One-day-only sale seals the deal

SUTHERLIN, Ore. – Jan. 7, 2008 – If mall stores can have one-day-only sales, why can’t you?

In real estate, sales incentives can be the catalyst to bring customers to your listing or motivate an otherwise reluctant buyer to get off the fence.

Angie Martinson, a top producing real estate professional from Oregon, suggested the idea to her sellers, who jumped on the idea and agreed to drop their asking price from $219,000 to $199,000 for that one day.

The home was located in a nice of area of town, well kept and easy to show. Unfortunately it just wasn't attracting enough buyers.

To promote the event Angie first told her co-workers and MLS colleagues, called investor friends and placed an ad in the local newspaper. She also teamed up with another agent to handle the traffic and invited a local lender to help qualify buyers on the spot. On the morning of the open house, she and her partner canvassed the neighborhood, set up signs, balloons, flyers and then planted themselves at the listing.

So did it work? Absolutely! Angie and her partner showed the home to 10 groups of buyers. Two buyers asked to write an offer on the spot, and one eventually purchased the home.

It's impossible to say what finally inspired the buyers to reach for their pen, but it's no doubt the catalyst was the limited-time offer, combined with a substantially lower price. Using this technique is a classic example of what is called the “fear of loss close,” which simply means that people hate to lose.

A great example of this is experiencing what transpires at an auction. When you begin to bid on something that you may have been mildly interested in, it can soon become something you can't live without. Why? Because other people are bidding against you. They are trying to take away something that you now desperately must own. Psychologically you have a tremendous fear of loss.

So will a “One Day Only” sale work in every situation? In this case the seller was prepared to make a substantial price reduction down to the next major price point. This combined with the fact that the home was in good condition, and in a good location only fueled buyer interest. But if your seller is considering a major price reduction this could be just the ticket to slapping that sold sticker across the sign in your seller’s front lawn.

Source: Realty Times; Jim Remley, with permission from Realty Times.

© 2008 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

Questions, comments or suggestions on this article? Have a news tip? Send a letter to the editor to: Newseditor@floridarealtors.org.