6. Not focusing on service ‘wow’

Less than 25% of all agents send surveys after closing. According to customer satisfaction surveys today, consumers aren’t exactly thrilled with the level of service. Building a career based on delighted buyers, sellers, and other agents, assures you build a long-term career–at one quarter the marketing dollars expended!

Recommendation: Include a survey at closing with every ‘thank you’ letter and gift you deliver to buyers and sellers at closing.

Click here to download my ‘ After the Sale’ closing survey.

7. Listing properties that don’t sell

What’s wrong with that, you say? After all, you got a sign up. You got sign calls. You made money. But, what about the seller? Was he thrilled with your service? You can bet not. Without knowing it, an agent who lists a property that doesn’t sell provides more negative PR to himself, his company, and the industry than all other real estate behaviors combined.

Recommendation: In your business plan for next year, shoot for 85-90% of your listings selling within normal market time. It’s the way to build a great referral business at low cost.

8. Not qualifying buyers before putting them in your car

When I was a new agent, I put everybody and anybody in my car. My motto was, “Either they get tired and buy from me, or I get too tired to show them any more homes and they don’t buy.” Not exactly professional (and I corrected that habit). Yet, many agents are still putting too many “non-buyers” in their cars.

Recommendation: Use a comprehensive buyer information questionnaire, so you’re sure you’re meeting the needs of that buyer AND working with a bona fide buyer.

9. Not asking directly for loyalty

Recently, an agent told me that he doesn’t ask for loyalty. He thinks, by showing the buyers what a good job he’s doing, they’ll figure out they should be loyal. I’ve got a secret for you: Buyers don’t know that’s what they’re supposed to do–they don’t know the game. How do I know? I tried it that way, too.

Recommendation: Decide where, when, and how you’ll ask for loyalty. Practice your presentation until you’re sold, yourself, on your unique value as a selected ‘pro’. Go to your manager or coach and practice dialogue until you’re comfortable with it. Get feedback on what comes across as beneficial to the client, vs. what is perceived as self-serving.

10. Not building the value of working with you

Let’s get blunt: Why should I work with you? What’s so terrific and different about you and your service, that, out of the ten agents I’ll meet today as I look at open houses, I could spot you as exceptional in a minute? Because, you see, that’s about all it takes for a buyer or seller decide whether they want to entrust tens of thousands of their hard-earned dollars to us!

Recommendation: Write down at least ten talents, skills, and areas of knowledge you possess (not in real estate), that would be benefits to buyers and sellers. Now, attach benefits. Now, say them aloud. Last, create visuals to back up your claims.

Don’t forget: Click here to get my ‘ After the Sale’ closing survey.

Which of these recommendations can you implement to greatly improve your production and profits for next year?

Where can you get more information to get past those career barriers? My consultative resource, The On Track to Success in 30 Days System for the Experienced Agent, gives you dozens of tips on how to figure out what’s right and what’s holding you back in your business. Then, I provide recommendations in each chapter, plus a 30-day regeneration plan.  See more here.

How do you set the stage for a professional relationship with a seller?  How do you list properties that sell? Most likely you’ll have a phone conversation with the seller before you do anything else.  This is where many agents waste time and energy.  They hear the seller say, “I want you to come over and tell me what my house is worth”, so they run over.  Then, they find out the seller is listing with another agent, wants the evaluation for insurance purposes, or wants to move in one year, etc. Even worse, the seller says, “Just drop a competitive market analysis (CMA) on my doorstep. I’ll let you know if I want you to list the property.” The agent dutifully completes a CMA, drops it on the doorstep, and finds out another agent has listed the property!

 Five Questions to Answer to Set Your Professional Standards 

Avoid wasting your time and being disappointed. Here are five important considerations to answer for yourself to see if your “pre-first visit” system is up to standard: 

1. Would you go to a seller’s home just because he asked you to come over? If not, what are your standards? 

2. Would you give the seller a price opinion without a thorough analysis of the market trends and of the property? 

3. Would you go to the seller’s home without knowing why he is moving? 

4. Would you go if the seller wouldn’t let you explain how you work? 

5. Would you go to the seller’s home of all sellers were not present? 

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you probably are doing too much work listing properties for not enough income! Establishing standards to meet for first visits to sellers, along with a pre-first visit questionnaire, will assure you use your time wisely.

Want much more help in screening sellers AND convincing them to list at the right price? Take a look at Your Client-Based Marketing System. Powerpoint presentation, plus dozens of tips on presenting professionally. Take charge of your listing process now!

The listing sold quickly

The listing sold for close to full price

 The Agent-Centered Process

You can guess what that is: The agent creates dialogue to get the seller to list with him/her at any price–so the agent will have a listing he/she can market to snag buyers.

The Cient-Centered Approach Gets You Referrals

If what the client wants from us is a “sold” sign on the property, and that’s the only way they rate us highly–and give us referrals, then, it makes sense to do a  listing and marketing process that creates the higher levels of customer satisfaction. By the “client-centered” approach, I mean to keep the client’s best interest first at heart—not the agent’s!

