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Not Enough Business??? Pick up the FRIGGIN' phone! (From HGTV)

If you are in any business, whether it be real estate or any other business, pick up the friggin' phone!!! Over the past 10 years we have drifted away from THE PHONE into any other means of contacting a client, save face to face or on the phone. We will text people, we will email people, and lately, we will FACEBOOK people. What happened to the phone? We all have one or two.....so why don't we use it.

I was watching HGTV's The Property Shop last week. (Love the show) The broker had a high profile fashion model that she was showing condos to. The model was very specific on what she wanted, and that she wanted to buy and close the next week. The broker showed here several condo complexes and the model would not even get out of the car. "I hate it" was the common phrase on each. The broker was very frustrated that the model would not even go inside the condo complex. Heck, the model hated it, I would not go in either.

The last condo building the broker drove to, the model said "I love it". The broker said that there are no condos on the market that have the number of bedrooms you are looking for. So the model became frustrated and demanded to go home. The broker asked if she would even look at the smaller bedroom condos. The model said "you are not listening to me, I want a 4 bedroom". The model would not even go into the building. (Thumbs up for the model) The broker was quite frustrated and went to her assistant and told her about her frustrations. The assistant reminded the broker that there were condos with the number of bedrooms that the model wants that were built in the building.

The broker said that may be true, but there are none on the market. So the assistant said, get on the phone and see if any one wants to sell. The broker said that she is running a real estate business and she is not running a cold call company. The assistant said "welcome to real estate 101". The broker got on the phone and called and found someone who would sell, and made the deal happen.

Are you not getting enough business?

Pick up the friggin' phone..........

Posted by Tim Moncrief, Co-Owner-Bartlett RE Group on 09/14/2009 04:54 PM

Comments (37)

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Originally posted at: Austin Homes : Not Enough Business??? Pick up the FRIGGIN' phone! (From HGTV)

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37 Comments on Not Enough Business??? Pick up the FRIGGIN' phone! (From HGTV)

SEP

Thanks for the reminder. SO True

This is not cold calling. Whenever I have a buyer looking for a specific community, building, I get out a quick letter to the owners. . . . . . 4 times out of 7 now, I have found the perfect home. . . . . . It works. I just don't phone. Mail works best for me.

Great advice. I always do well when I pick up the phone!

Some of the old ways are not that far off base still to this day. Great tip.

Great post. Action is what counts no matter how you do it.

Seems like the agent and the assistant have a role reversal issue! Communication is always the key. I have, like Lenn, mailed letters or postcards to either condos or neighborhoods when I had a buyer ISO the "perfect" thing. It's an attention-getter when they receive a postcard that says "HELP - BUYER IN NEED OF HOME - NOW!!". The phone rings. Remind me to tell you the one about the blind buyers (a couple) and the deaf sellers (mother/daughter). No lie, no joke, true story but too long....

Yes, seems like the assistant knew what to do to make it happen!

Sharon

SEP

This story hinges on someone being on the bubble about selling. You don't know if you don't ask, and they got lucky. That assistant is worth her weight in gold.

Thanks for the reminder. I tend to rely too much on email, and sometimes they don't get them and then wonder why I didn't follow up. I'm working on this!

Very good story!

I saw that episode as well. I hate cold calling! However, I like to eat, not to mention representing my buyer to the fullest. As agents, we need to find what our buyers are looking for. Even if it is not in MLS. With websites like realtor.com and Trulia out there, anyone can find homes that are listed. Sometimes, as agents we need to go one step further. Thanks for reminding us of that.

I've got to find this tv show. Sounds like everyone could use an assistant like that.

Easier said then done if you intend to be in full compliance with the federal do not call law.

Excellent advice! We have to use ALL of the tools available to us, and the phone is one of our tools!!

Okay. I dont like that Tatiana lady. I hope the public doesnt think all agents are like that.

But, I love her assitant for saying that. I think she should be T's boss.

Thanks for the nudge.

Tim, you are SO right on with that advice. I have had some of my very best transactions result because I just "picked up the phone"! Thanks so much for the reminder.

The phone is certainly indispensable for anyone in business, but thankfully we have no need to use it to drum up business. Getting business is the least of our worries!

Now, let me digress a bit...you LOVE The Property Shop?? Hopefully it's just for the entertainment value, such as it is, and not it's fake reality? We saw that same episode and it's the last one we'll ever watch. What an unrealistic portrayal of real estate. Tatiana is a diva in every sense of the word. She's spoiled, demanding, obnoxious, petulant, rude and a bad actress. She practically shoved that condo down the model's throat, gave in to the seller's demands, then bragged about getting both sides of the deal (how could she advise the model in any way about that transaction?) then gloated about getting more referrals from the sale? PLEASE! It's a good thing I know this is a staged show where everything is scripted to create a false sense of impending crisis that is narrowly averted in each show, otherwise I'd think she must be the epitome of the Realtor From Hell. I understand in a recent episode, one of her agents leaves the company and they clash over a transaction, or some such nonsense. I'd leave too if I worked for her.

