Real Estate is Sales, Sell it!

I love sales!  No not the Sleazy Used Car type. Sales, helping clients find what they are looking for. That is what a real estate salesman does. What are your needs and how can my experience and training help you? I read and attend tons of Sales Training, some good some not.

I just came across this great post from Gavin Ingham.  He is a Sales Trainer whose blog I just found about a week ago. While his article is about Selling in a Recession, he gives a great example of what many real estate agents are doing in this slower market.

One of my friends went down to our local real estate agent this week to put his house on the market. He was told that maybe he should wait as he might not get the price he wants right now. They told him the market was quiet and that might not be able to sell the house at all. Better to wait for the market to pick up. I walked past their offices later on that day. They were all sitting, chatting and drinking coffee. They were probably moaning about what a bad year it's going to be. If I's have been in that office, I'd have taken my mates house on and I'd have been on the phone drumming up some viewings. 50 calls, 100, calls, 500 calls... Whatever it takes. I'd have found someone.

That is the truth if I ever heard it.  What is your real estate agent willing to do for you?  While yes we all like to build our business on referrals, do we sell homes through referrals? NO! Homes are sold through effective marketing and great follow-up on leads and responses to that marketing. Calling back everyone who calls on the sign or the 20+ web markets the home is advertised on.  With a little effort we can collect the leads that are interested in a home.

Yes we can network with other agents, but that is just part of the game. We have to make the calls, follow-up, beat the pavement, find the buyers.  It's our Job!  If someone wants to Sell their home, Sell it.  Now I am not saying that as agents we can sell any listing. The home must be priced right and in the right condition.  If a home meets these conditions it will sell in ANY market, with great follow-up and diligence of the agent.

Even an under-priced steal of a deal won't sell if the agent spends all their time talking with other agents in the break room at the office.  I have never sold a home to another agent and doubt I ever will.  That's why I try to spend my time away from the office. Whether I am holding Mid-Week Opens or Previewing or in my home office Smiling and Dialing, I am working for my clients.

What are you willing to do for your clients?  If your not an agent, What do you expect your agent to do for you?

Stay Tuned for More.

The Guide To Seattle Real Estate.

Are Real Estate Negotiations Zero Sum

After reading a great post by Charles over at Portland Real Estate Blog,  a little could be added to our discussion about real estate negotiations. Is it always a Zero Sum Game?

One of the first principles learned when studying negotiation tactics, is to make sure to leave your opponent feeling like they got a good deal.  This can be tough especially when using terms like opponent and zero sum. Homeowners hire agents to play this game tough and get the best possible price for their home. This is zero sum, what one side wins the other loses.

But while our goal as agents is to get the best possible deal for our clients, we must remember that there are people on the other side of the transaction.  Now we're not talking about being easy on the other side. But, I have come very close to losing transactions because the agent on the other side of the deal was demanding the world, rudely. My clients felt insulted by the underlying tone that was coming across during the negotiations process. Their first reaction was to just walk away.

We had a difficult conversation about what their true goals were and how, once they owned the home they would never have to "deal" with the other agent or seller again.  Their response was to continue with the process, but fight tooth an nail for everything they could, even at risk of throwing the deal. Game On! We got what they wanted, but came close to losing the deal.

Risk vs Reward, this is a personal level that we all have to choose. I have found that by personally presenting offers or adding personalized letters; this paints a human face on the offer.  It can reduce the "cut-throat" edge on the other side. Always give the impression that the other side "got the best" of the deal.  This way they feel satisfied and are less likely to come back for more.

Reasons for being a Real Estate Agent.

While I was in college, being a real estate agent was the last career on my mind. I knew that I was headed into business, preferably one that I could own myself. I have always had the entrepreneurial spirit. I wanted to be of service to others. In fact I have a well defined life purpose: To be of maximum service to God and the people around me.

I love fitness! Being an avid rock climber and mountaineer, physical exercise is a large part of my life. So, when I was in school I thought that I should become a Physical Therapist. I could own my own practice, be of service to others, and teach others how to use exercise to heal from injury. Sounds perfect doesn't it?

Nope, not for me. I loved the Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy, in addition to my regular Business degree classes. But part of the path was to volunteer or work for other PTs. I acquired about 800 hours of paid/volunteer time. They have this requirement for a reason. If you are going to get your Doctor in PT then you had better be sure you want to do it.

The PTs in private practice that I worked with were total slaves to their business. Neither had happy or existent home lives. No, I wanted a career where I could help, provide, AND be present for my family.

