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Lessons for Realtors Who Want To Be Successful

successful realtor Burlington camden county New jersey leander mcclain I had someone contact me the other day. The bottom line was that they disliked the job that their Realtor was doing. The first thing I was told was that the Realtor had done a poor job of staying in contact. Long periods of time had passed without any contact from the Realtor.

Lesson #1 - Stay in Constant Contact with Your Clients. Even a quick call, email or text message to say "Here's what's going on or I haven't forgotten you" is better than no contact. Real Estate clients are nervous by nature. When they don't hear anything, they assume the worse. So do your clients a favor and stay in touch.

Lesson #2 - Once A Client Loses Confidence, It Is Rarely Regained. The listed home had been on the market for over six months and only had a couple of showings. The homeowner said that the Realtor mentioned something about lowering the price of the home and he was not opposed to that. However, he just didn't feel confident in the Realtor.

Lesson #3 - Develop a Marketing Strategy and Discuss Price Drops Up Front. We can all be Monday morning quarterbacks and tell someone else what they did wrong. I negotiate price drops before the listing agreement is signed. I add a statement of when at least three price reductions will occur. It's automatic and it doesn't come as a surprise to my client. Because I stay in contact, it is easy to say to my client "the property has been on the market for X weeks and we are coming up on our first price reduction".

Lessson #4 - Do Your Homework. The worst thing you can do for your client is try to "wing it". Being a successful Real Estate consultant is work. It takes time and effort. But then again, isn't that what we are paid for? Before I call the homeowner back after his initial contact, I did some work. I looked up the history of the home. I researched the selling history of the town. I looked up the recorded mortgages on the property. I had some idea of the seller's situation before I spoke to him.

Lesson #5 - Ask for Help. Realize when you need help. It was clear to me that this home was a prime candidate for a short sale. Short sale was never discussed with the homeowner. It was never suggested that the homeowner contact the lender. I am not a short sale specialist. My buddy Sal Poliandro is. Sal works in North Jersey, I work in South Jersey. Whenever I have short sale questions or issues, my first phone cal is to Sal. Rome wasn't built in a day and successful Realtors are not groomed overnight. If you are out of your league, do your clients a favor and get assistance. There is no shame in admitting that you don't know. I have gained more respect by saying I don't know, but I will find out.

I hope these words of advice were helpful to someone. If nothing else, maybe they made you think about some things you can do better in your real estate practice.

Have a Great Day

Make This YOUR Best Year Ever

Leander McClain, Burlington /Camden County, NJ Realtor & Real Estate Consultant, Keller Williams Realty, 1814 Route 70 E Cherry Hill, NJ 08003 856-685-1677 Direct

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Posted by Leander McClain: Realtor ~NJ Real Estate NJSouthRealEstate.Com on 06/30/2009 08:18 AM

Comments (54)

Tips for First Time Realtors, Successful Realtors, Success, in the ActiveRain Channel

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54 Comments on Lessons for Realtors Who Want To Be Successful

JUN

Leander - These are all great tips for new and old! Thanks.

Always good reminders of what we should be doing.

Staying in contact is important. I always call or email after showings with feedback, after open houses, and whenever there is a new listing , pending sale or sold in the area.

It seems so simple, doesn't it, yet I hear this from plenty of folks who are frustrated with the lack of communication. Great tips!

Thanks for sharing your lessons with us this morning. Always need a refresher

Excellent advice! For me, business makes it hard to stay in touch with past clients!

The number one complaint I hear about Realtors is "I never hear from them" It seems so simple, but it must be oh so hard. I just don't get it

You really hit the high notes with this post. Asking for help is probably something we never do. However when we do not ask later the cry HELP is often heard

Great Post. I agree, I hear it all the time from expired listings. 'The agent never called, e-mailed or contacted me.

Leander- the interesting thing about this common list of complaints is that all of these things are incredibly easy to do. It just goes to show how important the little things are.

There are some huge agents that are so "busy" that they don't have time for their clients so their assistants handle all the day in day out stuff. I had an old neighbor list with a huge listing agent in my area many years ago (I was actually still in High School) and she said the ONLY time she ever heard from her or saw her was during the listing appointment. She was not even at closing and when she called she only was able to speak to her office staff. She said while her house did sell it felt very "cold", "impersonal", and as if "they did not really matter to the agent".

