Most real estate development companies offer customers so-called "booking" or reservation of apartments. Such reservation can be different – paid and free of charge, short and long, effective and "empty". When do we need to make a reservation and how to make it effective? Read more.

#1. Make reasonable reservations. A reservation can be considered reasonable if it meets several criteria.

• The client has chosen an apartment and likes it.. A reservation itself will not bring us closer to the transaction. If the client still has any doubts and is choosing between different developers, you need to give them some time. The salesperson must always keep in touch until the client makes a decision.
• The client is satisfied with the price. It does not make sense to make a reservation if the client does not have an opportunity to pay even with the maximum mortgage leverage.
• The client has certain sources of financing the purchase or already has the necessary amount of money. Different payment methods may change the transaction date and even its amount, and the concept of "cash" for a seller and a buyer may be different – that can cash from selling the previous apartment which has not yet been sold. It is better to ask the client about it at the initial stage.
• The client and the salesperson have determined the transaction date. The transaction date may depend on various factors, including consideration of the mortgage application, discussion of an agreement with the bank, or receipt of money from a deposit, the term of which will end in six months. Therefore, salespersons must understand the situation and plan the transaction date.

#2. Consider reservations as a sales funnel stage. We have written about the importance of detailed analytics in the sales sector several times. Reservations shall be defined as a separate stage in sales. This will make the analytics more detailed and, if necessary, will help to understand what business processes in the company are stumbled. Knowing the rate of reservations conversion into transactions, you will be able to accurately plan the result of the month

#3. Make a reservation for a reasonable period. Three to five days are enough for the client to make a final choice, and even to get approval from the bank. Do not delay a transaction date.

#4. Make one reservation per person/family. Check whether there are any previous reservations in the name of the client or their relatives. If salespersons can not see reservations of other specialists, then this should be monitored by the sales manager. So you exclude empty double reservations which do not give any results.

#5. Demand reasonable reservations from real estate agencies. The requirements for reservations must be the same for both your own salespersons and real estate agencies. A real estate agent can not make a reservation in their own name or in the name of an agency for an indefinite period of time while they are looking for a client or while the client is considering offers.

#6. Analyze reservations daily. Control experienced salespersons 1-2 times a week, and beginners – every day. Each salesperson should know that the sales manager can ask about any reservation at any time and request to clarify why the agreement has not yet been concluded. The meaning is still the same: constant monitoring leads to an improvement in the quality of the sales sector, accurate results planning, and a high sales plan implementation level.

Now you know how to make reservations more effective. Use it!