Why should a Internet buyer commit to you? You're a FREE Information Resource!

Agree and disagree with your post.  Agree that various leads will be wastes of time.  That being said - if you are putting yourself out there (I know I am) then you have to be willing to deal with the folks in the public who choose to contact you.  Agreed that in some cases there are telltale signs that a particular lead won't work out, but in general I try and be receptive.

Very easy to be on either side of the equation of this one. And I certainly have been very polarized on the issue over the years. But for the past several years I work it like this. I have become ( what I hope is accurate ) a very intuitive listener. Able to weed out the tire kickers during the phone call. I generally take the position that I will show anyone 1 house unless the phone call has weeded them out. At that showing I make a decision if I want to work with them or not. It is never based on price. It is always based on personality match and their motivation and ability. In other words if I don't like them or they can't or won't perform then it is good by.

In all phone calls from potential clients the very 1st real estate related question to ask is..are you working with any other realtor's? If they are explain they need to be calling their agent for the information because of the Client/Agent relationship. 

I don't hold back on information, and I don't feel at all the buyers don't need us if they have lots of information - they need us for our interpretation, our wisdom, our ability to get from offer to contract to closing.

That being said, of course we want to qualify the buyer before leaving the office to show property, or spend lots of time on specific research. There are lots of pop-tart agents out there, but we're not among them. 

Interesting post, Jim.  My site ranks pretty highly in the search engines for my area, so I get a lot of IDX leads.  I always ask for phone number, although it is optional.  I have found that most of the time, if they don't leave a phone number, they usually aren't worth a whole lot of time.  Those that do call me and are simply looking for an address, etc. always get my thoughts on buyer agency.  I feel like once it is explained to them in an understandable manner, they can be receptive.  However, once it becomes apparent that they have no intentions of utilizing a buyer's agent, for whatever strange reason, I have found it easier to just move on.

My job is different than yours.  My buyers need all the information they can get.  They do much of their research before they contact me so I don't have to explain as much or show them as many houses.  80% of my buyers and sellers come to me through the internet.  They find me because of all the information I give them.  They ask me if I will sign a contract with them.  They figure that if they are under contract with me I will give them even more information.  I love the internet and the fact that people don't have to bother me with phone calls asking me how much  a home costs or how many bedrooms it has, instead they call me with the tough questions and I can really add value becuase of my experience and knowledge of the market.  the hardest clients for me are the folks who do not have internet acess.  i have to work much harder when I work with them

The one type of call that I always love is when a potential buyer calls for information only to tell you halfway through the conversation that they already have a Realtor who is not available to help them.  Don't you just love those?

The more I develop my site the warmer and hotter the leads get. After they do all of that research they have two choices. 1. Pick an agent they trust 2. Look at each house with a different agent. If you give them all of the information that they could possibly use right up front on your site then you are answering all of their questions before they even talk to you. Then you have a better chance of being the agent they trust. It really is amazing how strangers show up all warm and fuzzy and act like we have known each other for a long time. It takes some getting used to but ya gotta love it.

I get a lot of calls from folks that want addresses so they can "just drive by and. . . . "  My answer is usually.  Gee, you don't want to go poking around a house without an appointment, you might get shot.  You'd better contact your agent."

They either get off the phone quickly or say they want an appointment.  At that time I ask "Who's your agent?".  They either have one or not. 

With variations, it works.  But, Jim is right.  The glut of information on the Internet as made home buyers think that they know a lot more than they do.

But, hope springs eternal.  Fact is, they also know that finding the house is the ONLY thing they know.

I like the callers who start off with "I'm looking for a buyer's agent".  Makes my day. 

I did 53% of my business from internet buyers last year.  It takes a lot of filtering and qualifying.  My basic, front-end criteria is that they can search all they want, but if they want details on listings, they have to provide valid information.  Many just move on, but that actually is a big time saver for me.  I give calls like the ones noted in the post to the floor duty person, if they even wish to take them.  My most interesting internet buyer was one that was referred to my idx site by her agent-after she had found some listings she liked, her agent called me for the details, because her client could not get to the addresses.  So, if you are going to put it out there, you are going to get lots garbage responses.  If I can't convert them i delete them, so at least they have to go through the hassle of re-registering.

We are totally enmeshed in the Internet and we probably only get burned as often as the average agent does.  We ask all the qualifying questions and try to be selective with whom we work with but Buyer Agency Agreements are not used all that frequently in our area.  Personally I believe there are too many ways to slip through that agreement if your buyer is a dishonest person anyway.   But this is definitely a good post as it reminds everyone that we are not just tour guides and the relationships we build with our customers is as important as we want to make it.

 

 

Jim, 

The biggest time wasters to me are the calls that you create by withholding simple information.  If you don't have the price or the address, you'll get the calls but then it  turns into a contest of who needs who most.  I'd rather just get the calls from the ones who are ready to do business with a buyer's agent.

I got a nice call from a young lady yesterday.  She liked what she read on the Internet and wanted to start using me as her agent.  No back and forth confrontation for information.  Those are the best and my  goal is to generate more of those calls.

The next best ones are the ones who want to see a home, haven't seen any homes in person yet, and are ready to start looking.  I'll take the chance of meeting them at the property so I can do exactly what Don Paradis mentions above.  Before I leave to meet them, I'll print out the comps for the neighborhood, the tax records and any other information I can quickly access.  With very little effort you can come across as a valuable expert.  You go through the home with them and bring up things like LP siding, stucco, polybutylene pipes, and any negative things about the home that they might not notice. You have a sample seven page contract with you to impress upon them the complexity of the transaction.  You look over the property disclosure statement with them and point out little things that they probably would have overlooked.  You get to find out things about their situation through a natural conversation while you tour the home with them.  Sometimes it's a waste.  Many times they see your value and become a client.  It's never a total waste to me because it gives me an opportunity to see another home, learn about another neighborhod, and practice my sales skills in person.  I find it a lot easier doing this out in the field than explaining things at the office.  The house is my stage  with all the props necessary to showcase my value.

Don Paradis - I am assuming that you are new to the business or just stubborn.  You should be asking lots of questions before you meet with someone.  You should NEVER met someone at a property before you have even laid eyes on them.  That is how you end up dead.

I warn anyone with Don's attitude to not continue.  You must ask questions.  It is your duty to ask questions.  How else can you find out how to help them?  If you jump in a car and show houses without knowing what the buyer can afford, what their situation is, etc. then you are wasting gas and your time.  In this business, you have to be picky with who you work with.

I've found just asking them if they are working with an agent isn't enough. In some cases I ask them if they have a relative that is an agent and surprisingly a lot do. I tell them that I don't want to step on any toes and to please contact their brother, sister, sister-in-law or whoever else they know in real estate because they are ultimately going to write the contract up with them. I think a some agents tell them to shop around and use other Realtors to show them homes. We should never get caught up in that!