Q: What Are the Top 3 Reasons We Pre-Qualify Potential Clients?

By David Brough

From a young age, real estate captured David's interest, and that passion has remained throughout his life. Over the past 15 years as a Realtor.

Pre-qualifying potential clients before meeting them is an important part of the home buying or selling process for Anthony Realtors, and there are three reasons why we do it (and we recommend you do it as well):

1. To find out the potential client’s motivation. To serve them properly, we need to know what motivates them to jump into a real estate transaction. For example, a seller might be looking to move their kids to a better school district, or for a better job. If the transaction gets emotional, we can remind them of their motivation, and this helps reset their focus. 

2. To handle their objections up front. You might not know it heading into an appointment, but the person you’re meeting might have a misbelief about something you do (or don’t do). If you don’t offer a service and they bring this fact to light, you can perhaps look into offering it. This is another way you can come to the appointment better prepared. 

3. To show your level of professionalism. Most agents are so excited to get an appointment that they don’t stop to think of how to navigate that appointment. Gathering information about your potential client ahead of time will set you apart as a true professional rather than a salesperson. As a result, your rapport with them will build. If you walk into someone’s home without knowing them, their level of trust in you will typically be low, and you can only expect them to trust you to a certain extent after meeting with them for 30 minutes. If you talk with them on the phone or via Zoom beforehand, though, they’ll already have a medium level of trust toward you when you walk into their home. Therefore, you increase the odds of leaving the appointment with a signed contract, or at the very least, a high level of trust from them. 

As always, if you have questions about this or any real estate topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to speak with you.