Communication is the “life-blood” of relationships of all kinds. Its importance can’t be overestimated. I believe for REALTORS we must communicate carefully, consistently and completely with the people in our lives – our family, customers, colleagues & clients.

The modes of communication have changed rapidly in the last few years. Just over 10 years ago, we didn’t have the number of cell phones or the smart phone technology that we have today. We simply called clients and had a phone conversation. Today, we have email, text and Facebook messenger to name a few. I think it is important to find out how clients like to be communicated with. I turned 50 back in October and I learned recently that the average age of a REALTOR is 51 – so I guess I’m average. The average client is age 36 – 15 years younger! Texting is fast becoming the preferred mode of communication. I have a lot of clients under age 30 who love texting. I first learned to text because my kids love to text. I can most often get an immediate response from texting and not be able to speak with them on the phone. You can text when in a large meeting, (although it’s still has etiquette issues) when you can’t answer the phone.

Email is closing in on texting as a favored mode of communication, because of the great detail you can add to what’s being communicated. You can attach multiple documents, pictures, etc. to can email. Today’s smart phones have email coming to your phone, so you no longer have to be at your laptop or desktop to email clients. I’ve forwarded contracts, plats and closing statements all from my smart phone.

WARNING! There is a big danger in this type of communication. When texting or emailing there is matter of tone. If I’m not careful, it will seem like I’m frustrated in a text or email when I’m really not. These types of communications do not have emotion included. They are sometimes received with emotion. Sometimes I simply pick up the phone and decide NOT to email or text anymore about a certain subject because of the emotion involved. There are times that even a phone call is too impersonal and a face to face meeting is in order.

Knowing how to communicate with clients is often just as important as WHAT we communicate. The message isn’t a message at all until it’s received and what the client receives is REALLY the message. Communication is VERY CRUCIAL to all our relationships – we must get it right!

Press On!

DH

I love the morning time. Everything seems new and fresh with every new morning. Think about – a new day is beginning. The new day can hold so much promise and hope. It can bring solutions to struggles. It can bring hope to what seems like hopeless situations.  I like to the think of the morning as a “fresh start” on many fronts.  The mistakes of yesterday or now history and I have a new canvas to paint upon today.

Good morning world! Let’s get started!!

Pressing On!

Dwayne

Sometimes it’s easy to make a mistake and kill the deal. 

I had a listing that didn’t look great “on paper”, meaning the sellers were way out of price for what they were describing to me. However, I told my assistant that I would go through the process with them to see exactly where things were.  The people reminded me of my Mom and Dad and out of respect for them, I wanted to give this my best shot. After meeting with them in the office, I set an appointment to go see their property. It was to be after picking up my kids from school.  I didn’t write it down on my calendar.(Big Mistake) My daughter called and asked to do something for her and off I went.  I called the seller today to apologize and they have “made other arrangements”.  I felt bad, mainly because I had not meant to disrespect their time.  I will be looking to see this property in the MLS – Oh Well.

I’ve determined that there are 4 things to do when I make a mistake.

1.   Take responsibility that is really mine

2.    Ask for forgiveness

3.    Make Amends

4.   Move On!

I’m on to present an offer to a seller. I’m writing this blog for therapy too!!  I hate that I make mistakes.

Pressing On!

DH

I passed by a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) on my way in to the office this morning. I was reminded of my interview with the couple of this particular house. They, as many sellers, thought that their house was worth way more than the market says.  If top producing REALTOR’S are trying to list your house, then you have priced yourself out of the market.  If sellers price themselves outside of the market, they will watch their home sit on the market for months.

The Real Estate market is still viable, but you must be priced to sell within this market. The market does not have emotion. The market is just facts.  I’ve had many conversations with sellers who will need to sit out for several months.  I’m happy to list new properties for sale in this market, but the property needs to be priced properly.

I am about to do some major cleaning and put stuff in closets and store it away for possible reference, but not daily use.

I'm talking about cleaning up my computer. These machines are much like our home or office. File folders need to be purged and cleaned up. I keep everything until the file closes and there are times, that I just need to clean it up before filing.  My computer files are no different. I still have property photos on homes that I sold nearly a year ago. These are taking up valuable space in my harddrive. I can compress files and then archvive them and take up very little space. I can also drop the archives on a small thumb drive of 8 Gig or so.

I really need to do this a lot more often as I can tell a huge difference in the speed of my computer.

Press On!

Dwayne

Our company built a parade float for the Peoples Parade for the 4^th of July in our town of Carrollton, Georgia.  We went with the theme of "Backyard Bar-B-Q. We had a playhouse on the back of a 24’ trailer. We had agents to build a picket fence, agents who painted. We then put down green indoor/outdoor carpet for the grass, a kiddie pool with agents kids and a grill with a friend cooking real burgers.  We passed out small American flags with our company name on the stick, patriotic wrapped bubble gum, branded jar openers and small branded Frisbees. We won 1^st place in the small business category!  I am so proud of our team.

Now, the real work begins. The parade is a huge advertising splash. There were probably 7 – 8 thousand people along the parade route. It was a great opportunity to make a statement that our company is here and we are a strong, independent real estate company.  I am constantly challenging our agents to be over the top with excellent service.  Our advertising is only worth it if we can deliver!