Five Questions to Ask Yourself

Here are five questions to ask yourself, to see which kind of process you use—and tips to change your process to true ‘client-centered’.

1. Do you have an ‘information-loaded’, prioritized listing system? If you don’t have a complete process, you aren’t instilling trust and confidence in the seller.

2. Do you educate from the beginning, or do you just sell, sell, sell (tell) ? A pre-first visit package educates seller and shows your professionalism.

3. Are you a ‘property information gatherer’ or a ‘people consultant’? An in-depth questionnaire focusing on their needs proves you care more about them than getting a sign on the property.

4. What’s your objective? The statistics prove that most agents’ objective is to list the property. That is not in the client’s best interests. To change to client-centered marketing, you must focus on listing only saleable properties.

5. Do you provide the seller a written marketing plan? A professional marketing company always provides the plan in writing. Shouldn’t you?

Looking for guidance in how to make your process truly client-based? Take a look at the CRS-recommended resource, Your Client-Based Marketing System.      In it, you’ll see all the questionaires you need, a PowerPoint presentation, ready to use, a marketing plan, and much more. Save time and compete with the mega-agents.      

Listing properties. If you’re finding it increasingly difficult to list properties at the right price, it may be because you’re working too hard  trying to talk the seller into it, and are not working hard enough to show a seller into it. Sellers, like all of us, believe what they see, not what they hear.

Go visual. Instead of trying to tell a seller what you know to be true, back up your statements with statistics, graphs, facts, etc. You do this in your market analysis. But, most agents don’t do this with the rest of their marketing plans. Start now gathering information to back up your chosen marketing strategies.

For example, if you’ve found, through your experience, that open houses do not sell that particular home, start keeping statistics of your open house visitors, their needs, and what happened to them during their buying cycle. You want to provide sellers the information they need to make good decisions, and to support your marketing plan.

Ideas galore. If you’re wondering exactly how to create those visuals, check out Your Client-Based Marketing System. Dozens of ideas on how to create proof that you know what you’re talking about!

I’m pleased, too, that CRS (Certfied Residential Council) has just featured this resource this month. This resource has been test marketed and approved by the CRS Council, too.

What do I mean? First, ‘buyer agency’ of course means representing the best interests of the buyer. ‘Seller agency’ means representing the best interests of the seller. What are the best interests of the seller? According to thousands of sellers in a Consumer Reports survey , they are satisfied with the level of service when the

1. listing sold quickly

2. listing sold for close to listed price

We all know that listings priced right sell faster and for closer to full price. So, practicing ‘seller agency’ includes taking marketable listings–not over-priced ones.

Agent Agency Practice Doesn’t Put These Two Goals First

‘Agent agency’ means you are listing properties for what you think are your best interests, not the seller’s.  What are those ‘best interests’?

Okay: Maybe the picture’s a little much….

Agents tell me they take over-priced properties because

1. They’re afraid if they don’t take the listing, someone else will. Their selfishness comes first. (Does your doctor give you the medicine you want, because, if he doesn’t, someone else will?! Doctors who do this are convicted of mal-practice–or worse)

2. They think they can ‘get the price down later’ and want to control the property themselves from the beginning. This self- serving tactic costs the seller thousands in proceeds because shopworn properties, on the market a long time, result in much lower selling prices—just look at the sale racks at clothing stores! (And look at your MLS statistics)

3. They want to use the property as a ‘bait and switch’. Agents know that signs and ads–plus online marketing– bring calls. They know the potential buyer won’t buy that over-priced property, so they always have other right-priced properties in mind—to switch them to. Doesn’t this sound exactly like a ‘used-car salesman’ approach?

How to Identify If You’re an ‘Agent Agency’ Practitioner

You’ll know when you answer this question. Do you know the percent of your listings that sell in normal market time? If it’s less than 70%, I think you’re practicing what I call  ‘agent agency’. (You may not even realize you’re practicing this way).

What Do You Think?

What percent of listings sold in normal market time in your price range seems to indicate that the agent is practicing seller agency? What percent indicates the agent is practicing ‘agent agency’? What do you think?

In my next blogs, I’ll help you switch from that tempting ‘agent agency’ to what I call ‘client-based’ marketing. You’ll gain a great reputation and make your listing life much better!

What percent of listings are selling in your marketplace? If you don’t know, find out—right now. (And, use the information in your listing presentations. Sellers need a ‘reality check’). I’ll bet there isn’t a huge percentage selling in a reasonable amount of time. So, how do you avoid wasting your time dragging yourself to seller presentations that don’t result in a marketable listing?

Setting the Stage

How do you set the stage for a professional relationship with a seller?  Most likely you’ll have a phone conversation with the seller before you do anything else.  This is where many agents waste time and energy.  They hear the seller say, “I want you to come over and tell me what my house is worth”, so they run over.  Then, they find out the seller is listing with another agent, wants the evaluation for insurance purposes, or wants to move in one year, etc. Even worse, the seller says, “Just drop a competitive market analysis (CMA) on my doorstep. I’ll let you know if I want you to list the property.” The agent dutifully completes a CMA, drops it on the doorstep, and finds out another agent has listed the property! Who wins here?

