Toby Boyce
By Toby Boyce
The couple slid through the front door, their faces painted with obvious pain and anguish over having to go through this all over again – and after talking to them, it became very obvious why.
This was the first time I’d met the couple, but I was far from their first real estate agent who they’d viewed houses with. A past client referred them my direction and as we stood in that house, it became obvious that the agents they’d met were not paying attention to the clients.
While I’m sure that no one that reads the YPN blogs is guilty of this at all, it seemed a good time to remind other professionals of a few items.
You Work for the Buyer (or Seller). This is an amazing concept, I know. While many clients will lean on your expertise the key is to remember that every – and I do mean EVERY – decision in this transaction is theirs. Stop putting your values, ideas, and personal biases on to your customers – they don’t care and more importantly it could be a lawsuit waiting to happen if it is deemed to be steering due to a protected class.
Lead the Horse To Water, Let It Drink. The neighborhood isn’t the best one in the market – but which is the best? Is that a subject or objective statement? Of course it is subjective which means it needs to be left up to your clients. Showing houses last weekend and the street felt very busy to me and the buyers have a young child – made me uncomfortable. Did I voice my concern to the buyer? Of course, but it was in a constructive way, suggesting they come by the house a few times to make sure they were comfortable with the traffic and speed on the street. Led them to the water hole, and to drink or not was their decision. Oh yeah, and they wrote on the house.
Show Some Personality. I’m unique; actually I believe when I was in school the word was “special.” And I’m proud of that. You should be to. Embrace who you are and utilize it to the best of your abilities. I’m a natural educator and I believe that my home buyers are some of the most educated about the process in the area. I work with people who share similar beliefs from an affiliate stand point and it has worked for me during my four-and-a-half years in real estate. Continue reading »
Lynn Minnick
By Lynn Minnick
I’ve been marketing the crazy out of a high-end listing. (Yes, I’m fairly sure I just made up that expression…but this is about getting creative, right?) This is easily the hardest I’ve ever worked to sell a listing. In this market, I went in knowing it would be a challenge, armed with an arsenal of creative ideas and a full social media marketing plan. Taking a partner on this project was necessary because I knew I would be traveling abroad for an extended time during the listing period, but it has been great to have someone to bounce ideas around with. Because of this, we’ve done some interesting things that might give you a few ideas.
Monica Seles
We started off with hosting “An Evening With Monica Seles” in NYC through the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I., and by sponsoring the Campbell Tennis Tournament. We did this because the property has a Har-Tru tennis court overlooking the Connecticut River. (See, Monica is such a good sport – having her picture taken with our sign!) Sure, we had broker tours as well as the requisite broker’s open house, but we made it memorable by creating a micro-cocktail named after the property (we called it “The Knowles”), sushi and seafood appetizers, a wine and dessert tasting by the river, and an amazing door prize giveaway (tickets to the U.S. Open!).
We’ve been in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and on every online venue we should be. We’ve targeted the agents selling high-end waterfronts with glossy mailers and e-mails. Continue reading »
Brooke Wolford
By Brooke Wolford
I recently decided to let go of a client. It was a really hard decision for me to have to tell a buyer that I couldn’t work with them anymore. In all, I had to weigh my options.
When I had initially starting working with this buyer, it was after a big dispute with another agent in my office. (See my previous blog posts Learning Valuable Lessions and Learning Valuable Lessons, Part II )
This was the buyer involved. I spent almost four months working with him. In that time, I had showed them 106 homes and most were 20 miles or more away from my office. This person would call me and stop in my office randomly and want to look at home now! This person also stopped by my house one day, as well. He ended up deciding to move out of state. A month later, he decided he was going to stay in state and start looking again.
I ended up showing the client a few homes again. Still nothing. He really didn’t know what he wanted. I started to get pretty frustrated.
I decided to tell him that I could no longer work with him. I stated that I needed to really know what type of house he wanted. Until he could figure it out, we needed to take a break. I hated to have to let him go, considering all I went through for this buyer but I could no longer be a glorified chauffer. Continue reading »
Michelle Flaherty
By Michelle Flaherty
A couple weeks ago, I received an e-mail from a person I didn’t know. The person was inquiring on a property that another broker in my office had listed, and they wanted to set up an appointment to view it.
So I did a few things I almost always do before I meet a new prospective client. First, I Googled them. If a person’s name and e-mail/phone number they contacted me from is nowhere to be found on the Internet, it’s not an automatic red flag, but it’s not helpful either. Next, I Facebook searched this person — not to learn anything personal, but just to see a photo and if we have any mutual friends. In this case, nothing turned up. Finally, because I didn’t know who I was meeting, I brought my team member along with me… who also happens to be my father.
I could tell during the showing that the customer was bothered by my father’s presence. Their comments and demeanor implied that they knew exactly why my father was there, and was offended by my lack of trust. Sensing the customer’s discomfort, my anxiety level became elevated as well. Elevated heart rate, pit in my stomach, the whole bit. As it turned out, the property wasn’t a fit for this person. Whether or not he was well-meaning , I’ll never know. This person never called me again, and I never followed up. The potential business didn’t seem worth recreating the awkwardness of that showing. Continue reading »
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