You know, people are funny! Not always funny 'HaHa' or funny 'peculiar' just funny in that you expect one thing from one and receive something totally unexpected from another.
Whenever I receive leads from our web site I normally respond to them and send them whatever information they are asking for. However as a company rule, whenever I get a lead through our site or from any other source, I co-represent with one of my agents as that is the agreement that I have with them.
But rather than bombard my agents with dodgy leads I try to feel a customer out first to see if they are a viable client. If I get the feeling that they are potential clients then I immediately involve one of my agents, if however, they seem to be tire kickers then I work with them until I feel like they are ready to buy or sell.
Well this morning, I received an email from someone who had registered on our site months ago and I had labeled as a tire kicker. We have an automated email notification system through our site that visitors can opt in for and which they had chosen to do. I didn't have direct contact or questions from this visitor, so as a result I didn't involve any of my agents. Instead, I just made sure that they received an email notification whenever a new property came on the market that fit their criteria.
I am not a believer in the hard sell. Some people can pull it off and make it work for them but that's not for me. I prefer to develop lasting relationships and friendships and as much trust as I can. So I don't go out and bombard people with information when they only have a passing interest.
Does it hurt the bottom line? Perhaps it does! But does it make me sleep better at night? Most definitely!
However, the email I received from these visitors this morning, said that whey were interested in a property that is listed for $1,250,000 They asked if our company would represent them regardless of whether they purchased that particular property or not. They went on to say that they liked the way we operated as we did not appear to be desperate or pushy.
We had not bombarded them with information, nor had we attempted to call them or involve someone else. Rather we had provided them with the information they asked for and we had waited until they were ready. Apparently, they had contacted many other brokerage companies in this area and didn't like how any of these companies had handled them. Not only did they get hit with a bunch of emails and phone calls from these companies but also from individual agents within the company.
I had known from the first search they made on our site the price range they were looking in but rather than jump on them because of the potential high commission that could be made, I treated them like every other client. The process of buying a home is a very personal and a life highlighting occasion, regardless of whether that home is 50 thousand or 5 million, so in my mind each client needs to be treated with respect, whatever their price range.
These buyers are ready, willing and able to buy and they chose us to represent them because we treated them like individuals rather then dollars. They appreciated that we did not hit them with a bunch of irrelevant information nor did we try to put the hard sell on them. Instead, we provided them with information they wanted in a timely and courteous manner and waited until they were ready to proceed.
So the moral of the story is: Treating people as people rather than dollars can result in unexpected returns and surprising results. The hard sell is not always the way to go and just considering how another person will feel, will take you farther then you know. The biggest assist an agent can have is empathy!
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