One of the reasons why people retain the services of realtors when selling their homes is because having an experienced expert on your side when making a major purchase or sale significantly reduces the stress of the process. When you’re the realtor, though, that means you’re the one handling the stress on your client’s behalf – and it’s not a small amount of stress. Your livelihood depends on your ability to close the deal, and ensuring that you’ll continue getting referrals in the future depends on your ability to close the deal under terms that leave both the buyer and seller happy. Facilitating transactions in the hundreds of thousands of dollars is not an easy job.
So, are you preparing to show a house? If you are, it’s important that you manage your stress and keep your mind on point. You want to be quick witted, friendly and ready to field questions – and getting yourself into the proper mindset means reducing your anxiety about the showing as much as possible. Follow these tips to ensure that your mind will be completely ready for the big day.
Try a Stress Reducing Supplement
Many people take herbal supplements to help them manage the stress and anxiety of daily life. Some of the most popular supplements for that purpose include valerian, kava and CBD oil. Different supplements act on the body in different ways, so you may have to experiment with a few different ones before you’ll find something that works for you. You’ll most likely find that the right supplement for your needs works in a way that you can’t overtly feel; you’ll simply notice that you’re spending less of your time worrying about the big day and more time feeling confident and well prepared. Avoid any supplement that leaves you feeling groggy or sleepy.
Ask Your Clients to Keep Their House Free of Clutter
People want to live in their homes, and it’s difficult to keep a house spotless while living in it. At the same time, a home’s ability to sell for its maximum possible price depends at least partially on eye appeal. Ask your clients to keep their home as free of clutter as they can. As they prepare to sell their home, encourage your clients to hold a garage sale and get some of the things that they don’t want or need out of the house. If they still find it difficult to stay on top of their cleaning duties, encourage them to hire a cleaner to go through the house the day before showings. Knowing that you won’t have to make excuses for a mess on the showing day will do wonders for your confidence level. You might even consider dropping by the house the night before to make sure that it’s ready for the showing.
Get a Good Rest the Night Before the Showing
One of the best ways to keep your mind on point during an important day is by ensuring that you don’t wake up feeling slow and sleepy. The night before the showing, minimize your consumption of nicotine, alcohol and caffeine. When you’re trying to wind down at the end of the day, choose a low-key activity that doesn’t involve a bright screen. Instead of watching a movie or playing a video game, consider reading a book or playing a board game with your partner. Avoid taking a sleep aid unless it’s medically necessary; sleep aids can leave you feeling groggy the next day.
Be Prepared
When you need your mind to be on point, nothing beats ensuring that you’re completely prepared for the big day. Make sure that you’ve set aside some time to learn about the local real estate market and pull up information about comparable home sales. Learn everything that you can about the amenities of the neighborhood. Research the quality of the local schools and emergency services. If you know the answers to the questions that prospective buyers are likely to ask, then you have nothing to worry about – all you need to do is show up and flash that big smile!
Recognize When You’re Prepared – and Stop Preparing
As important as preparation is before a home showing, there is also such a thing as preparing too much. You’ve shown homes before. You know what the prospective buyers are likely to ask. You know the answers to those questions. There may come a point at which you find yourself going a bit over the top with preparation, perhaps digging up obscure statistics that no one will ask about and that you won’t be able to remember anyway. When you reach that point, have the confidence to tell yourself that you’ve prepared enough and are ready for this. Don’t overload yourself with so much preparation that you forget the important things.
Outsource Tasks When Possible
One of the best things that you can do to lower your stress levels as a realtor is to outsource your tasks as much as possible. While it may not be possible for you to afford a full-time secretary, the online gig economy makes it possible to retain the services of freelancers without paying an exorbitant amount of money. You could, for example, hire a freelancer to answer calls on your behalf or to reply to emails. With someone else handling the repetitive tasks for you, you can concentrate less on managing your business and more on closing deals.
Take Time to Focus Before Leaving on the Big Day
Before leaving for the showing, set aside several minutes to relax, focus and center yourself. Yoga and meditation are both excellent ways to reduce stress and clear your mind. If you’ve never practiced meditation before, an easy way to start is by downloading a guided meditation app for your phone. Simply focus on your breathing and listen to the instructor; it’s easy. You’ll end your session feeling refreshed and much more prepared to tackle whatever the day brings.
