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How to Ask for Business from Friends & Family WITHOUT Feeling Awkward

Has this ever happened to you: you wanted to ask a close friend, family member or someone you've recently met if you could be their REALTOR... then stopped yourself because you felt uncomfortable and didn't want to appear pushy?

I've sure felt that way. When I first started in the business, I struggled with how to strike the balance between "Gregg the Friend" and "Gregg the REALTOR". It took me a good six months to realize that patience and a keen ear can make all the difference in getting business from the people I already know.

Patience, because inevitably my friends and family would bring up real estate questions on their own, and a keen ear, because they'd often reference important changes in their lives that would impact where they lived (promotions, new children, kids off to college).

It became easier over time, as I became more comfortable with my local market, and felt at ease discussing it in the context of my friends' specific circumstances. As I mentioned last week, the 2009 National Association of REALTORS® consumer study revealed that 53% of real estate transactions are conducted through our social network. It took some time to get there, but that was certainly consistent with what I saw in my business. Here's how I approached it:

6 Easy Tips to Ask for & Win Business from Friends, Family & Acquaintances

Get my 6 quick tips to make it easy for to ask for business from the people who are most likely to give it to you - the people you already know! >>

Tip #1: Chat casually about the local real estate market.
People always want to know how the market is doing and how much their home is worth. I would call friends, family and acquaintances regularly just to bring them up-to-speed on recent listings, sales and market trends around their homes or in areas they were interested. My brother-in-law loved to hear about the new listings as soon as they came on the market... it was a way for him to understand how his home might be faring. I always kept it conversational, and made sure he never felt pressured. They haven't moved in over a dozen years, but he was always referring me. I never took it for granted that he'd refer me just because we were family... I worked to show him I was keeping their best interests in mind.

Tip #2: Offer information with no strings attached.
I would provide my friends and family regular real estate market updates for their neighborhoods, and then create personalized reports to follow-up. When I started, that consisted of plenty of photocopying, gluing, and "scissoring". My flyers didn't look great, but they sure got noticed. The biggest challenge I had was keeping up with the demand... it was certainly time consuming. Products like Market Snapshot from Top Producer provide the same value, but sure cut down on the time. I would record what information in shared with my family and friends, so I could refer to it later on.

Tip #3: Listen for life changes.
A new job, promotion, marriage, baby, retirement can trigger a move. I would listen for these cues in conversations, and keep track of these changes - first by writing them down in an ad hoc way, and ultimately recording them in my Top Producer. Today, online networks like Facebook® and Twitter® offer an even easier way for us to stay in touch with friends' (which you can follow from Top Producer 8i), so we now have a new way of finding out about life changes that might involve a move. A timely offer of real estate information, and assistance in buying and selling, is never out of place.

Tip #4: Answer questions about the market with "it depends...why do you ask?"
We all get questioned about the real estate market - I preferred to find out what was motivating their questions. Was it simply curiosity? Or because they were thinking of moving soon? I would answer with ‘it depends... why do you ask?' because it really opened up the conversation.

Tip #5: Ask how you can be helpful to their network.
After sending out my personalized flyers, I would ask friends and family if they knew anyone who might want real estate updates for their own neighborhood. I would follow-up with personalized market information. It took time, but was worth every minute.

Tip #5: Don't be afraid to offer assistance.
When it's clear that someone is ready to buy or sell, I was always aware that the process can be stressful, especially for many people buying or selling a home only happens every few years. I would reach out to make it clear that I was there to help. I felt this was always easier if I'd kept them informed on the real estate market. I would refer to the specific market information I'd sent them, ask if they had any questions, then ask if I could schedule a more formal and listing presentation.

Even experienced realtors can feel uncomfortable asking for business from their friends, family, past clients, and acquaintances. Many avoid the conversation at the expense of losing valuable business. I am especially proud of Top Producer's track record in the industry for providing agents tools to reach out to family and friend regularly, and especially the addition of Social Media. As always, you can learn more about turning your social network in a true business asset on our website.

Now that you've seen my list, tell me about yours... how do you ask for business from friends and family?

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STOP TAXATION? - The new changes for FHA loans are being called : The New Homebuyer Tax

 

 

Just last week, Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner David Stevens announced that FHA was changing their annual mortgage insurance plan. - FHA announcement - I wrote about it here : HR Bill 5981 - FHA mortgage insurance.

We now have some groups and people announcing these FHA Loan changes as a tax. Think Big Work Small released their version in this video on Monday. New Homebuyer Tax Starts September 2010 - 08.09.10  - Sounds scary, right?  Because it sounds like the government is taxing us more. But this kind of wording irks me and can make it sound a lot worse than it is, or a lot more expensive. Let me further explain.

 

 

 

I do know where Think Big Work Small is going with their argument in regards to what HUD stated. HUD made this statement in January 2010.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In regards to HUD's statement above, I think I was one of first to question HUD's statement back in January and then I argued this in more detail in this post.  HUD - Don't insult my intelligence about new FHA Loans changes - We can argue HUD's statements until we are blue in the face.

