Toby Boyce
By Toby Boyce
“What do you think Heather Jones* does?” my mother-in-law inquired as we followed a heavily decorated mini-van through the streets of a north-central Ohio community.
“Well, I think it would be real estate,” I replied. “You can just make out a ‘just listed’ and ‘sold’ in the paintwork beside the license plate.”
“How in the hell was I suppose to figure that out?” she quipped back.
Ahh, Ms. Jones* — name changed to protect the guilty – did you just get the gist of that conversation? Your marketing while stunningly beautiful and definitely eye catching lacked the most important thing – the why factor.
Why.
It is a simple three-letter word that is often the first question children learn. Yet it is often the last question that we tend – or desire – to address as adults. It is a challenging question – nothing like how. How can be explained away, it is a process. “How am I going to sell your house? Well, first I’m going to…” What, Where, and When are just as easy.
But that continues to bring us back to that pesky “why” and just as important “why did I just do that?”
Every successful agent knows their return on investment for various projects that they continue to run. It doesn’t have to be a hard-and-fast number but something that says this is working and this is not. Has anyone ever gotten a deal directly from giving away a pumpkin at Halloween? Odds are low that many have, but yet hundreds of offices around the country continue to draw people into their office for a free pumpkin. Continue reading »
Jared James
By Jared James
We are only a few days removed from the Navy Seals finally tracking down Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, and while so many are focused on the world reaction, I would like to take a different view as to what this event can teach us as sales people in regards to proper follow-up with prospective clients.
I believe that we have become very much an Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) society that wants immediate gratification or we move on to whatever is next. We are trained as REALTORS® to ask qualifying questions of our prospects with the ultimate goal of determining how serious and qualified they are, but in the back of our minds what we really want to know is if we are wasting our time working with them. Asking qualifying questions is not only smart, it is also good business. But there is a danger in it as well.
Many times if we determine that a prospect is not ready to buy or sell in the next 60 days, we may follow up with them one or two more times, but we end up chasing whatever new prospect comes along and tickles our fancy, thinking it might be a more immediate sale. Take a look at the statistics below and see why this may be an unhealthy practice to adopt for the long-term health of your business.
• 48% of sales people never follow up with a prospect
• 25% of sales people make a second contact and stop
• 12% of sales people make more than three contacts
And yet 26.6% of all inquiries result in a sale
This should motivate you. Continue reading »
Chris Nichols
By Chris Nichols
About a week ago, I had a young couple looking to buy their very first home come interview me. I was quite impressed they were actually doing an in-depth interview to find the right agent to represent them in such an important transaction. It was a welcome surprise, and brought back memories of my experience with a consumer focus group that NAR had me observe. Those buyers had realized they hadn’t interviewed potential representation and had simply gone with the first agent they met.
I was really impressed with the preparation that this couple had put in to asking the right questions. We spent almost an hour together and I enjoyed every minute of it. One of their questions was of particular interest to me. They asked me if I was willing to give up some of my commission if they found the home they wanted to buy on their own and I just handled negotiations and contracts. I explained to them that I was not willing to do that. I told them that where I earn every penny of my commission is in the negotiations, the contracts and in protecting them throughout the process.
I continued by explaining that very rarely do I even get involved in the home searching process, that buyers know what they want better than I do and that using the various online tools allow the consumer to do that quickly and easily. I also made the point that someone who didn’t feel their services were worth every penny and would give up some of their commission for the most important aspects of the transaction, probably wouldn’t be the best negotiator on their behalf.
Fast forward a week… Continue reading »
Stefanie Hahn
By Stefanie Hahn
This video outlines the pros and cons of the iPad and covers the basics that all real estate practitioners should consider before they make their purchase.
Stefanie Hahn is the education director for Coldwell Banker Hearthside, REALTORS® in Malvern, Pa. Visit her Web site: www.StefanieHahn.com.
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