Carole and I are constantly on the lookout for the next great tool we can use for selling our listings. We pride ourselves on being at the forefront of marketing and technology in our field. While this “find” is not new to us, we felt it was time we shared it with all of our valued clients rather than just our current sellers. Reverse prospecting…what is it, how does it help sell your listings and why do we use it?
What is Reverse Prospecting?
Reverse prospecting is a tool provided to us on our side of the MLS system. The Ottawa Real Estate Board uses a system called “Matrix” for agents to access the MLS system. This is where we enter all of our data for houses we are selling, and where we see all of the new houses that come up on the market for our buyers.
On the houses we have listed is an option to “reverse prospect”. This allows us to see which agents in the city have a search set up for a buyer where the criteria has matched with that specific listing…crazy right?? We can click on the agent’s name and alert them to this “match” so they don’t miss the opportunity to show it to their buyer!
How does it help sell your house?
The answer here is simple…it sells your house because we make sure that every agent with a potential buyer for a property is aware of the listing and has not missed it. They can then be sure their buyer has not missed it by alerting them to it! We send them an email with a link to the listing’s website page on Barb & Carole with a “no pressure” email to just ensure they are aware of the listing and encourage them to book a showing or let us know if they need any further information.
Why do we use it?
Simply put…we use this to make sure every avenue of selling your house is explored. The more people that are aware of the listing, who see the details on our website and on MLS…the quicker and more successful the sale will be. It is also a great way for us to stay in touch with our network of agents. We work hard to foster good relationships with our fellow agents because that, time and time again, has proved to also be very effective in successful real estate transactions.
Without being too immodest…agents love working with us!
This tool has been invaluable to us and to our sellers. We have seen it single handedly sell a home a number of times. It takes time and patience but it is something we do every day for each of our listings because we know that it works.
Do you have any questions about this or other marketing techniques we use to sell your house? Let us know in the comments or by connecting with us via our Contact Us page.