Stefanie Hahn
By Stefanie Hahn
In a recent post here at the YPN Lounge, Jessica Hickok encouraged us to avoid becoming the “Real Turd” who can’t separate his or her work life from anything else. She offered some great tips for managing our daily lives so that we don’t stand out as “that guy” or “that girl” with the annoying Bluetooth thingy and the loud phone screaming all the time.
What I came away wondering, however, was whether there wasn’t another angle to be considered here…the online component of being a REALTOR® in a world where the consumer isn’t willing to wait anymore to be served. According to the most recent survey conducted by the California Association of REALTORS®, 96 percent of Internet home buyers expected contact from an agent within 4 hours of their initial request, while 31 percent of them expected an IMMEDIATE response if they were going to have a relationship going forward.
So how can we offer immediate response AND be the ideal spouse/friend/restaurant patron? Here are some tips I think will help, along with a few things I am pretty sure will just get in your way.
1) Give more information, not less: I know our industry thrived for generations on making sure we were the “keepers of the keys” but now it is time to make sure those consumers who come to us are not just coming because they can’t find our info online.
2) Maximize the power of text messaging: You have a form where people can ask you a question, why not ask them for their cell phone number? Then when you get the info transmitted to you, even if it is in the middle of dinner, you can reply with the classic 140 character retort. My opinion here, but if you text the person back and tell them you are sharing an important family event but that you will either 1) forward their request or 2) get back to them as soon as you are finished they will stay with you…so long as you live up to your word. Continue reading »
Jessica Hickok
By Jessica Hickok
Our profession is one of the most mispronounced professions of all time. Those of us who know that we are REAL-TORS just roll our eyes when someone calls us a Reel-A-Tore.
I remember a story that my broker’s wife told me once when I first got into the business. Her husband (obviously a REALTOR®) took a business call while attending a birthday party. Although he was polite and went outside to handle the call, he was gone for quite some time leaving the wife alone at the party. While he was gone, another party-goer asked the wife where the broker had disappeared to. She casually mentioned that her husband was a REALTOR® and that he had an important contract he was working on, therefore stepping away from the party. The party-goer nodded his head and changed the subject. However, after 10 minutes of conversation, he turned to the broker’s wife and said to her “Your husband should be here enjoying the party not working. You are right, he is a real turd.” Although she understood her husband’s job, she couldn’t help but agree that he was being a real turd for leaving her at the party alone for so long.
I started this post off by writing about how hard it can be to spend quality time with your family, friends and loved ones when being a REALTOR® is often being on-call 24/7. So here are some things to ponder in order to avoid the “real turd” label: Continue reading »
Jeremy Williams
By Jeremy Williams
You wouldn’t believe how many times I was asked who I wanted to win the Super Bowl last weekend. My response was the Houston Texans. With a look of confusion, one person said, “Yeah, do you not know that Houston Texans are not in the Super Bowl? In fact, they did not even make it to the playoffs.” I replied with a confident “yes” and went on my way leaving this person either in utter confusion or thinking I am absolutely crazy.
See, I chose to stick to my favorite team even when the Super Bowl spot light was not shining on them. Of course it would have been easy to turn away from my team, but if I went down that path, I would not have been true to myself. Being true to yourself is key in everyday life as a REALTOR®. Knowing what is right and choosing to do what is right will determine your success in this industry.
In our businesses, there are many opportunities to follow paths that go against what you know is true and right, and most of those are usually camouflaged with dollar signs. Continue reading »
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