OK, sorry for the rant, but with all the real estate "reality" shows on the air, we certainly did not need another one of such low caliber. IMHO. Please don't shoot the messenger. :-D

Not to get too far off topic. I just want to join Loreena as well as Pat and Wayne in saying I'm not wild about Tatiana. She's the sterotypic sales person that people love to hate...and with good reason. Her idea of "representation" appears to be to ensure that she double-ends a deal. Don't we have enough problems with our image without a show like that on the air?

A very good story. It is always good to have a list of buyers when prospecting for listings.

Hate the show but LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the moral of your story! You nailed it! Taking it to our Manager's meeting to share.

Now I did not say I liked the broker.....just the show. Actually it gives alot of people alot of motivation as it shows you don't have to have it all together to to make a success out of yourself. Alot of determination and drive, yes.

I like the show and have met some realtors here in NJ that remind me of Tatiana. Not in a bad way, she is very driven and I can respect that. That being said , I am learning that nothing beats a face to face with a potential client.

Great Article!

Realtors' need to go back to basics! Call your sphere on a regular basis! Pick up the "Friggin Phone"!

Just today I'm calling to make 12 showing appointments, not one of the Realtors' answered the phone. Are you all too busy? I really don't think so!

I like the idea of calling and/or mailing letters on a basis like this, but it would get a better response if so many agents haven't used this as a scam - when they don't really have a buyer at all.

I saw the show, too, and thought the assistant had the most sense out of all of them. Then the broker with the frizzy hair has the nerve to say SHE found the model the condo when the assistant made all the calls! The assistant needs a promotion.

That tends to be the case if top producing agents hire the best. My assistant turns circles around me and keeps me heading in the right direction. She also gets paid alot of money.....I think more than me this year.....

Hi Tim, Sometimes we need a reminder about getting back to basics. Thanks !

Hi Tim, great reminder, it is about listening what the other side is saying and being creative to make it happen.

Ways of communication have changed...........e-mail and text are the way to go......

Good advice!! That show can be pretty amusing sometimes.

I've never seen the show... not a TV fan ... but I sure agree about the phone.

Years ago, when I'd send postal mail letters to absentee owners hoping to entice them to list, the times I got good results were when I'd send 2 or 3 letters and then pick up the phone. Very often they'd say "Oh, I've been meaning to call you..."

I don't do much "cold prospecting" for copywriting, but do pick up the phone to call folks who have inquired.

I think people realize you can do mass mailing and that doesn't mean you're particularly interested in them and what they want or need. But you have to make phone calls one at a time, so you've focused on them, at least for the moment.

Thanks for the good post,

Marte
www.copybymarte.com

SEP

Great blog Tim. That is a great way to get a double dip where both parties are actually happy.

You are so right! I really have a phobia about making phone calls and the DO NOT CALL list has been my excuse for not picking up the phone. However, in this market I cannot afford any excuses. Anyone have a few tips for making it easier? Thanks, Tim. I can't get too many reminders about taking the most direct route and using the telephone. Diane

Tim, that lady is a complete idiot. Why didn't she think of this, because she's not even a real estate sales person. I really don't know what she is. I think if we follow along behind the scenes of this show, she'll loose her license and the company will close. The assistant should be licensed. I consider those calls to be 'warm'. No problem doing it at all.

SEP

Hello? Tim???

I get your point... Some kind find holes in what you are saying...but the gist is 100% correct. Better yet...put your face in front of another human face and actually have a face to face conversation. What a concept...

In the log home business...most of our leads come from the internet. But, in order to sell a home, you have to pick up the phone. I know many have a phone phobia...but when you finally connect with someone who wants to hear a voice and not dig for your email in their spam folder...it's a beautiful thing.

Some have asked why I am successful...the plain, simple, answer is this...communication. Keep the "lines" open and communicate. brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring...hello?

Luv ya Claire. It amazes me how many times I hear agents complain and complain and complain that agents don't return their emails or texts. Just heard one the other day and the agent is in a panic because the closing is coming in 2 days and has not received an email reply. "ello?" That thing you carry in your hand also can call people. Hmmmm. The other agent's computer was down and does not have text set up.

SEP

Hopefully the agent's broker saw the show too, and will license the assistant. Sounds like she has the right instincts to be successful.

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