As a seller’s agent, your clients rely on you for recommendations to help increase their chances of receiving offers from prospective buyers. Scheduling showings is an integral part of the selling process. Unfortunately, many sellers make the same mistakes before showings, which not only make it less likely to receive an offer but may even turn people away before they’ve toured an entire house.

Help your clients avoid these mistakes by explaining why preparation is a key factor to success for home showings. You can’t force a client to take your advice; however, you wouldn’t be providing top quality service if you fail to mention these topics, knowing how important they are to helping your clients sell their home.

Avoid the mistake of poor-quality curb appeal

One of the most common mistakes sellers make is to focus energy on making the interior of a home look nice while neglecting the outside appearance of the home. Most prospective buyers will first view a listed home online. After scheduling a showing, it’s important for your seller to understand that the home tour starts at the curb.

If a buyer arrives to find an unkept landscape, garbage or debris scattered around the property or chipping paint, a damaged roof or a driveway that needs repair, he or she might decide to leave without even going inside. To increase the chances of getting an offer, make sure your client understands the importance of boosting curb appeal.

Failing to minimize interior décor can be a big mistake for a seller

Your client is likely to have many personal items and decorations on display throughout the house. It’s best to pack these things away before scheduling. A buyer who is touring a home must be able to imagine himself or herself living there. That’s difficult to do if, everywhere he or she turns, the seller’s personal items are on display. Avoiding this mistake increases the likelihood of getting offers. The best recommendation you can give your clients is to minimize décor and simplify surroundings so that it’s easy for visitors to imagine their own belongings on the walls, countertops, etc.

Failing to leave the house during showings

Being present during a showing is one of the biggest mistakes your client can make when selling a home. Again, the goal is to make a buyer feel as comfortable as possible so that he or she wants to live there. If a seller is present, a prospective buyer might not feel comfortable asking certain questions or taking as thorough a tour as he or she might do if the seller were not present.

Helping your clients avoid these three mistakes make it more likely that their homes will spend less time on the market than sellers who disregard these issues. The better prepared your clients are for selling, the more profitable you can be when you become a South Carolina real estate salesperson.