But my concern with others stating that this is a Homebuyer Tax is that I call this a 'spin on words'.  Can we call it a tax?  Sure, I will give everyone that. But why are we calling it a tax.  Are we trying to make the government look bad? Is that person or group trying to make a name in the news by coming up with an interesting subject line or title? Hey, I will admit, I love stirring the pot, to get recognized.  But one thing I despise are those that stir the pot but offer no solutions. If you read many of my posts over the years, I might knock on something, but I try to look at it from both sides and come up with solutions.

 

 

 

 

So let's take it a step further. Could I make this statement and be 100% correct?  If FHA loans were to disappear tomorrow, would our economy crumble to the worst ever? I would say yes and I think many would agree with me. I wrote many reasons why FHA loans should not be abolished. - Should we abolish all FHA loans? - So FHA has raised their monthly mortgage insurance premiums and lowered the upfront mortgage insurance premium. Should we the tax the tax payer?  Should the government print more money to pay for this?  Or should we just pass this along to the borrower?  I would say no, no, and yes.  My question to you... aren't we trying to stimulate the economy? Yes, and to allow FHA mortgages to crumble would defeat this easily.

 

 

 

 

Summary :  In many cases, the grass is always greener on the other side.  Yes, we can complain that the new changes on FHA loans will hurt buyers than help them. But if the mortgage insurance fund wasn't replenished and we lost the ability to do FHA loans, then what would happen?  How about this question. How come many haven't complained about the extremely high pricing hits on conventional loans with LTV's less than 80% and credit scores below 720? If I put 5% down and have a credit score of 679, my penalty would be 1.75 pts.  And don't forget that the mortgage insurance factor on that scenario is much higher than on FHA loans. That is if you could even qualify for mortgage insurance.  Most won't go below a credit score of 680.

 

 

 

FOOD for thought : Remembering the '90s. Many of you might not know or remember, but the one time mortgage insurance premium was once 300 basis points while the monthly mortgage insurance was 50 bps. Really quick.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, your total loan amount would be even more prior to 2000. Now, if I had to choose on how to make some of these changes to FHA mortgages, I would go back to the old, because as you can see, your total payment wouldn't be as much. But FHA is hoping that people hold onto these newer mortgages longer, to recoup more money. As I mentioned in this post, HR Bill 5981 - FHA mortgage insurance, FHA would add about $2,500 more if you held onto the loan for 7 years.

So how do you look at this?  Which would you prefer? What would you call this whole traffic jam of mortgage information?

 

 

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For more information on FHA loans, please go to this link. The FHA Expert

For important mortgage insight to watch for, please read : Consumers need to be aware of these Red Flags!

For information about FHA myths & FHA rumors, please read : FHA Myths & Rumors

 

Copyright © 2010 by Jeff Belonger of Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc

10 Easy Ways to Have Better Communications With Your Customers.

Hi folks. Today I want to talk a little bit about communication. In my opinion, lack of good communication skills and/or systems is the number 1 reason why Sellers and Buyers complain about their agents. In fact, just about every time I go meet with a Seller who has just had their listing expired "lack of communication" is what they complain about.

 

• "They listed my property and I never heard from them again."
  
• "I always had to call them if I wanted an update."
  
• "It would take them days to return my phone call."
  
• "They never answer their phone and their voice mail is full" and on and on and on.

Hopefully this post will help you with some systems. If you want to be a "lister" then you need to master these two things.

1. Price it right.
2. Keep the listing until it sells. This is done by constant communications with your seller.
   

If you can master these two then you will have no problem getting and keeping listings. I've written many times about pricing so I'm not going to touch down on that one again. I'm also not going to talk about being a good communicator. This post is about communication systems. This is what I do once I get a listing.

1. Send the Seller a thank you card when you get back to the office.
   
   
2. Set them up on auto property alerts so as soon as a property similar to theirs or on their street is listed, goes pending or is sold the Seller receives an alert from the MLS. You may want to set  up several of these.
   
   
3. Make a Picasa Web Album with as many pictures of their property as you can. Invite them to the album. Every time an agent goes to show the property send the agent an invite to the web album and cc the Seller.
   
   
4. As soon as the property is entered into the MLS email the Seller the MLS listing.
   
   
5. Set up a video tour and online flyer. Send the link to the "tracking report" to the Seller so they have it. These are usually live reports and will update automatically. The Seller can then click on the link and see how many people are looking at the flyer online. Syndicate the flyer to as many sites as possible.
   
   
6. Create a Google Calendar for the property. Invite the Seller to share the calendar. Every time you take an action on the property enter it into the calendar. The Seller will automatically receive an email with the update. For example: "Had a sign call and sent them the web album. Will follow up tomorrow to see about arranging a showing."
   
   
7. Any time you send out an email related to this listing cc the Seller.
   
   
8. Prepare a new CMA every 30 days and send it to the Seller. ALWAYS suggest a price reduction if needed.
   
   
9. Have your Seller "friend" you on Facebook and Twitter.
   
   
10. Hook them up with a RSS feed (feedburner) for your blog so every time you write a post they get it in their email.

Now folks if you utilize these systems you will rarely have to call your Seller. BUT... they will "hear" from you constantly. You will have no problem keeping the listing until it sells.

In fact, the Sellers will be contacting you for price reductions and listing changes because they are constantly being informed of market conditions. And the beauty is........it's all automated!!! How sweet is that?

***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio.

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