Tutorial: What Is the Art of Estate Sale Pre-Selling for Beginners

If you are an estate sale beginner that is launching and promoting estate sales, then you should have an idea of what estate pre-selling is.

If you pre-sell an item, you are not just warming up your prospective buyer so that he or she will have a better idea about making the decision to buy from your estate sale; you are actually making sales before the sale opens to the public, which is frowned upon in this industry.

Pre-selling is not forbidden, but unusual circumstances necessitate doing it—more or less. Theoretically, the “prospective client” may be downsizing to transition into an assisted living facility, but is still living in the home, therefore, would be uncomfortable with having a public estate sale, but may be open to a private estate sale—and a possible limited public sale if all designated items don’t sell.

In this instance, estate sale pre-selling could be arranged for a targeted group of buyers. Publicizing this exception in your estate sale policies will keep you out of trouble and protect your reputation of being trustworthy.

What Is Estate Sale Pre-Selling?

Estate sale pre-selling means the sale-of advertised estate contents before the public has a chance to know about it.

In the above scenario, professional buyers may be invited in advance for a preview, which is an opportunity to view, select and purchase the best items.

There still may be things leftover; so if you have given forethought to your prospective client’s situation, you suggested a one-day, weekend public estate sale of the remaining items, preferably from the garage so buyers won’t have access to the home.

If you really want your estate pre-sale to go well and be successful, you need to keep some things in mind. The majority of successful estate sale professionals know the art of pre-selling, which is exactly why they’re on top of the game.

This article will explore some ways that a beginner can guarantee his or her own success.

• Effective estate sale pre-selling is all about your ability to experiment with the things that work best for your clients and you. Until you are confident about accommodating what your client’s want, and anticipating the way they will react to negative pre-sale results, you need to avoid pre-selling.
• Dealing with the multi-faceted sides of client’s personality and fluctuating sales results are very challenging. That is not to say that you should not try various approaches when it comes to selling estate contents.
• In view of the above example, if your client’s circumstances necessitate a pre-sale, and having one will produce higher gross sales; then you should follow your own judgment. A final caveat: After you have achieved several successful estate sales, try pre-selling.
• As a beginner, you haven't used the pre-selling technique, so doing straightforward estate sales should be your focus now; in addition to convincing your prospective client about your estate sale ability and the benefits it offers, even if you acquired that ability through someone else's estate sale company.

Getting Started In The Estate Sale Business Is More Competitive Than Ever Before

The more experience you have the better. Contact your former estate sale employer that you have actually worked with first hand, and see what kind of written reference they can give you. The idea behind this technique is that, by leveraging your experience, you can actually win over a prospective client with your confidence when you suggest pre-selling.

As you focus on getting your first clients, get estate sale experts to testify about your ability if you have the contacts to do so; and ask these professionals for any advice they may be willing to give you about pre-selling as well.

On your website, it's also a good idea to include testimonials from former estate sale employers or schools that are well respected in this industry. If these experts have become well known, make sure that they will impress your prospective clients.

Even though pre-selling is usually for advanced estate sale professionals, getting a good start on learning this technique simply requires you to take specific action at specific times, such as I mentioned in the above example.

Learning how to pre-sell properly isn't hard; but your primary focus needs to be on building regular estate sales from the very beginning.

Work on the basics of launching and managing estate sales, and get them right before you jump into pre-selling. Have confidence that you have strong and efficient estate sale skills to sell, manage, promote; and make sure that you are not hasty in your decisions.

You can get great results from estate sale pre-selling, but it will take time to build your confidence when you’re just getting started, even if you have the basic estate sale management skills. When you feel ready, and the client’s situation calls for it, suggest pre-selling and watch your sales skyrocket!

Thanks for reading and watch our videos daily, and post a Comment to ask me anything about estate sales!

Written by Tonza Borden from Atlanta, Georgia:  Hi, I'm estate liquidator of EstateSaleServiceAtlanta.com, and publisher of Secret Of Estate Sales Marketing Success: REAL Estate Sale Techniques & Templates To Go From Beginner To Getting An Endless Stream Of Estate Sale Clients. I help people find the resources they need to succeed in estate liquidation, worldwide.