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Property Valuation Reports

Property Valuation Reports

Aug 1, 2019 | Uncategorised

Property Valuation Reports

Using multiple data points, Dracore provides a Property Valuation Report. Our Property Valuation Report will give you the most accurate market value of your home, and a comprehensive overview of the property market in your area.

SEE A SAMPLE REPORT HERE

OUR PROPERTY VALUATION REPORT ASSISTS SELLERS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR A FAIR AND UNBIASED VALUATION OF THEIR PROPERTY.

Our Property Valuation Report will ensure that all parties have all the facts available to ensure well-informed decisions are taken when entering the property market.

A Property Valuation is an estimate value of a property at a specific date. Property Valuations are used by businesses, government bodies, individuals, investors and financial institutions when making decisions during a property transaction. The purpose of obtaining a Property Valuation is to determine the property’s market value before it is put onto the market to be sold.

House valuations are at the core of the property selling process. It’s vital for all parties involved in the buying stages to know how much the house being sold is worth, to help you negotiate a fair asking price and for the buyer to grasp the current state of the local market. It can also help you get a head start on discovering how you can maximise the value of your home.

A property valuation is carried out by an estate agent or an independent valuer to give you an accurate idea of the worth of your home. Buyers will also need to have a valuation if they’re applying for a bond, to ensure the lender offers the correct amount required.

For the valuation to be fair, most houses are compared with similar properties in the area. Property valuations that establish the market price are generally carried out by estate agents. Once you decide to sell your house, the agency you’re selling with will send someone over to have a look around and gauge how much your house is worth.

How To Get More Listings from Past Clients

How To Get More Listings from Past Clients

by | Oct 1, 2019 |

Repeat customers are great. They refer more often and they’re less likely to try pay less than your asking price. It’s also easier (and cheaper) to maintain client relationships than it is to consistently acquire new customers. Here’s how you can make the most of your past clients.

How to Find and Interest Sellers and Buyers Using Email Marketing

How to Find and Interest Sellers and Buyers Using Email Marketing

Jun 15, 2019 | Find More Sellers, Reach More Buyers

How to Find and Interest Sellers and Buyers Using Email Marketing

Can you reach more buyers with email or social media? It’s a better question than you think.

When marketing through social media, you’re only reaching a small percentage of your followers. Organic reach has been declining on Facebook and Twitter for years, whereas email has remained one of the most effective lead generation strategies for decades.

If you’re just looking for some quick advice, here’s the three things that are killing your ability to reach and interest buyers and sellers using email.

1. You’re misinterpreting a group of individuals as a list of potential leads.

2. You’re thinking of email as a throw-until-something-sticks lead generation strategy.

3. You’re not improving on the messages you’re sending.

You’re misinterpreting a group of individuals as a list of potential leads.

Your email list isn’t really an email list. It’s a group of unrelated people with entirely different needs. You’ve just collected their contact information and grouped them together, in a list that only exists in your PC.

People differ from names on a list in crucial ways. People need to be engaged, naturally, in a way that considers how they think and what’s relevant to them. People are also different.

Every person can be distinguished from the general population in many ways, and it’s understanding those distinctions that will make your email marketing effective.

Here are some ways that you can use this understanding of your contacts as individuals to great effect.

  • Customise your sign-up form.
  • Create a strong welcome email.
  • Notify users that their subscription is confirmed.
  • Ask three important questions to help guide your tone when presenting your offer.
  • What distinguishes this contact from the general population?
  • How do they prefer to be communicated to?
  • How important is your offer to this specific person?

Being able to treat your contacts as people requires that you know a little about them. You won’t be able to get a complete understanding of your contacts the first-time round, but you should be actively trying to learn more about them.

Email marketing, while cost-effective, depends on a healthy reputation and contact list, and losing either will very quickly devalue what could be a hugely valuable lead generation channel.

You’re thinking of email as a throw-until-something-sticks lead generation strategy.

Another consequence of seeing your contacts as a list of potential leads rather than actual people is forgetting about their whole customer experience.

You may only be thinking of one element of the marketing process, but your leads will be experiencing every aspect of it, as well as the elements of sales and support that form part of their customer journey.

Your leads will develop expectations as soon as they read your subject line, and you need to manage them.

  • Plot out your prospects experience, from reading your email to speaking to you. Make sure that what you have in your head matches up with what they will actually experience.
  • Allude to this process in your email body. For example, “Click More Information and I’ll get in touch with you personally within a day.”
  • Do you have technological dependencies? Landing pages, cell-phone numbers, email addresses, links? If so, make sure they work!

