Hot Topics presents
buyer wanted, asking some key questions
afternoons. “I’d pick the buyers by filtering
Asking the right questions at the beginning
in relation to what they were after and then
on the Monday and Tuesday morning
saves time in the long run and shows a
making times to see them face-to-face.”
and then I’d spend my remaining week
buyer that the agent knows their market
The system honed by Mr Boon started first
building relationships with buyers who
well.
thing on Monday morning when he arrived
were going to buy in my area of Potts Point
Working in an area with higher-end
at the office and made calls to all the
and Elizabeth Bay in the next month,” he
properties for sale, Mr Boon said he had to
vendors on his list. On Monday afternoon
explained.
approach buyers differently and take the
he called all his buyer contacts and, if
relationship further than just sending them
appropriate, made appointments to spend
Reading the Buyer
one or one-and-a-half hours with them on
With total career sales of more than
when they called his office. He also works
Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday
$100 million, it is clear Mr Boon knows
with a lot of referral-based business, which
to the open day the following Saturday
“I decided to be more mindful and focus on the call coming in and then identifying what the buyer wanted.” what he is talking about when it comes
demands a more personalised approach.
to buyer management. He said he reads
“That first phone call that you receive from
the buyer by listening for a certain pattern
someone who is buying in that range
of behaviour through the telephone, or
needs to be taken seriously, and you need
watches for cues when face-to-face, but
to ascertain what they want from you and
mostly it came down to asking questions.
whether they want to go out and look at
“People say things along the way that give
real estate or whether they want to meet
you key questions. They say we’re ready
with you,” he said.
to buy now, we’ve just sold, we’re looking
“For me every call I take is about building
for a certain type of property, there’s a
some sort of relationship with that person;
particular type of property I saw which I
not so much selling them something.
missed out on,” he said. When faced with
Some of the best relationships and
these cues, Mr Boon’s response is to ask
referrals I have got in that area are from
questions like these:
some people who never bought through
• You don’t have to tell me what you want
me.”
to pay, but is there a certain range that
Real estate agents facilitate people buying
you want to buy in?
and selling property, he explained, which
• Is there some sort of building that
may even include telling buyers about
you’ve seen around the area that
a property not listed with your agency.
you like?
“The reality is helping people in your area,
• Have you been in an apartment with a friend that you liked, or had dinner at? Asking questions about property type, style, character, size, number of bedrooms and even the ceiling height a buyer is looking for helps to narrow down the selection. “I know pretty much every
building relationships and doing what a person needs to do each day to show real estate.” Backing up this point, Mr Boon talks about his client “Brian” who he has invested a lot of time with, but has never bought from him. There is a flip side to this coin, though. “This guy tells everyone to use me. I’m a part of the community.”
building in the area, so it allows me to get a visual or an image as to what they’re thinking or seeing and to direct them towards what they may fit in to,” he said. Hot Topics Magazine Issue 01
7