Sales processes are crucial for real estate agents to have when presenting properties for sale and doing consultancy work with clients.
People have asked me about this topic and I figure it out that I might as well start a blog trail of sales processes for different types of properties and clients that I use. It is a good habit for me to document and also share my experiences with fellow colleagues as well.
The sales process is different from the selling process. You must be wondering…. what are you saying?? Yes, I’m saying that these are 2 different processes and today I’m writing about the Sales Process in real estate. Check my reference I would say that I would summarize in 3 basic steps:
Do you have money to buy?
What to buy and Where to buy?
When to buy?
These are the usual 3 pointers that I use in my presentation templates and it is also the usual process that I go through with my clients
Do you have money to buy?
This sounds offensive but it is also the most basic question that all home buyers will need to know. As a real estate professional, you need to ascertain the affordability of the client. Working out diligently on the financial side of the purchase in the early stage takes out a lot of headaches and heartaches at the later stage. There are no 2 clients that are the same. In our modern day society today, there is nothing that fixes and permanent the only constant is change. Agents need to change to adapt to different types of scenario and apply their knowledge and skill sets to assist the clients in the purchasing and selection. Without the financial information, agents are just blind and will become showflat salespeople and not add value to the purchase. It is the agents knowledge that makes a difference in the selection and purchase process. Having the financial info helps the buyers ascertain affordability, location and future commitments as well. Having a basic financial planning knowledge helps a long way though.
Agents will be glad to know that with modern day technology, mobile apps will be able to assist them in multiple calculations. Complex home loan and amortization formulas are no longer needed in memory work like in old school days. With the proper tools, the agent can also be a real pro as well. Gathering information like income, cash savings, near cash savings, CPF balances, outstanding home loans, and the list goes on. All these information helps in getting accuracy into how much of a property a client can afford and also the possibilities of setting aside for future 2nd or 3rd property purchases for investments. Without such numbers, agents can only depend on the clients self declared budget and not be able to advise accurately. Well, this is not wrong as well because why would the client release all these sensitive information to the agent? Fact finding for these information helps the agent to gauge on the relationship status check with their clients. – “why would I want the agent to know so much about me?” If this statement is made, the relation is not there. If clients are willing to release such data, agents can be assured that clients are genuine in their real estate acquisition.
What/ Where to buy?
After establishing the financial capabilities of the client, it becomes easier to select on location and projects. Singapore real estate is segregated into the following 3 regions, Core Central Region, Rest of Central Region and Out of Central Region. Developers are pricing the new projects with accordance to these regions and clients can be spoilt for choices but being spoilt can turn into a nightmare on the selection. It is therefore the professional agents to give knowledgeable selection and choice units for clients to select. It is not about only showing the showflat and the actual units. The agents should be advising on location potentials and service truck equipment. What is good about D19? What are the upcoming potential developments in the neighborhood? MRT? Market? Shopping and F&B outlets? Singapore is very land scarce, buildings can only get more and not lesser, whatever that we have reclaimed from the sea has been done since the 70s. So what is it that we have now? Government Land Sales and Enbloc sales of older projects are the only options for developers in Singapore. With rising population, inflation of construction costs, higher salaries, what does this lead us to? Higher prices? Will we see a major crash in real estate prices anytime soon?
When to Buy?
Clients like to ask on whether it is a good time to buy properties. If I have a time machine, I probably would have the answer but that apparently is not a viable option for now. When the clients have the financial capabilities to execute the purchase, after selecting the location and project, the last step is to purchase…. stop.! Is it a good time to buy?? I cannot tell you yes or no but based on facts and figures and news, we will have a clearer picture. In my last article,
I mentioned that purchasing new launch projects will give buyers an upside potential based on past performance but we do know that past performance should not be used as a gauge for future performance. We only know a few facts :
Rising population
Land is getting lesser
Land bids are getting costlier
Construction costs getting higher
Salaries are getting higher
Inflation is here to stay
With these few facts, is it good enough to make the purchase? Wait! Added discounts to cushion the ABSD increase. Sounds sweet enough? We do not need to understand real estate purchases like rocket science but we do need to know that real estate if held on long term, it can actually be a tool that hedges against inflation quite well. I’m not a fortune teller nor some real estate guru, it is just my 2 cents worth of thoughts on my sales process with the client. Remember, build strong relations with clients and add value to clients. That is key in this business.