As we’ve already said, email marketing depends on a healthy reputation. A throw-till-something-sticks strategy is likely to result in unsubscribes, which will undermine the value of your email strategy – and potentially have some impact on your brand reputation outside of email.

You’re not delivering and improving consistently high-quality messages.

 

Slapping your Facebook or SMS marketing messages into an email isn’t going to get you the kind of results email can deliver. Neither is sending out unoptimized messages to the same people every week.

Because email is so cheap it’s a great opportunity to test which subject lines, copy, tone and language works the best. Once you start measuring your results, you will be able to see what works best, start experimenting and continually improving on your emails until they deliver the results you want.

For a comprehensive, step-by-step explanation on how to test and improve your email strategy, check out our free guide below.

There’s a lot that goes into a successful email strategy. But by avoiding the above mistakes and following the advice we’ve set out, you’ll be protected from the mistakes that are killing your potential to succeed with email marketing.

Interested in reaching more buyers?

Learn how Bonni reached potential buyers in a way that they actually appreciated.

Reach more potential buyers with relevant messages using email marketing.
(Fill in this form and get it first!)

How To Get More Listings from Past Clients

How To Get More Listings from Past Clients

by | Oct 1, 2019 |

Repeat customers are great. They refer more often and they’re less likely to try pay less than your asking price. It’s also easier (and cheaper) to maintain client relationships than it is to consistently acquire new customers. Here’s how you can make the most of your past clients.

How to Develop and Use Authority to Get More Listings

How to Develop and Use Authority to Get More Listings

Apr 30, 2019 | Find More Sellers

How to Develop and Use Authority to Get More Listings

We assume that people are aware of our experience and expertise. They probably aren’t, and reminding them can drive business and help you get more listings. Take the time to figure out what topics come up in your work most often, how you can present as an authority at those times and how you can make your experience and expertise visible to your prospects.

Authority is about persuasion, not status.

“Expose your expertise; don’t assume it’s self-evident. Surprisingly often, people mistakenly assume that others recognize and appreciate their experience.” — Robert Cialdini, author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

Why do doctors display their certifications on the walls of their offices? As patients we don’t use them to determine how qualified our doctor is, and having those certifications doesn’t differentiate them from any other doctor. 

People are persuaded by evidence of authority, even if they would expect it from you. You can use much of the experience and expertise you already have to bolster your reputation among sellers, even if you think they expect it from you, just by making it visible.

So how can we apply this to the work of a South African real estate agent?

Expertise

The best way to be seen as an authority is to become one. You don’t need to be the most experienced agent to do this. You just need to be prepared. 

Keep abreast of the listings and sales in your area, the area itself, your company and competitors, the market – anything that would be relevant to your clients. You don’t need to be an expert to get the benefits of authority; you just need to present as knowledgeable and be able to offer your clients real value using what you know. 

Don’t have the time to research a handful of topics? Consider the most common questions you get asked and make sure you can speak authoritatively about those topics. These are likely to be about the properties you are selling and the area in which you are working.

Develop and show evidence

What applies in doctors’ offices applies in Real Estate.

Buyers and sellers expect that their agent has experience, that a colleague would recommend them and that they are informed on their area, but it  can be very powerful and persuasive to remind 

But showing people that you have experience, that colleagues respect you and that you’re well-informed can be very powerful and persuasive.

Here’s some ways you can present evidence of your authority.

  • Go through your personal and business profiles and compare them with other, more experienced agents. Make sure you present as professional and credible in all your profiles.
                                                                                                                                                                                .
  • Write down all your awards, successes, client reviews, relevant years of experience and anything else that might make you seem more authoritative to clients. Think about where you could include these (from brochures to Facebook) and practice bringing them up in conversation.
                                                                                                                                                                                .
  • Back up your opinions with supporting evidence. When talking about the value of a home, be able to refer to market evidence, recent sales or comparable listings.
                                                                                                                                                                                .
  • Be able to refer to comments from industry experts. You can find these in articles, case studies or on Real Estate news sites.

Presentation

You can make use of people’s respect for authority without opening your mouth. Presentation – from your clothes to your sitting position – is powerful.

Make sure your outfit is clean and ironed. Arrive early at meetings. Don’t answer calls when speaking to prospects. Dedicate time and effort to clients. Always behave like you want to be where you are. 

In short, look and act like a professional. If you have the appearance of authority, people are more likely to give you the credit that goes with it, regardless of your status or experience. We may not realise how much authority we are giving up simply by appearing disorganised or disinterested on a regular basis.

