Have you ever visited a shop where the sales staff immediately sticks closely to you the moment you walked in? Even though the other sales staff and their supervisor seem to be doing their own stuff, somehow you feel that they are closely monitoring your every movement in the shop? How do you feel in such situations? I am sure many would feel very uncomfortable and would like to get out as soon as possible.

This is the same when it comes to viewing properties. In my line of work, I view many properties. The best and most ideal viewing experience is one where I can view the property without the feeling that people are watching my every movement intently.

What goes on during a property viewing?

When we conduct viewings, we want to show the prospective buyers what the property can offer them. We need to show them how the property may be able to match their needs. Very importantly, we want them to spend time and feel what it is like to live in the property. This could include making themselves comfortable on the couch in the living room, standing at the balcony for a couple of minutes to feel the breeze or even spending some time to chit chat in the garden. These are little actions that help them to bond with the property. Under normal situations, the longer the buyer lingers in the house, the more time she has to fall in love with the house. This has a direct impact on closing opportunities.

Are you watching me?

One key thing that prevents many prospective buyers from bonding with the property is the presence of the owner or family members. Even though they may be perfectly fine with the buyers walking around their house, their presence makes most buyers feel paiseh to stay around for even a little longer. Buyers feel that they are being watched and scrutinised.

Fortunately for me, many sellers who have engaged me understand the importance of letting the buyers view in peace. Very often, they will entrust the property in my care and use the viewing window to run errands, take a walk by the pool or go out for family time. This affords me the opportunity to create an ideal viewing experience for the buyers. The buyers are free to “use and feel” the house after I have conducted one round of tour around the house.

Recently one buyer spent one hour in a house I was marketing. She took her time and imagined what it felt like to be the lady owner of the house. That was probably the longest single viewing I had conducted so far. It was in the evening and the owners took the opportunity to go out for a game of badminton. The deal was sealed with minimum fuss at the end of that one hour (what is one hour when the product in question cost millions?).

Change your perspective

When marketing your property, it is important to change from a “me” viewpoint to a “them, him, her” viewpoint. At the end of the day, these buyers are essentially your customers. Therefore, you need to know what works for the buyers who are seeing your property, what is going through their minds as they walk around your property and how to create the best or ideal viewing experience for them.

If the situation allows, leaving the buyers alone to view the property and giving them the total freedom to move around is very often the best strategy to help them bond with the property.

P.S. Talk to Jack today on how he can generate market demand for your property and set up the best viewing experience for prospective buyers of your properties.