#3 is SO key! Get those price drops automatically built into the listing agreement if the property is not sold in X days. GOOD post!

When a listing isn't getting broker showings, the seller naturally believes that their agent "should be doing something".

Often the poor showings result from incorrectly priced properties, for which the seller has some responsibility. However, the agent is the "expert". If agents are going to take hard to market properties, they should expect the heat from the seller when it doesn't sell.

Avoiding the seller just doesn't work.

Great blog. many thanks my friend it just gave me a few great ideas i want to add to my typical game plan.

Communication is key to any relationship and you are so right, this certainly holds true for the relationship between client and agent. And I also agree with letting the client know up front and honestly if you don't know the answer, but are going to find out the answer for them or refer them to the source (ie if it's a legal question to an attorney)

Congratulations on your feature Leander!

All of your points are excellent! Honest communication and never winging it are 2 of the most important ones. Great post!

Great Tips, contact is key. That's the biggest complaint I hear from buyer's who contact me.

The number 1 complaint about Realtors is lack of communication.

Sometimes the broker is a dud. But at the same time, consider when this seller bad mouths the other agent, which you should not feel proud or happy about, that maybe what they don't like abut them is something they won't like about you either in time. Maybe the same advice you give this seller echos what Brand X told them. Sellers that ignore the market, advice of a seasoned professional are going to be bad mouthing you too in time! My ears perk when a seller comes blustering into the office saying so and so is such a jerk, has done nothing when you know so and so is just as professional, just as hard working and experienced and something is missing from this one side discussion. Waste of time talking around the water cooler about Brand X and if it is listed, back off..way off.

Morning Leander, Very well said. Your lesson # 4 is critical. Customers know when an agent is " winging " it ! Well done.

Leander, Great post and congrats on the feature! Why is it that the easiest things to do are often the things we don't do??? In this day and age, lack of communication couldn't be simpler and goes such a long way!

Great points for both new and seasoned agents. Thanks,

Your point about covering things upfront is the key. Creating a system that let's the client know in advance exactly what, where, when and how you will do what you do to serve them is the solution. Review it upfront ... send it in detail with your Thank You for the business step and let them know at all times, where they are in the process and what to expect next. No surprises!

Leander,

As your great posts reminds us, it ain't rocket science - just consistent, hard work! I'm always glad to be reminded of what is important to our clients.

Andrew,

You make an excellent point. My ears also perk up when someone comes to me complaining about Realtor X or Brand Y Real Estate company. 9 times out of 10, my conversation will start with something like this " there are a lot of great Realtors that work at Brand Y real estate. What has your Realtor told you about _______". You will find that some clients themselves are the problem. When you hear key words like " My Realtor wants me to lower my price, but I know my house is worth more than that". Usually in this case, unless you can convince them otherwise, they will never change there mind and you will end up with an overpriced listing that will NEVER sell.

I have also run into a dud broker, but there have been some stellar agents in that office. They usually move onto to a more productive office.

Thanks Everyone for your comments.

Thanks ActiveRain for the Feature

Have a great day

Leander

Leander covering the price drops up front is critical in our market. Most agents don't even consider doing so. Good points of what all agents new & not so new should be doing over and over.

Congrats on the feature!

You're spot on with all your points Leander - A Realtor really has to work hard to keep a seller happy!

Hi Leander,

Great points. I, too, don't understand agents that don't keep in contact with their clients. Having the discussion about price drop up front is critical and shows that you are looking out for your client's interests.

You are right on. It's always about a breakdown in communication...Thanks for the post

Leander-

I have always assumed that real estate is a slightly elevated (maybe?) form of sales (what I do). The more I read posts like this, the more that assumption is shown to be true. The same concepts really do apply to both verticals. Hmm...maybe I should look in to taking those few remaining classes...

Leander... thanks for all of the reminders. Those Realtors who don't do these things make the whole Realtor name a bad one.... but they make it easier for the good ones to come in and make it all look easy.

Excellent post. I believe communication is one of the most important success traits other than competence. Spending years as a manager with Nordstrom (widely regarded as a customer service leader) at one of the busiest locations in the country helped shape my opinion. At the time, one of the key objectives was to "under promise and over deliver" to manage the expectations of our clients.

