Maximize Your Revenue Potential by Mastering Personal Property Sales Agreements
Understanding Personal Property Sales Agreements
Why should a business in today’s digital world have an understanding of a comprehensive personal property sales agreement? Well, if you are in sales or marketing, then consider how important it is to understand how a ‘personal property sales agreement’ would impact your revenue streams, both for your own organization as well as for that of your clients! ‘Personal Property sales agreements’ are different from ‘real estate property sales agreements’; the most obvious differentiator being that personal property is movable while real estate is as the name implies, fixed.
The significance of this is that if marketers and sales professionals can understand how a legal agreement like this works from the seller’s and the buyer’s perspective, then they can rebuild their sales funnels to include effective lead management strategies to minimize revenue leaks. To illustrate, a ‘sales agreement’ from a sales and marketing perspective is similar to a message strategy in sales and automation marketing. It is essential to define precisely what message is sent to the target audience being addressed by that sales agreement or message strategy.
For example, if a ‘sales agreement’ specifies that the buyer is responsible for the property taxes, then a matching message could be sent to the customer to manage their expectations, in advance, that they are liable for this responsibility. A business owner can train his/ her sales staff to include such details in messaging, which in turn allows the marketer to automate the process of managing the sales and after-sales messaging.
The other benefit of a personal property sales agreement for a business owner is that it will identify what information needs to be extracted and retained so that the appropriate messages are sent to aligned customers (who are often unaware of their responsibilities). For example, who is responsible for providing homeowners insurance? Who is responsible for paying utilities and closing costs? If the sales staff understands the sales agreement from a personal property perspective, they will be able to better serve the customer if the agreement states: “Buyer is responsible for all utilities, taxes, insurance and any services, fees or charges after closing.”
Both the business owner and the customer will benefit if there is transparency regarding the basic tenants of the agreement. Too often, there is only a tick-box that indicates that the customer has seen the agreement, without any further communication ensuring the customer understands their obligations. In this case, as a marketer, you can design a touchpoint in which this written information is transformed into an automated video and emailed to the lead/customer.
The requirements in a ‘sales agreement’ often include a closing date and deposit. If payment is not received by the closing date, marketers and sales staff could use the following message strategy: Dear Customer, An important part of your agreement with ABC Company is the deposit. We requested follow-up documentation, but did not receive it as of November 1, 2015. The deposit is due November 5, 2015 and we require this in order to fulfill your agreement with us. Please send the requested documentation and the deposit to our office ASAP.
Negotiating an agreement is difficult and takes numerous sit-down meetings with the client, so once the final agreement is settled, it is essential to ensure the client knows exactly what they signed on to do. When the customer realizes that it was their fault that they missed a payment deadline, then they will have fewer objections to sending you the funds. If people don’t understand the agreement that they just signed, very often they will attempt to back-peddle out of a deal because they don’t want to incur more charges.
Understanding the ‘personal property sales agreements’ and communicating them effectively has a benefit to both the buyer and the seller. The customer will appreciate your honesty and transparency, and the business will benefit from satisfied customers (or leads) who appreciate your transparency and are willing to close on their agreement, even if this means revealing that they forgot to submit their documentation or payment.
When businesses take the time to understand the fine print, they will be in a better position to educate and equip their employees in the sales department, as well as those who work within automation marketing. Don’t forget that this knowledge is useful in recruiting your talent too, because you can identify gaps where they need further education to enhance their performance. Using the guide “Understanding agreements for sale of personal property: The essential guide” you will be able to grasp the basics, of what happens when a sale of property does not go through as expected; where is the customer responsible and where is the business responsible for financial loss?
