Frank Bailey posed an interesting question in his blog, and asked AR professionals: "what's your course of action to keep a buyer committed to you?" The discussion is around whether or not to spend time on buyers if they aren't committed.
I wrote a rather lengthy response, and found it is worthy of being a blog in itself. I'm interested to see what everyone thinks... Here's what I responded to him:
Great discussion. Although I agree with just about everyone in some way, I DISAGREE that you will be saving time and money by not dealing with these people. Is it really fair to say that a buyer is not committed because they don't do it your way? I've walked in the Buyers' shoes many times, and I'd like to share my experience about why I always choose to work with the same agent.
As an active investor myself (AKA, the ones who ARE buying), I am always interested in doing more business, and I can choose to work with whoever I'd like. I want an agent who can be professional according to my standards - my agent should go above and beyond my expectations, and provide me with services that I find to be valuable and extraordinary - something substantial that differentiates the agent from the other people I could be working with. This could mean being extra courteous to me, going out of your way every now and then when you don't have to, or even telling me that you don't have time for me until I schedule an appointment - (blunt and professional - my style, and appreciated). This creates a mutual respect - I don't waste the agent's time, and the agent doesn't waste mine.
Now here's a question: If I had you run around and show me 10 different properties in June although I didn't buy anything - this is obviously a waste or your time, right? Would you know that in June? What if I came back to you in September to purchase a couple properties because you were so good to me. Is it still a waste of time now?
I wrote a blog some time back, called "What Kind of Phone Call Do I Want to Get" - I think reading it will give you a good perspective from a Buyer's standpoint - and perhaps it can give you ideas about different things you can try. I also have some other blogs that you might find interesting about how you can market to investors.
I know I'm deviating a little from the original discussion of "buyers" to "investors" - but the majority of buyers right now are investors who are buying single family homes, condos, and townhouses; and your question is about how to keep buyers committed to you. Many of the buyers I know stay committed to the same agent, and I think you'll find that once you learn how to deal with investors, you won't have trouble with keeping buyers committed to you.
I'm curious to here everyone's thoughts
Comments(2)