Perspectives on Realtor Tools, Software, & Strategies for Success

Are you using the credit crunch to your advantage when working with buyers?

2008-10-07T22:57:26Z

Just a thought...are you highlighting the fact that mortgages are getting harder and harder to obtain, and the qualification standards are changing almost daily, when you have a hesitant buyer? You should be using this information to separate your leads from the ready and the un-ready. The un-ready say they've never had a problem getting a loan, and their bank has already given them a pre-qual letter, but they don't want to compare lenders or get another good faith estimate until they find the right house. RED FLAG!!

As a virtual assistant company, we qualify leads for Realtors, and we always make sure that the lead knows that although it's a Buyers Market as far as the houses are concerned, it is NOT a buyers market when it comes to mortgages. Late payments, changes in employment history, 2nd mortgages, bad debt, it is all a bigger hindrance than it was just a year ago. Keep this in mind when qualifying your buyer leads. If they seem very choosy and indecisive about whether to buy or WHAT to buy, get a thorough analysis by your most reliable mortgage lender.

Cautious Buyers - LOVE THEM! They are looking to you for guidance, advice, statistics, and experience. Hesitant Buyers - LEAVE THEM! A potential buyer is NOT a potential buyer if they are too 'scared' to buy. Sure, they can point to the fact that buyers who bought last year could have purchased that same home last year for a lot less...but don't people buy homes for other reasons than one year of equity gain? Like long term equity gain? Quality of life? Mortgage Interest deductions? Schools for their kids? Space. Memories. Backyards. Garages. Large Kitchens.

What is your best way to overcome objections from potential buyers who balk at buying a home once you've found them exactly what they asked you to find? Do you reference the current mortgage market and tightening guidelines to help them analyze their situation better?

A Review of Online Continuing Education Classes

2008-09-26T21:41:23Z

Finally! An alternative to sitting in a time-consuming, all theory classroom to earn credits for your real estate license renewal hours. Sounds promising, right?

Does this sound familiar? You schedule the in-person course in advance, it's FREE at your local association.2-3 days before the class you meet a great prospect and guess what? They can only meet you during class time! So you cancel, and after securing your next client you go online to look for the next available course. Gas is outrageous, classes offered are limited, and your license expiration date is approaching. What's an agent to do? Sign up for those online courses! Easy, right? Not so fast! Read this review before you jump on that train!

I am a virtual assistant. This means I spend more time on the computer in one day than most Realtors spend in one week! I learn new things online EVERY day. New techniques. New short cuts. New software. So online continuing ed - no problem, right? WRONG. This review is meant to save you lots of wasted energy and frustration. Here are my recommendations for you:

Do not schedule an on-line course with dry content where the laws/theories do not match reality in your profession. Agency. Real Estate Legal Issues. Commissioners Standards. Like all education, there is the text book version, and there is the real life experience. The longer you've been working in Real Estate, the LESS you know about the textbook version! An on-line course in these subjects will frustrate and confuse you. Stick with the live in-person courses so that you can listen to them say 'Highlight this' and 'Highlight that' as it will be on the test!
Be aware: Courses are broken down into sections, and in order for the course providers to be successful, they have to show that Realtors PASS their tests. How do they do this? Break the course up into sections with quizzes. Sections can last from 45 minutes to an hour. Then the quiz. Don't get an acceptable score on the quiz? GONG. Start over. Another 45 minutes. Sure, you may be able to switch screens faster, but you are essentially repeating information that you already went over, and this type of proficiency is NOT needed on the exam at the end of the course!
MORE time consuming than the actual in-person class. Let's face it, you're a Realtor. You like action. Movement. A desk job is not your thing. Apply this to your renewal - if you think it's difficult to sit for 3 hours in a classroom, try sitting at your PC for 3 hours straight to ace quizzes, no one is bringing real life experience to the forum, no one is telling you what to highlight and know for the exam. It takes much longer than the 3 hours!! If you must take online renewal courses, only take Disclosures, Contract Law, or General Courses that you already have a broad subject knowledge; these subjects are closest to the 'real deal' out in the marketplace.
Don't plan on cramming 'last minute' on-line, you will not make it. The best way to ensure you aren't going to wait until the last possible minute to earn your credits is to look into earning a designation, and work toward that. Designations take focus and time, and if you dedicate yourself to those courses, it will be worthwhile. Much more so than completing a quiz all by yourself only to learn that you have to start WAY at the beginning again!