My wife was working as the office manager for a small boutique real estate company and gave me a little push towards the industry. I did a little research and found that Real Estate had pretty much all the qualities that I was looking for in a career. Being of service to others, the ability to provide, and with effective time management skills the potential to be present for my family.

Once I got into real estate I learned that the reasons I choose the industry weren't the same reasons everyone else did. While many agents have a good sense of right and wrong and work from ethical principles; some don't. I soon found that the way I look at my business is quite different than the way others look at theirs.

While Sales is the name of the game, I work with people, not houses. There is a big difference. Client centered is how some describe it. Over at Inman they just posted this great article on how, by serving your clients well even if not earning a commission every time, can lead to a successful business. This is the model that I aspire to create.

It is a learning process. Not a get rich quick path, but a very rewarding one. Stay tuned for more as we travel this road together.

How to get furniture into your new town home!

Moving into a town home in Seattle can be challenging. Tight corners and stairwells coupled with a three or four story layout. As the density of our city increases, the number of town homes will inevitably increase, for several reasons to be discussed later. My wife and I live in a 1200sqft town home in the Alaska Junction neighborhood in West Seattle. It is by far one of the coolest areas in Seattle. We walk to everything. Some of the cities best restaurants and cafe's are within just a couple of blocks.

However getting furniture into our home was a challenge and is for most town home owners. We bought a 9ft long sofa, it is soft and fuffy, but it wont fit through our stair well. For about a year we converted our first floor bedroom into a "TV" room and avoided moving it into our "living" room on the second floor. Recently we are expecting our first child and need to move our "office" from a third floor bedroom down to the first floor. How to get the huge sofa up stairs to make room for the office?

Being an avid rock climber and mountaineer, ropes and rigging are my thing. Check out this great system to get a couch to the middle floor in a typical West Seattle town home. A little hoist and pull using a three to one pulley system and after removing the second story balcony.

We even have a little video of the final stages.

You Flinch when someone drops a brick on your foot!

Figuratively, of course. When receiving an offer that is too low, and they all are these days, it is important to use everything you can to get an edge on your competition. Negotiation tactics are an edge that all top producing agents have. This post is the second in a series on Negotiation tactics and real estate.

When an initial offer comes in the correct reaction is to "flinch." You want the bearer of the offer to feel like they just dropped a brick on your foot. "Ouch!" Then wait. Don't say anything. Nothing. Silence, is the next move. Almost like you are waiting for an apology from the brick dropper. Wait until they talk next, no matter how long it takes. I have waited so long that people have asked if I was still on the phone, like it was a dropped call.

When I am shopping in the grocery store and I accidentally bump someone with my cart, my first reaction is to apologize. I have actually had agents, after dropping a brick on my foot, apologize for their offer. What?! Who is selling who? While agents often "feel" each other out over the phone to gauge where and how far they can push a situation, they should never apologize. Making an offer is not like bumping into someone in a grocery store. Apologizing is admitting that the offer is too low or high as it may be.

Negotiating real estate contracts are often a "quid pro quo " game. I'll give you this if you give me that. The flinch offers an opportunity to get a little for nothing. I have even heard of agents offering to increase their asking price right over the phone when faced with the flinch and a nice long pause. This is not the norm and many good agents know and understand these tactics. Does yours? Ask your agent what their response is going to be to this situation, before you hire them.

When entering into negotiations you had better know your Set Point. Without knowing your Set Point your just shooting in the dark aimlessly with no real stragety. A good agent can smell this a mile away and counter effectively. I will talk more about what and how to determine your Set Point tomorrow, stay tuned.

Has the bottom dropped out of your real estate agent?

The market is changing, but I mean that the confidence bottom has dropped out of some real estate agents. I have always been a student of the human condition. How people react when their ego is hurt, what they do when they are in a position of power, or do they go on the defensive when threatened.

A real estate agent is supposed to be your protection from these absolutely normal reactions to situations, especially when the bottom drops out of the real estate market. Barrier to emotion, is one of the benefits to using a real estate agent to negotiate. Any agent really, whether it is a sports agent or an actors agent, is a negotiating tool. When the seller, or buyer as it may be, comes back with an outlandish response, your agent is there to respond using wise tactics.

All too often agents either just say, "Thank you for the offer I'll see what I can do" or they over react giving away their clients real position. Either way hurts their client, not good business skills. If a client is going to pay for full commission service, they should get what they pay for. A great real estate salesperson, who understands the selling process.

I am going to talk more about the negotiation process in the next few days so stay tuned for more.

