From Listed to SOLD - How to Sell Those Listings You Work So Hard to Get!

In keeping with our tradition of posting the Favorit-est Tips after our How-To shows in the SWS Virtual Studio, below are the Favorit-est Tips from yesterday's show: The Proper Care & Feeding of Sellers from Contract to Closing.

The show was about a listing agent's duties and responsibilities during the critical Contract-to-Closing period to keep everything on track and heading toward the closing table. We used my Listing-Under-Contract checklist (which you can find in my VIP Lounge) to refer to, although interestingly, a few of the most favorite tips weren't even ON my checklist! (Thank you SWS Coach Deb Stephenson for adding your brilliance!)

So, without further adoooooooo.... Here are the Favorit-est Tips as voted on by the live studio audience, in reverse order of Favorite-ness!

Fifth Most Favorit-est Tip
Prepare the seller for the inspection by 1) asking them to vacate the home during the inspection so the buyers can begin emotionally moving into the home and 2) setting the expectation that the inspection may go badly so that if it does, they aren't shocked, and if it doesn't, they are pleasantly surprised.

Fourth Most Favorit-est Tip
Put up your SALE PENDING sign fairly quickly after contract. This is great marketing for YOU and for the local real estate market. SOLD signs always breed more SOLD signs and that's a very good thing.

Third Most Favorit-est Tip
Do a walk-thru with your seller before the buyer does his or her walk-thru. This gives you the opportunity to make sure the buyer won't find anything amiss and create a ruckus right before closing. Wish I could take credit for this one, but it was Coach Deb's.

Second Most Favorit-est Tip (seriously)
When you pick up your sign and lockbox, take some toilet paper rolls with you to make sure there's TP in the bathrooms. Many sellers inexplicably take their half-used TP rolls with them and it's a drag for the buyer when they arrive with their moving truck... and there's no TP to be found. The buyer may never know it was you, but it's just good karma ;-] - Thanks, Deb, for this visual.

And...

The MOST Favorit-est Tip...!
Prepare for and attend the appraisal. Have good comps with you that support the price, as well as any that don't and be able to explain the lower ones. Also bring an itemized list of any repairs, improvements or features the home offers, with approximate costs. Don't annoy the appraiser with random chatter or get in his way, but do be there, be charming, and offer to help measure.

So, there you have it! If you'd like to listen to the entire show, you can find it at Club SWS (www.clubsws.info) or at the SWS Bookstore (www.SWSStore.com).

Especially for Rookie Agents (but everyone is welcome), this teleseminar show is about what happens (or SHOULD happen) between the time you get your listing under contract (woo hoo!) through the day of closing (an even bigger WOO HOOOO!). 

The thing is... getting a listing under contract is nice, but it's sometimes the easiest part of the whole process. Today, buyers are nervous, lenders are fussy and your seller might not be tickled with his selling price, so holding the transaction together will require you to be on top of the dates and deadlines, and prepared to ward off problems before they become deal-breakers.

On Thursday, January 12th, we'll discuss all these things a listing agent should be doing during the contract-to-closing phase, based off of the SWS Listing-Under-Contract Checklist.

During the show we'll cover topics such as:

• What you need to do immediately following contract execution
• What you need to make sure your seller does immediately following contract execution
• How, why, when and with whom to follow up throughout the process
• Your role during the inspection period
• Proactive steps to take to head off problems before they arise
• What your responsibilities are prior to, during and after the closing
• And... whatever else we think of to tell you about!

Sound like fun? If so, please mark your calendar and join us on January 12th!

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THE DETAILS
Date: Thursday, January 12th, 2012
Time: 8:00am Pacific / 9:00am Mountain / 10:00am Central / 11:00am Eastern  
Duration: 60 - 75 minutes
Equipment Needed: A computer with a high-speed connection and speakers or a telephone.
Cost: Free, but you must register, below. 

REGISTER FOR THE SHOW HERE