There are GREAT on-line continuing ed course providers, and this post is not meant as a negative review to categorize everyone together. Their customer service is FAST. They know your industry. BUT it's not the optimum way to get those hours. Very similar to sending a text message instead of a phone call; very impersonal, fast, and lacking in excitement or enjoyment. My vote is GO TO CLASS! Meet your peer Realtors, laugh and have fun! Sitting at home alone on your computer may sound cool at first, but it's no way to take class that requires so much new information.

Responses to Rejection

2008-06-23T08:52:03Z

A career in sales leads to the inevitable: Rejection. In Real Estate, rejection of your offer for service is more personal than the rejection faced by a person who sells product. The consumer has simply chosen to purchase another product out there, and as the salesperson, you simply have to find another person who wants your product. When a potential client rejects a Realtor's offer for service, it may seem as though they are rejecting YOU, the person, and not your service. Another difference is that you have already invested time and energy by researching and preparing your market information, or by researching properties and local info for buyers. You may have shared some of your secret strategies with them. If they don't select you, they will select your competitor. What if the person they chose doesn't deliver what was promised? What if their escrow during the purchase is a mess, or they can't find what they are looking for, or their home is not selling?

The question doesn't necessarily lie in 'What did I do wrong?', but you should ask yourself 'What can I do now?'. Do you follow up with the clients who have either shopped for homes with you but did not purchase through you, or the sellers who choose to list with another agent? I first learned of this follow up method at a motivational seminar, and I never utilized it as an agent. We've all heard the phrase 'It's better to be the second Realtor in on a listing', so are you doing anything to promote yourself as the second agent? As a Virtual Assistant company, we love being the second one in, because there was usually some sort of disappointment with their first choice.

Here is the follow up method I am going to begin using in my own business, and I believe it could work for Realtors as well: Send a letter to the client who has not chosen you for their Real Estate needs, address the rejection, inject some humor into the letter, and let them know you are still available if they should need you in the future.

Sample letter:

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Home Seller,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for considering me as your Realtor. I know you have many choices when it comes to selecting a professional to help you through this process, and I was honored that you chose me to share my marketing and service strategy with you!

I realize that I cannot 'hit a homerun' with every client, there are many competent Realtors in our marketplace today. I wish you all the best in your home sale and future purchase.

Please know there are no hard feelings, and in the event things don't go as planned, I am still available should you require my assistance in the future.

Sincerely,

Joe Realtor

My question for you is, would you do this? Is it ethical? Some buyers and sellers don't bother to tell you they have chosen someone else until they are in a contract or there is a sign in the yard. So technically, you could be sending this letter to the client of another Realtor. Does it breach the Realtor code of ethics? Why or why not?

Finally a POSITIVE article about the future of Real Estate!!

2008-04-17T22:12:30Z

I have been in the industry long enough to go through 'downturns' and high foreclosure rates, but the media is just driving me crazy with the negative speculation!! Yes, there are some very, very bad things happening in the mortgage industry right now, but last time I checked, PEOPLE ARE STILL BUYING HOUSES!! I SOLD one and BOUGHT one in 2007 - despite all the doom and gloom from the mainstream.

So here it is, an article that doesn't slam the real estate industry...it highlights industries that are doing WORSE than Real Estate, which will probably be obsolete over the next decade. While Real Estate might not rebound as fast as we would like, it certainly isn't going to be obsolete!!

Hope this article makes you feel a little better if your sales have been a little slow over the past year!

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/IndustryInfo/story?id=4667790&page=1

Making the most of a Buyers Market with Listings

2008-03-31T22:39:46Z

Veteran Realtors and Brokers know that the true stability in this business comes from an agent's ability to gain listings. Even though 2003-2006 may have been an exception from this rule, it is now proving to be true more than ever. Of course there is a catch with this 2008 market: Your listings are experiencing high days on market, they are competing with pre-foreclosures (or if you are listing a pre-foreclosure, you're dealing with backlogged lenders.

So what is a Realtor to do in this type of market? Make it a NUMBERS game. When buyers come your way, by all means, work with them. In the meantime, remind your sphere of friends and family that you specialize in selling homes, and if they know someone who needs to sell, to please pass on their information to you. Once you have enough listings to keep the phone ringing with buyers, your business will increase dramatically and you will be busier than ever! So stop chasing down those buyers - chase down sellers for listings, and the buyers shall come!