Responses to Rejection

A career in sales leads to the inevitable: Rejection. In Real Estate, rejection of your offer for service is more personal than the rejection faced by a person who sells product. The consumer has simply chosen to purchase another product out there, and as the salesperson, you simply have to find another person who wants your product. When a potential client rejects a Realtor's offer for service, it may seem as though they are rejecting YOU, the person, and not your service. Another difference is that you have already invested time and energy by researching and preparing your market information, or by researching properties and local info for buyers. You may have shared some of your secret strategies with them. If they don't select you, they will select your competitor. What if the person they chose doesn't deliver what was promised? What if their escrow during the purchase is a mess, or they can't find what they are looking for, or their home is not selling?

The question doesn't necessarily lie in 'What did I do wrong?', but you should ask yourself 'What can I do now?'. Do you follow up with the clients who have either shopped for homes with you but did not purchase through you, or the sellers who choose to list with another agent? I first learned of this follow up method at a motivational seminar, and I never utilized it as an agent. We've all heard the phrase 'It's better to be the second Realtor in on a listing', so are you doing anything to promote yourself as the second agent? As a Virtual Assistant company, we love being the second one in, because there was usually some sort of disappointment with their first choice.

Here is the follow up method I am going to begin using in my own business, and I believe it could work for Realtors as well: Send a letter to the client who has not chosen you for their Real Estate needs, address the rejection, inject some humor into the letter, and let them know you are still available if they should need you in the future.

Sample letter:

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Home Seller,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for considering me as your Realtor. I know you have many choices when it comes to selecting a professional to help you through this process, and I was honored that you chose me to share my marketing and service strategy with you!

I realize that I cannot 'hit a homerun' with every client, there are many competent Realtors in our marketplace today. I wish you all the best in your home sale and future purchase. 

Please know there are no hard feelings, and in the event things don't go as planned, I am still available should you require my assistance in the future.

Sincerely,

Joe Realtor

My question for you is, would you do this? Is it ethical? Some buyers and sellers don't bother to tell you they have chosen someone else until they are in a contract or there is a sign in the yard. So technically, you could be sending this letter to the client of another Realtor. Does it breach the Realtor code of ethics? Why or why not?