In Summary

 

  1. You don’t need to be an expert to get the benefits of authority. Consider the most common questions you get asked and make sure you can speak authoritatively about those topics.
                                                                                                                                                                                      
  2. Back up your opinions with supporting evidence. Give evidence-based reasons for what you think. Be able to refer to comments from industry experts.
                                                                                                                                                                                      
  3. Show people that you have experience, that colleagues respect you and that you’re well-informed. Make sure you present well online, in your profiles and in person.

Interested in getting more listings?

Read how this Estate Agent secured a new mandate every 8 days while unable to leave her home following a foot operation. 

Make your authority visible by foregrounding it in email marketing messages.
(Fill in this form and get it first!)

How To Get More Listings from Past Clients

How To Get More Listings from Past Clients

by | Oct 1, 2019 |

Repeat customers are great. They refer more often and they’re less likely to try pay less than your asking price. It’s also easier (and cheaper) to maintain client relationships than it is to consistently acquire new customers. Here’s how you can make the most of your past clients.

How to Use Sincerity to Drive Referral and Repeat Business

How to Use Sincerity to Drive Referral and Repeat Business

Apr 15, 2019 | Find More Sellers, Reach More Buyers

How to Use Sincerity to Drive Referral and Repeat Business

We all want positive relationships with our clients. It drives referral business and makes them more likely to work with us in the future – helping you get more listings without having to canvass new buyers and sellers.

When it comes to improving your professional relationships and making yourself memorable to clients, focus on sincerity. Understand the journey your clients are on, use your casual conversations to build toward establishing common interests and make use of genuine praise and positive reinforcement.

A relationship to aspire to

As we all know from experience, you can’t please all the people all the time. What’s far easier is building sincere relationships based on commonalities and genuine expressions, even if these relationships don’t have great depth.

Your clients know that your relationship is professional. They don’t expect the two of you to become close personal friends. But you can still make use of the power of sincerity to drive business by making sure your professional relationships are friendly, sincere and genuine.

So how can we apply this to the work of a South African real estate agent?

A house vs a home.

Finding common ground, asking personal questions, offering genuine praise and compliments – all of these are tried-and-tested ways Agents have endeared themselves to clients, and they work. But for your engagement to appear sincere and genuine you must understand and acknowledge the personal journey your client is on. 

You might be buying or selling a house, but your clients are buying or selling a home. Some are considering where they will be raising their children. If your clients feel that you aren’t considering the significance of their decision, they aren’t likely to trust you with it.

If you really consider the depth of the decisions buyers and sellers are making, you should automatically become more patient, considerate and discerning. This will broadcast your commitment and thoughtfulness, making those buyers and sellers more likely to trust you with the opportunity to oversee one of the most important investments they will ever make. 

Genuine praise.

Flattery will get you nowhere? Not quite. Again, the key here is sincerity.

Genuine praise is a great way to endear yourself to clients. Instead of looking for opportunities to offer direct compliments, which can be rare and sound forced, look for opportunities to offer positive reinforcement. 

Some examples could include:

  1. “That’s a good point.”
  2. “You’re absolutely right.”
  3. “It’s good that you’re thinking about this.”
  4. “I’m glad you thought of that.”
  5. “Thank you for bringing that up.”
  6. “You’ve thought about the most important factors.”
  7. “You have a good idea of what you need.”

There are opportunities to include this kind of praise in practically any conversation. They are easy to give, sounds natural and because you can include a few of them in every conversation will be more powerful than the random forced compliment.

In Summary

  • Build sincere relationships based on commonalities and genuine expressions, even if these relationships don’t have great depth.
  • For your engagements with clients to appear sincere and genuine you must understand and acknowledge the personal journey your client is on.
  • When speaking casually with clients, speak with purpose. Ask questions that might guide you toward a shared interest.
  • Instead of looking for opportunities to offer direct compliments, look for opportunities to offer positive reinforcement

Interested in building strong professional relationships?

Learn how Bonni was able to endear herself to buyers and sellers in ways that helped her build strong personal connections.

Maintain positive and rewarding client relationships using email marketing. (Fill in this form and get it first!)

How To Get More Listings from Past Clients

How To Get More Listings from Past Clients

by | Oct 1, 2019 |

Repeat customers are great. They refer more often and they’re less likely to try pay less than your asking price. It’s also easier (and cheaper) to maintain client relationships than it is to consistently acquire new customers. Here’s how you can make the most of your past clients.

How to Use your Social Proofs to Reach Sellers and Build Trust

How to Use your Social Proofs to Reach Sellers and Build Trust

Apr 1, 2019 | Find More Sellers

How to Use your Social Proofs to Reach Sellers and Build Trust

Instead of having to find new sellers and convince them that you’re the best agent to sell their home, social proof can provide all the evidence they need to trust you.

