Pick one number to lead each seller update, and say what it cannot tell them
A simple rule for choosing a single figure to open a seller update, with questions to check the figure before you send it.
A seller update can carry many numbers: views, saves, showing requests, days on the market. Leading with all of them makes it hard to see what you want the seller to notice. We suggest leading with one.
This is a writing method. We have not tested it on a set of listings and we do not report results from it.
Choose the number you can explain
Pick the figure you could explain to the seller in a sentence, and that you can trace back to a record you keep. A count from your own showing-request log is easier to defend than a figure from a site you cannot check.
Check it before you send
Ask yourself four things about the number.
- Where did it come from, and can you show the seller?
- What period does it cover, and is that the same period as last time?
- Did anything change in the listing during that period?
- What could the number not tell the seller?
If you cannot answer one of these, leave the number out or say that you could not confirm it.
Put it beside a sentence about what it cannot tell them
After the number, write one sentence on its limits. For example, a count of showing requests does not tell the seller why someone chose not to ask. Keeping that sentence short keeps the update honest without making it gloomy.
Keep the others in the appendix
You can still keep the other figures. Put them lower in the message or in an attachment, so the seller can look if they want to without them competing for attention.
End with the next decision
Finish with what you will decide next and by when, so the number leads somewhere. Writing the decision down is a habit we suggest for every update.
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