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What Value Do You Bring to the Real Estate Table?

By
Real Estate Agent with Dirt Road Real Estate SA676002000

During our monthly Kingman Golden Valley Association of Realtors (KGVAR) Breakfast Breakout informal learning session, we discussed several of the NAR critical dangers to Realtors from the D.A.N.G.E.R. Report published in 2015. What was interesting is many of these perceived threats to real estate agents returned to this one word “Value.”

 

"Value" is an interesting word in the world of sales. I have consistently contended Value is perceived by the buyer and cannot be created by the salesperson.

 

Rarely can Realtors or real estate agents clearly articulate the Value they bring as professionals. There exist several challenges to be able to create this Value Statement.

 

First, the shorter the better. People have short attention spans. Years ago, I read a report by Microsoft indicating a goldfish had a longer attention span than a human being by one second. Since then people have disputed those findings. However, with so many technologies creating distractions, I do believe technology has had an impact on the attention span of human beings.

 

Second, the Value must emotionally resonate with the target audience. With different generations in the marketplace, the perceived Value is probably different from Millennials to Baby Boomers. People for the most part regardless of demographics buy first on emotions then justified by logic. These differences may require a different Value Statement for each demographic group.

 

Third, your Value must reflect your knowledge, expertise, market area and ethics. This reflection may be quite subtle.  One word of caution is to potentially avoid the word honest. The reason is are you honest when explain why you failed to return the call to someone who in the past has demonstrated to be very demanding?

 

By recognizing these three challenges, creating a powerful Value Statement is not easy. Recently I am considering altering my value statement which was “Facilitating Your Little Piece of Heaven.” This was created because I heard the phrase “Little Piece of Heaven” from many of my buyers.

 

Now in listening to the compliments from my buyers, they have all appreciated my professionalism, my attention to detail and my follow through. So, I am rethinking my Value Statement based upon this new information.

 

Once you have created a Value Statement then start using it. Look for the reactions of others especially the body language. The greater the reaction suggests the more emotional Value either positive or negative. Eventually with dedication to this goal, you will find those words that best describe the Value you bring to your clients.

 

Graphics courtesy of Pixabay

 

Posted by

Leanne M. Smith, MS, GRI, rCRMS

2018 KGVAR Rookie Realtor of the Year-55+
219.508.2859 MST
Life Begins Where the Pavement Ends
Connect with me on LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/leannehoaglandsmith
Carol Williams
Although I'm retired, I love sharing my knowledge and learning from other real estate industry professionals. - Wenatchee, WA
Retired Agent / Broker / Prop. Mgr, Wenatchee, WA

Hi Leanne,
Do you consider the Value Statement the same as a tagline? 

Jun 12, 2020 06:33 AM
Carol Williams

Carol - Actually no, but it could be. Dirt Road Real Estate has the tagline "Life begins where the pavement ends."  This works for many of Dirt Road's clients because they are seeking large parcels of land without seeing their neighbors. They want fresh air, higher elevation, clear nights and some wildlife beyond the open range cattle and wild burros.

As many of my customers want to be on pavement or pretty close to pavement, sometimes that doesn't work for me.  I am still working on recrafting my values statement. 

Jun 12, 2020 02:39 PM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

This is very good advice to share.

Have a great day and a very special weekend.

Jun 12, 2020 07:54 AM
Roy Kelley

You as well and make it an exceptional weekend.

Jun 12, 2020 02:35 PM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Suggestion: You should add your office location to your automatic blog signature.

Jun 12, 2020 07:55 AM
Roy Kelley

Thank you and I will do that as soon as I remember how. 

Jun 12, 2020 02:35 PM
Mary Hutchison, SRES, ABR
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate-Kansas City Homes - Kansas City, MO
Experienced Agent in Kansas City Metro area

I've never thought of a value statement--will have  to think on that one and do some research!

Jun 13, 2020 12:31 PM
Mary Hutchison, SRES, ABR

Glad to have activated some thinking on that.  A well crafted value statement can highlight what mays you different by connecting what results you deliver to what your clients value.

Jun 14, 2020 09:07 AM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hello Leanne - I like your thoughts on value statements especially as it relates to perception by customers versus the creation by the agent.    Your thoughts in your reply to the comment by Carol Williams provided additional insight.  

Jun 16, 2020 07:21 AM
Michael Jacobs

I have had rather intense discussions with my professional colleagues who are authors, consultants to speakers with a focus on "value creation."  I believe as salespeople regardless of industry we connect to the value drivers of our customers/clients. We cannot create value even with latent (unaware or undisclosed) needs.  What we do is elevate latent needs to a conscious level and then connect to those now recognized value drivers.

Jun 16, 2020 08:03 AM