them involving as much human interaction as possible.
I am still a believer in traditional and digital habits too – the argument that drops, knocks and calls are outdated is only relevant if you have a local (not bot-loaded, and not random Americans) following that is interacting with your content.
And I’m sure that there isn’t a platform that can tell you if 13 Titwobble Lane, Wedderburn is fixing up its front yard, but if you’re out there dropping and knocking then you will.
So a solid daily combination of current data nurturing, digital goodwill via relevant commentary on local community posts, cold prospecting to plant seeds for business in 2-3 quarters time and a short time designated to local networking is a great way to maintain a rhythm.
However, blindly going ‘back’ to previous strategies that worked years ago isn’t going to help half as much anymore, because if you haven’t noticed, you’re still dealing with the same customer challenges that you were back then, except now the difference is that their bulls**t radars are going to pick you up way more easily!
Talk to the PURPOSE, not the transaction
With all of the noise going on in the world, we can completely understand why some customers have battened down the hatches.
But one thing that we can then say confidently is that the sellers & buyers that are still taking action in the market have got a serious level of motivation, and it’s way beyond any financial target they may have.
The challenge that most scripts won’t tackle is finding out & talking to that purpose that is taking the customer past any economical thinking. So a lot of you are trying to talk about why you think it’s a good time to buy or sell, instead of talking about why it’s the right (if not necessarily good) time to buy or sell for the customer.
The more you talk about the transaction, the more doubt you’re putting into their heads. But if you can ask questions like ‘Suppose if you were able to sell, how would life look in 6 months time? How would that feel?’ and get customers thinking & feeling beyond the transaction, then all of a sudden you’re turning brains from safety mode to solution mode.
Nurture your buyer database like they are sellers
With current behaviours, if you are trying to work with ‘hot’ buyers only then you’ll likely be pulling your hair out by now.
Agents operating in the high ends of the market will (should) already be doing this, but for a lot of agents you only tend to interact with buyers if they show a direct interest in a property.
For buyers looking to move in right now, the major hurdle stopping them from engaging isn’t a financial one, it’s a psychological hurdle caused by a lot of noise, most of which doesn’t actually affect them!
So even if you don’t have anything for them specifically, then drip-feeding quick tips via SMS, calling briefly to review their current activity (showing a real interest), and reviewing your notes to see if any preferences or search parameters have changed will build a small connection which we don’t get to do in a lot of cases. (pro tip – always ask for their top 3 non-negotiables, their ‘must haves’ that are the deal makers or breakers).
Need help in finding out a buyers purpose that is pulling them past the noise? Always ask your questions in pairs.
Like a Top Gun pilot, every lead needs a wingman, and so for example, even if you ask why they’re looking to buy and they tell you that they are first home buyers, then you NEED to then follow that up with ‘why is now the right time for you?’
The first question will give you a surface-level answer, but the second question will give you the PURPOSE that you need to start chatting to (as per the owner conversations above).
These will not only help you to get them over that psychological hurdle, but will also help you down the track when they look to sell (which is happening way quicker now).
(Pro tip – record short reels with most common concerns & their explanations, & send a link to each of them with a call-to-action to follow your preferred social media platform for more help!)
Don’t regurgitate information, TRANSLATE IT
This one’s annoying. We’re getting good at being very loud about bad news, but then whinge about when we can’t get customers to do stuff. Can you see the problem here?!
Firing out news updates thinking that you’re doing your job is not a smart move for 2 reasons:
- You’re telling customers stuff that they’d have already heard from the news
- You’re reminding them about reasons why they SHOULDN’T transact!
What you need to do with these various news updates & changes isn’t bombard customers with jargon that barely anyone understands, but find out what it means for each key ‘avatar’ (customer type) and translate those outcomes into BBQ language.
What’s BBQ language you ask? Well, it’s not like you’re going to someone’s house to appraise their sausage (you might be, I’m not judging), and yet we try to communicate to customers like they should know what we’re talking about.
Before you go flapping gums in person, over the phone or online, ask yourself how you’d explain it if you were talking at a BBQ, to Aunty Joan who may have had a sherry or several, THEN reach out.
And then what do you do? Go the next step and provide the silver lining potential from the scenario you’re referring to, and help customers to see past the current situation & forward towards their own future. Help them to avoid being dictated to by the suits!
Try something NEW while you can!
If ever there was a market to try a new strategy, personal brand direction, or even be adventurous and try a different drop card design, it is now.
This is the time to stand out, while most agents are quiet and busy fiddling around with AI (not knowing what to do with it because they clearly haven’t been on a Sam McLean course), you can get out there in a way that you don’t normally get a chance to do.
Perhaps don’t follow the common trends of the day, but instead actually do something that you feel that your customers may need.
Run every communication/content idea through the filter of ‘how is this helping our customers?’ and then take a big swing of the bat!
And remember, those that are showing any remote interest will have a larger level of purpose…so maybe your content should perhaps focus on what those purposes may look like…!
What’s the worst that could happen? Well as long as you’re not a complete idiot…then not a lot could go wrong, but plenty of new people may start to take notice FINALLY!
Is this market one that requires hard work? BIGTIME.
But anything worth having is never easy, and what we have in these situations are opportunities to take actions & make improvements that could truly accelerate your standing in the industry, and more importantly in your community.
So choose to take control of your own outcomes, because it’s there if you want it, you’ve just got to adjust your perspective.