I’m grateful to all who participated in the parade – because in the end I felt like we found favor with the people among whom we work and live. That can turn into listings and buyers who need our services. That makes the hard work worth it.

Pressing on!

DH

I recently went on a great vacation with my family and had a blast hanging out and getting some much needed time away.  My assistant did an outstanding job keeping work moving right along. Right before I left I was working on two listings that looked to be very good prospective sales. In fact both owners said to call them when I returned and we would list their properties respectively.

So I get into the office on the Monday morning after vacation (an hour early) knowing that today will be a tough day playing catch up and touching all my clients and customers. I get an email from the one man who’s decided “to go a different route for the next 90 days”. I interpreted that as, listing with someone else. About 30 minutes later, the other man calls to tell me he sold his house to a friend of a friend on Fathers Day.  I was stunned.  This was two really good listing leads that could have potentially generated good income.

I should have wrapped up both listings BEFORE going on vacation. I had a friend remind me that he was told early on in Real Estate that TIME IS NOT YOUR FRIEND in Real Estate. I concur. This was a hard lesson learned. What makes each situation harder is that I had already been working my network and had a prospective buyer for each listing – bummer.

I responded to each man with as much grace and understanding as I could muster. If I were a drinking man, I would have probably left the office at 9:30 AM for a strong stiff drink.  I sucked it up and before the end of the day had written two offers and listed two more homes. I’m thankful for the business that I do have and I must keep my head up!

I’m pressing on!!

DH

Anticipation
My 13 year old son Matthew, recently sold an item on e-bay for much more than I thought it was worth and he turned right around and purchased a used Macbook computer from e-bay after putting some birthday money with it.  The order was placed and the money changed hands, we began waiting for the package to arrive.

So it’s a gorgeous Saturday morning and the sun is out. Matthew and Luke and their two cousins will play for a while outdoors, then Matthew returns to the front porch where he can see the mail truck arrive. He is waiting and waiting.  I forgot to mention that I had received a notice on my front door that said a parcel that required a “signature upon delivery” was waiting on me at the post office. I went by the Post Office and I knew when I saw the box that it was the long awaited package.  I called my wife to see what the kids were doing and Matthew was still waiting on the porch for the mail truck. I could hardly wait to get home.

It was lots of fun seeing the joy and excitement on his face when his “new” computer arrived. He loves learning and working on his computer – what can I say, he’s a bit of a geek like his dad!  I remember being a kid and anticipating something new and watching my son took me back. Oh to be a kid again and be full of anticipation and excitement! That's how I want to view my work with clients and customers!

Pressing On!
Dwayne

I can't believe it - I got a lead from Walt Disney recently on my website. He wanted to know the value of his home here in Carroll County.  Unfortunately I couldn't help him, because he didn't give his street address on the input form.

I know that people want anomonity, but good grief - could they not be more creative than that?

I want to work everyday to build trust in the community that I work - so that people know I will not pester them to death. I will not make false promises. I will not fluff up the CMA just to tell them what they want to hear. I will speak truthfully - deal with them respectfully and honestly.

I guess Walt really doesn't live here - I must confess though, it made me smile.

Pressing On!

Dwayne

I had an unusual Saturday recently – I was home working around the house! (Saturday’s are usually a working day for a REALTOR.) I was working on a project and needed a quick “Home Depot run” to pick up parts and supplies. Since I only live about 5 minutes away, I jumped in the car and headed that way. About a mile from my house, I realized that I had forgotten my phone at home. A ton of questions flooded my mind….. Should I turn the car around and go get it? What will happen if my wife calls? What if my car breaks down? What if I have a flat tire? What if I need to play games while waiting in line to check out? Can I make it for 30 minutes without my cell phone?

My cell phone is a must for many reasons… in fact I made a list:
1.    I can talk from most any place – especially with Verizon !
2.    I can have a text conversation – while on the phone.
3.    I can check my email and respond quickly.
4.    I can enter an appointment on my calendar from my phone.
5.    I can use the phone’s GPS feature. (It’s better than my Garmin)
6.    I can use my Supra E-Key from my phone to open houses.
7.    I can surf the internet at a moment’s notice.
8.    I can have my own “hotspot” for my laptop internet connection.
9.     I can update Twitter and Facebook.
10.    I can check today’s weather and the week ahead
11.    I can take pictures of listings, or video something that’s funny or rare.
12.    I can record ideas and things using the voice recorder
13.    I can use my phone as a translator from English to Spanish for my son Luke.
14.    I can use my phone as a flashlight.
15.    I can use my phone to geocache.
16.    I can use my phone to play angry birds, spades, hearts…or hundreds more.

I could go on and on and on! My phone is probably more important than my computer and that is saying a lot.  I can remember a time when I didn’t have a cell phone and we did fine – it was a bit harder to on work mobility.
It seems with such a time-saving device that I should have lots of time for relaxation with my family. I think I’ve found ways to do more work. I need to take a breath and leave my phone behind a bit more often – a brief break won’t stop the wheels of real estate. By the way,  I actually made the trip to Home Depot and back just fine and I missed no calls or important emails during the trip!

Pressing On!
DH

P.S. Can you help me add to the list of phone uses?