Anything that proves to prospective sellers that other homeowners see more value than risk in working with you is part of your social proof. Figure out what your social proofs are and make sure that you are actively making them visible. 

Establish your most powerful social proofs

A good place to start is to consider everyone – clients, colleagues, mentors, industry professionals, employers – who would be able to speak to the value of your service. Ask these individuals what impresses them about you and your service and write down the most compelling points the raise.

Then ask your clients about the most valuable contributions you’ve made to their lives. This is a broad question but will reveal precisely what has made a great impression in the past. 

Once you have an idea of the qualities and value that has made the strongest impression on these people, add to this list what you know about yourself; your achievements, your best results and anything that shows that people have gotten value out of your service.

Now that you have all this information, you should have a sense of your most powerful Social Proofs!

Find out how to build sincere and genuine professional relationships with prospects and clients.

Make your social proofs visible

Now you have your most powerful social proofs. The next step is making them visible to potential sellers.

Use these points in meetings with sellers. Add them as testimonials to your website and in marketing emails newsletters, your employee profile, posters and cards. Ask your supporters to mention you when someone could use your services.

As soon as you know what your most powerful social proofs are, you will start finding contexts – and sellers – for whom those skills and proofs would be relevant.

One of the easiest and cheapest ways for you to showcase the value you have provided others is through social media. You can use Facebook, Linkedin or other platforms to showcase your successes, your positive reviews and career achievements, at no cost to you.

Make sure the page or profile you’re using professionally has the following elements.

  1. A high-quality photo, personal description and career summary. Internet users have come to associate the quality of content – pictures quality, web design etc – with the quality of the service being advertised. This is your new first impression. Make sure it’s a good one.                                                                                                                                                                                                 
  2. Remember the 80/20 rule. 80 percent of your content should be customer-focused, and 20 percent should center on you as a professional. This a great way to avoid spamming potential clients while making sure you’re marketing yourself. A good general strategy is to focus on providing high-value, customer-focused content and peppering this with your strongest Social Proofs.                                                                                                                                                                                                      
  3. Social Media isn’t a billboard, it’s social network. If your page is working the way it should, you’ll be receiving questions, comments and messages. Responding to these messages, curating conversations and engaging with others is very much part of using Social media to it’s fullest potential. Dedicate some time to this each day.

Manage and add to your Social Proof

You’ve determined your most powerful Social Proofs and made them visible – now you need to manage and add to them. Here are some strategies that you can implement to manage your reputation and add to the Social Proof you already have.

  • Social proof also goes the other way; evidence that homeowners see more risk than potential reward in working with you will give sellers good reason to actively avoid using your services. Conduct regular surveys with clients to determine what would stop them from referring or recommending you to others. This can also be an opportunity to address the grievances your current clients have, potentially turning them into your vocal supporters.                                                                                                                                                                                                       
  • Start looking at everyone who has seen value in your service as potential ambassadors. At settlement, leave cards asking for a referral to friends and family. Include this request on business cards and in conversation. Let your colleagues know that you would appreciate a referral if they come across a prospect that you would be able to assist.                                                                                                                                                                                                     
  • Align yourself with a reputable peer. Dual listings are only one way for you to benefit from the reputation or social proof of a colleague. Helping a colleague where you can, supporting other agents or giving useful professional advice is a great way to turn the professionals around you into Ambassadors. Find out more about how to use reciprocity to attract more business.

In Summary

  1. Get an idea of the people who would be able to speak to your value – clients, colleagues, employers – and use them to determine your most powerful Social Proofs.                                            
  2. Start making these Proofs as visible and active as you can. Use these points in meetings, in conversation and add them to your testimonials, newsletters, employee profile or website. Ask your supporters to mention you when a need arises for your skills or value. Leave cards asking for a referral to friends and family. Align yourself with a reputable peer.                      
  3. Make sure your Facebook content is high-quality. Make sure you are providing valuable customer-focused content, regularly sharing your strongest Social Proofs and responding to comments and messages.

Interested in reaching more sellers?

Learn how Bonni was able to reach new sellers with a strategy that immediately endeared herself to them.

Reach more sellers with relevant messages using email marketing.
(Fill in this form and get it first!)

How To Get More Listings from Past Clients

How To Get More Listings from Past Clients

by | Oct 1, 2019 |

Repeat customers are great. They refer more often and they’re less likely to try pay less than your asking price. It’s also easier (and cheaper) to maintain client relationships than it is to consistently acquire new customers. Here’s how you can make the most of your past clients.