West Seattle Alaska Junction Plaza Park

Located in West Seattle on SW Alaska just west of 42nd next to the Alaska House, this park was planned for development in 2005. With 200,000 for acquisition costs with a projected construction start of Summer 2007, we are a little behind schedule in the Alaska Junction. Up until just recently this has just been a fenced off area, near the Alaska Junction. They have spread the grass seed and now we are watching it grow. With 2008 rapidly approaching I doubt we will see it finished this year, and by the looks of the design it wont be finished for quite a while.

Here is what it currently looks like: I have to say that even this sparsely planted grass and yellow tape, it is better that the chain-link fenced gravel field that it used to be. The West Seattle Junction will be a better place when this project is finished. Jonathan Martin GuideToSeattleRealEstate.com

Pricing! Get it Right The First Time.

Pricing a home, the key to a sale. If pricing isn't right the first time ,we all know that the home may not sell. In this market, pricing is key. Here is situation were the comparable pricing that was initially presented was the correct price to set the home at, not what the seller wanted. Well, we all make mistakes. How we learn from them is the key. This is an example of a time when I should have been more forceful and possibly not taken the listing. I took this listing and allowed the seller to talk me into a higher price for the home, bad mistake.

The home is a beautiful 3 bedroom rambler just south of Seattle. It had an updated kitchen and the owners took fabulous care of the home and the yard, it showed like a champ. With all of the updates to the home it comped out at 289k. During the listing presentation I allowed the seller to talk me up to 299k for the home. I said ok based on a pre-signed price change form for 30 days out. I gave a day or two for him to discuss it with his wife. She talked him up to 309k and had another agent friend that would list it at that price. With the added pressure he said that we had to try it at 309k for a month and then lower it to 299k. I explained to him that most of the buyers in the area are looking for a home that is below 300k. Pricing the home above this would exclude the home from most searches. He insisted. Here is the error. I like the sellers, they're great people, they have a great home. I took the listing. Now I did my part as a consultant, giving the right direction and advice. But when the home didn't sell at 309k or at 299k the sellers lost motivation. 3 months went by with very few showings. They must have thought that no one wanted their home. But that wasn't it, no one could find their home because it was overpriced. By the time we had the price lowered below 300k the seasons had changed, the market had drifted. We took the home off the market earlier this week.

When I gave the keys back to the seller he said, "Hopefully if things improve we will put it back on the market in the spring." But, while I don't have a crystal ball, at best the market is going to be flat not better. If the market doesn't improve and they are going to stick with the above 300k price we are just going to repeat the past. The definition of insanity is repeating the same action over and over while expecting different results. I am not insane:)

Ok so what did I learn. I took the listing at a price that was too high, because if I didn't someone else would have. While I gave the clients the right advice, I wasn't forceful enough about it. By not turning them down I did them a disservice. They were just trying to get as much as they could for their home. Who could blame them? But in the end it backfired. There is actually no way of knowing if the home would have actually sold if it was priced how I recommended. I do know that it would have had a better chance. Other homes in the area that were crap compared to this one sold at around 289k and 295k. Even if I have to turn down business, I will not take an overpriced listing. Not even for people that need to get the most from their home. If they can't sell then they can't sell. I don't set the price, buyers do. Again so it is burned into reality: "I will not take an overpriced listing!"

The Guide to Seattle Real Estate

For Seattle Real Estate Statistics and Seattle Listings visit www.GuideToSeattleRealEstate.com a blog for First Time Buyers

What Feed Reader Do You Use?

Ok I am relatively new to the blogging world, but love it so far. I have found a great way to let out my inner author and find a little business too. I currently read about 10-15 on a regular basis, using IE7 feed reader. Well it kinda sucks! I am an IE fan other than that, but a firefox/IE debate is not what I am after.

I guess what I want a feed reader to do is display the first few lines of every blog I have selected and then I can read the ones that seem interested and skip those that don't. It this sort of thig out there? Do you read Blogs? If so what feed reader do you use?

What do your Clients expect from you?

So yesterday I posted a list of services that people should DEMAND from their real estate agent.  This was directed to clients using a Realtor to purchase a home, not to list one.  I received several comments on this site and a couple of other syndication blogs I use.  Many agents thought that the list was a good reminder of what should be done and many non-agents had things to add to the list.

If we as agents are going to earn 10-20k in commissions on the buy side of a transaction, what services should they be offering?  I am talking about pre-closing services, not a big gift after closing.  Now I know that most of what we do involves prospecting and generating referrals and this should be included, but what do we do for the client? What do you do to earn that money?

Again I am only talking about the BUY side of the transaction.  What should your clients expect from you?