Five Questions You Should Answer for Yourself to Save Your Time and Set Your Professional Standards

Do you have standards for those sellers? You should. Avoid wasting your time and being disappointed. Here are five important considerations to answer for yourself to see if your “pre-first visit” system is up to standard:

1. Would you go to a seller’s home just because he asked you to come over? If not, what are your standards?

2. Would you give the seller a price opinion without a thorough analysis of the market trends and of the property?

3. Would you go to the seller’s home without knowing why he is moving?

4. Would you go if the seller wouldn’t let you explain how you work?

5. Would you go to the seller’s home of all sellers were not present?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you probably are doing too much work for not enough income! Establishing standards to meet for first visits, along with a pre-first visit questionnaire will assure you use your time wisely.

Looking for guidance in listing practices? Want an effective questionnaire for sellers? This resource has a PowerPoint presentation, along with dozens of ways to answer the sellers’ toughest questions.

Take a look.

Don’t Kid Yourself

You may be thinking that you don’t associate with other agents in your office. Yet, you’re getting all kinds of influences every day that, in turn, influence how you do business. It’s just sub-conscious.

Let’s look at a study, to see what others think.  In a recent survey of over 70,000 business professionals, when asked if slackers affected their business performance,

Put yourself around other high achievers.

In a recent survey of over 70,000 business professionals, when asked if slackers affected their business performance,

I know, as a performing musician, that I only perform as well as the worst musician in my group. So, if you’ve been hanging around with poor real estate agents (or managers), it’s sub-consciously affecting your attitude and production. Cut loose and find some winners to emulate (and be ready to compete at a higher level).

Side note to those in management: In this study, when asked the effect low performers/slackers had retention, 87% said low performers caused them to seek a different work atmosphere (Retention, anyone?) (We’ll tackle leadership issues like this in my 365 Leadership series. See www.365leadership.net for all the information )

Ready to Break Through that Ceiling of Achievement?

Why do some agents keep creating higher, better careers, while others falter? You can break through those ceilings of achievement with the only resource of its kind: The On Track to Success in 30 Days System for Experienced Agents. (not for those under 1 year in the business). And, managers–we have a coaching companion for you that gives you all the ‘inside scoop’ on how to coach your seasoned agents. See specials on the complete coaching system February, too, at www.carlacross.com.

The “Client-Centered” Approach

If what the client wants from us is a “sold” sign on the property, and that’s the only way they rate us highly, then, we must change our methods of listing and marketing properties to create higher levels of customer satisfaction. By the “client-centered” approach, I mean to keep the client’s best interest first at heart—not the agent’s!

Here are five questions to ask yourself, to see which kind of process you use—and tips to change your process to true ‘client-centered’.

1. Do you have an ‘information-loaded’, prioritized listing system? If you don’t have a complete process, you aren’t instilling trust and confidence in the seller.

2. Do you educate from the beginning, or do you just sell, sell, sell (tell) ? A pre-first visit package educates seller and shows your professionalism.

3. Are you a ‘property information gatherer’ or a ‘people consultant’? An in-depth questionnaire focusing on their needs proves you care more about them than getting a sign on the property.

4. What’s your objective? The statistics prove that most agents’ objective is to list the property. That is not in the client’s best interests. To change to client-centered marketing, you must focus on listing only saleable properties.

5. Do you provide the seller a written marketing plan? A professional marketing company always provides the plan in writing. Shouldn’t you?

Polish your ‘seller process’ to assure it is ‘client-centered’. Much more information about how to do that–and gain marketable listings is in Your Client-Based Marketing System.

For many more dialogues, see Your Client-Based Marketing System—the complete seller marketing tool).

First, Decide What You Want

Sellers are pretty clever. They will say, “I just love you, Carla. You are so professional! We want you to list the property. But, we want our price.” So, you’re flattered. But, ask yourself, “What do I want? Do I want a listing and happy sellers for a short period of time, only to disappoint them when it doesn’t sell, or do I want a long-term professional relationship based on trust and honesty?”

The Dialogue

I hope you answered the latter. If so, this dialogue is for you. Here are the five steps:

1. After the seller states his price, ask, “If I were to list the home today at your price, on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being high, how would you rate me in customer satisfaction right now?”

2. “What would cause you to lower your rating?”

3. “If the house doesn’t sell within ______ days or ________weeks, how would you rate me?”

4. “I would rather turn down your listing now, and have you refer me to others, because I was honest with you now, than take your listing today to please you—and disappoint you greatly when your home doesn’t sell.”

5. “I assume you expect me to market your home to a ‘sold’ sign, not just put up a sign and wait for something to happen. I know I can’t get a ‘sold’ sign on your home at this price, so I don’t want to promise you something that I can’t deliver. My reputation isn’t worth a sign on your property.”

When you start using this dialogue, you will be amazed that you will have sellers stopped in their tracks, because you told them the truth! The majority of the time, this dialogue will re-open the question of pricing, and you will list the property at the right price.

Last question: How much ‘substantiation’ do you have to prove your price is right? Watch our next blogs to get ideas on how to gain credibility.