We were also made aware of a study that stated if we just "greeted" the client, we would have more than NINE MINUTES until they would start to get irritated. So, even if every one of my employees was working with a client, if someone entered our area we would smile, acknowledge them and set an expectation for when we would be with them. IT WORKED 99.999% of the time.

Just last week I was between appointments, in a hurry and needed to print a quick copy of a contract so I went to one of the leading copy stores. The attendant was finishing with another client when I walked up to the counter, but didn't acknowledge me. However, even though we made eye contact several times I still felt ignored even though I KNEW I was next. While I didn't get angry, it reminded me of why it's so important to just communicate. Thanks again for the great post!

Thanks for the needed reminders !!!! See ya at the next KW event

Jonathan,

I noticed when I go into Macy's (mind you, i have never shopped in Macys before 2009), I am greeted in each department. I went in to purchase a pocketbook for my wife and the single salesperson in the department was very tied up with another customer. She greeted me, acknowledged me, told me her name, le me know that she would be with me as soon as she finished with her other customer. You know what, I was put at ease. It may have been 15 minutes before she got to me, but I never felt ignored. I felt as important as the lady who was taking up her time. Needless to say, I purchased an pocketbook, I was happy, the saleswoman was happy and my wife was happy.

We should all take a lesson

Have a great day

Leander

Leander,

The only thing I would add to this list is to keep up your education and stay current on tools and technology.

Leander,

Excellent advise and congrats on the feature!

Leander - well said my friend! Great advice and food for thought. Congrats on the shiny new

Lack of communication is probably the #1 complaint--and the easiest one to take care of!

Leander - Congrats on the feature. I think these tips are great for New Realtors and Tenured. Good information.

Leander- I agree with much of what is being said here. Too many agents hide their heads int he sand because they have nothing to report to their sellers. Conversely, there are many "buyers" who complain about the agents they are working with and those agents are not gettingh a grasp on exactly what their customer wants. In either case it is a communication issue which needs improvement.

Leander - I know I could use this advice, especially to stay in constant contact with clients. If anything else, it reassures them that you are still there working for them, and nothing has changed.

Lesson #2 is on point. There so much that is invested simply to gain that confidence and trust; to lose it due to being "busy" or inaccessible is a major fail.

Well-written. Thanks.

Leander - it seems so simple and yet why is it that we can't get it!

Very true Leander, great post. I do chase expireds and sure and behold the first thing said by the expired was, "Never heard a word from my listing agent in six months." Yes , I did get the listing.

Good list with good information today thanks for getting it out there.

I'm always amazed at how many buyers/sellers tell me that the agent never "got back to me!" Hey there loss, my gain.

Patricia Aulson

Patricia Aulson/Portsmouth NH

Leander ~ It was so great to see your face on the home feature page tonight! Congratulations on your feature! And thank you for those great tips and lessons on being successful in real estate.

Have a wonderful 4th of July!

Thanks for the reminder. Sometimes #1 - staying in contact - is all that a seller really wants, and needs, to maintain their confidence in you as a realtor.

Nice post Leander.

Couldn't agree with you more. Communicate & be upfront with your clients and everyone wins.

It sounds so simple; doesn't it? I agree; communication is the number one thing we can do for our clients.

JUL

From the desk of David Dee,

Leander, very sound and poignant advice. These simple tenets are what distinguish the poor agents from the great ones. Looks like you got these points down pat. Keeping clients informed and abreast of situations during a transaction is the key to holding their confidence and trust in what we're doing. I have witnessed agents and lenders who don't return calls from clients and that definitely will stir their feather and make them anxious.

Happy to say that I follow all of your suggestions already.

I was in a class one day and the question was posed, what is the top attribute clients look for in Realtors?" Of course, we all thought the answer was "honesty," but it turned out to be "confidence." They want to feel confident in our abilities, and the only way to achieve that is through honest and constant communication.

And, I'm with you on the short sales - I call my friend Sally who is an expert!

Leander - Great tips indeed ! I think number 1 says it all as far as staying in contact with your clients. They want updates and want the sense that their Realtor is doing something for them. You are right, without that, confidence is lost for sure more often than not. ~ Chris

JUL

Leander Those are really strategies that if implemented could lead to success.

JUL

Great list you put together Leander!! Your clients are lucky to have you!!

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