Help! Someone Stole My Shoes
By Michelle Carr-Crowe, Top 5% Silicon Valley real estate consultant
Someone actually stole loan officer Rod Carlisle's shoes from an open house last weekend. It was not likely a mistake, as his shoes were nearly new, inside and dry; whereas the "trade-in" pair were old, well-worn and outside. This event can be turned into a great prospecting opportunity.
Kudos to him for trying to help out his real estate agent clients as well as make himself available to potential customers by holding open houses.
Believe it or not, Rod is actually NOT the first person this has happened to, although maybe it's the first where it appears the shoe stealing may be intentional. We had a similar situation happen in Cupertino of a shoe theft (in a case of mistaken identity, the shoes were returned).
In 2010 the West Valley area (Cupertino, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Campbell) in Santa Clara County, Calif. saw several open house thefts and theft attempts of credit cards, prescription drugs and purses. Sure, he could ask them to send an e-mail blast to agents through the REALTOR® association about a shoe thief or he could turn this around into a prospecting and PR exercise.
This shoe stealing can actually be a great opportunity for him to pick up some new clients. Here is how.
1) Assume it is a "mistake" and approach it with a sense of humor.
2) Make a flyer with a photo of the missing shoes (perhaps one from the shoemaker is available) with the headline:
"Have You Seen Me?
Lost at Open House at
123 Main St. on April 17, between 1 and 5 pm.
Reward When Returned to Owner LOAN OFFICER ROD CARLISLE (plus phone number & e-mail)"
3) E-Mail the Flyer to all guests who gave their e-mail address
4) Call everyone on the sign-in sheet using a version of the script below
Keep in mind the primary goal of this is to generate business for Rod and create a positive PR image- getting the shoes back is actually secondary.
For example, when calling people, Rod might say, "We met last weekend at 123 Main St. and I have a strange question for you-have you seen my shoes?" Expect the response to be an awkward silence or a "What?"
He can then laugh and say, "I was so interested in meeting people like you to see how I could help them learn about the lovely home at 123 Main and explore their lending options I didn't even notice that my shoes had literally ‘walked off' until open house ended." Rod can describe the shoes, of course, and then segue into this:
"The person probably has a pair just like them at home and just hasn't realized their mistake yet, or can't remember what house it happened at. I wanted to help, and spare them any discomfort over the mistake."
If the person isn't the culprit, Rod can (with humor) then say this, "As I need to earn some money for a new pair of shoes, who's the next person you know who may be buying a home or refinancing their loan?"
And be sure to leave his name, e-mail and phone number with them.
Bonus: Should he actually get the shoes back, it's a great excuse to call all of those nice folks again and share the good news, and again ask who they know who could use his help.
Via Rod Carlisle in Eugene, OR
http://activerain.com/blogsview/2261808/i-haven-t-seen-it-all-but-i-saw-one-more-
http://www.burbed.com/2010/08/07/the-joy-of-open-houses/
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