Selling real estate – who is the decision maker?
One of the first things I learned in Marketing 101 in college was to make sure you are speaking to the decision-maker when making your sales pitch – and that holds true in every profession, even real estate.
Recently a friend of my husband’s contacted me about purchasing some midtown Tulsa real estate. He was not finding what he was wanting and asked me to help him out. In addition to the description of his dream home, he very clearly told me that his ten year-old daughter would be spending weekends with him, and that she would be involved in their selection process.
A week later, I contacted him to tell him that I had found THE perfect home for he and his daughter. I called the Listing Realtor to let her know that the ten year-old daughter was the decision-maker, so she asked her Sellers to leave out freshly-baked cookies (which we all devoured).
Everyone LOVED the home. It was the perfect midtown home – all of the desired amenities, updates, layout – and the perfect location. While the Buyer was taking a second tour of the home on his own, I asked his daughter if SHE liked the home. Her response? “I like the home a lot, but not as well as the house we looked at in south Tulsa.”
Well, what went wrong here? I had found them the perfect home and was ready to write a contract.
“What is it about the south Tulsa home that you prefer?” I asked.
“I can ride my bicycle between my Mom and Dad’s houses,” she replied.
And then I knew the deal was dead.
Sure enough the Buyer emailed me the following day to thank me for my time. He said that IF he chose to purchase in midtown Tulsa, THAT would be the home. But, now he is taking his daughter’s desire to cycle between her parents’ homes into consideration.
Overcoming objections is something they also taught in Marketing 101, but there was really no way to overcome this little girl’s valid desire to be close to both parents.
Now, if I want to continue working with this client, I would find out where the ex-wife lived and search for his dream home within a quarter-mile radius with no busy streets in between. [Smile.]
Lesson learned: It’s not always the person with the ability to write the check who is making the decision. Whether you are working with Buyers or Sellers, dig deep to find out their true desires and determine WHO is the decision maker!
