Everything counts before auction
The lawyer didn’t get it to us in time. The certificates took too long to order. We forgot.
We’ve all heard or possibly made these excuses when it comes to getting documentation ready on time. It’s not good enough.
In a market where the banks are making things tough and buyers may be tentative to bid, we must do everything we can to ensure they’re comfortable to raise their hand on auction day.
Making sure your documentation is accurate and available provides buyers the information they need to progress their interest and move to auction as a bidder. Having documentation ready prior to the first ads being published is essential.
It’s time to set a new benchmark for your agency team in 2019. Here are some of our tips to improve your go-to-market preparation with regards to documentation:
Make it non-negotiable to have your contract and vendor statement in-hand before the first week of the campaign. Make this clear to your vendor, you set the rules.
Following your vendor signing meeting, try to prepare instructions for legal documentation immediately, in time for the pre-campaign and campaign buyer discussions.
Read all the documents about the property you are selling. There is nothing worse than buyers picking up discrepancies before you do. Would you print a brochure without reading it? Of course not. So why would you send out a contract/vendor statement without reviewing it?
Communicate with the vendor and their lawyer if you have a question. It’s impossible to truly sell anything without knowing the detail. It also helps to mitigate the risk of losing buyers when a query arises as you may already have the answer and pre-determine your response to a buyer objection.
Make sure you have the relevant checklist of documents ready as many buyers will need these for bank finance, particularly investors. You can’t expect unconditional purchases on auction day if you haven’t provided buyers the materials they need in order to be prepared.
Preparation is key. If you go to the effort of making sure everything is in line before the start of the campaign, you’re more likely to be successful at the end.
Documentation is just one part of the auction campaign, but a part that we can easily and quickly improve to reduce buyer objection.
