sellers: "I Sit Back and Wait For Offers!" Seriously? Yep.
- 10/01/10 06:39 AM
The other night, Loreena Yeo and I did a show at the SWS Virtual Studio on the topic of getting listings SOLD quickly. And yes, assuming there is a buyer in existence for a property, it is entirely possible to sell a house in a matter of weeks, not months. In fact, that should be every listing agent's goal - that their listings sell to the first "real" buyer who comes along... or maybe the second or third on an off-day ;-]
The basic premise of our show was that if you know how to price and prepare a home for … (24 comments)
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sellers: "I Can Sell Your Home in 30-45 Days" Free Teleseminar Show at SWS this Wednesday
- 09/27/10 01:16 AM
With all the doom and gloom in the real estate market, what's this about being able to actually even SELL a home, much less sell it in fewer than two months? Seriously?
Yep, seriously.
If a buyer exists* for a listing, it is possible to sell a house in a relatively short timeframe. But it's not done with gimmicks or creative marketing or bonuses or fancy home brochures... rather with good old fashioned common sense and hard work.
Loreena Yeo will again join me in the SWS Virtual Studio this Wednesday, September 29th to tell us all about how and why her average Days … (10 comments)
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sellers: Listing Presentations: How To Lose Them From Hello! (The Go-Giver Chronicles Continue)
- 09/14/10 01:44 AM
A few weeks ago, I started writing about the Go-Giver real estate agent - how we in our industry can apply Go-Giver principles to our business. To read earlier posts, see the links at the bottom of this blog!
Here's a quote from the introduction to "Go-Givers Sell More" by Bob Burg and John David Mann:
"It's not about you, it's about them."
Mr. Burg and Mr. Mann explain that success in sales is not due to "mastering the close" or having a "dazzling presentation" or the ability to "shoot holes in any customer objection from fifty paces." It's about being a … (21 comments)
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sellers: How to "Just Say No" to Your Seller without Sounding Lazy, Cheap or Disrespectful
- 09/04/10 02:29 AM
God Bless 'em, sellers just want to help. They have lots of opinions on how their homes should be marketed, advertised and promoted to agents and buyers, and they LUV sharing those opinions with us. And of course, they expect us to agree with their opinions and implement their ideas immediately!
And sometimes they're right. Hey, our sellers are intelligent human beings, and at times, they have great ideas we'd never thought of.
But sometimes, um, they don't. No disrespect to homesellers around the world, but we DO (or should) know more about selling houses than they do. We DO (or … (36 comments)
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sellers: “Mr. FSBO, You’re an Idiot and I’m Not!” Yeah, that’s persuasive…
- 08/27/10 01:01 AM
(The other day I promised to do a little series on applying Go-Giver principles to real estate - while this blog wasn't written with that in mind, I realize that it DOES indeed reflect a Go-Giver philosophy! So, let's consider this the first in that series, k?)
I was just talking to an agent who is going through a corporate-sponsored FSBO training program.
Sigh.
It’s typical stuff. Under the guise of being helpful, the program advises you to scare the guy to death about everything he doesn’t know about selling a house. Bring in a stack of complicated contracts and disclosures, “just … (62 comments)
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sellers: Listing Presentations: The Pitfalls of Charts & Graphs & Statistics
- 08/09/10 02:07 AM
Had an interesting email dialogue over the weekend with a SWS reader - I'll let him identify himself here if he likes - about the use of charts and graphs and data and statistics in a listing interview. He asked the question during my "Helping Your Seller See the Light" teleseminar on Saturday whether or not I use, or recommend using statistics like "absorption rate" and "days on market" and "average list-to-sold," and if so, what exactly IS the best use of these statistics?
Well, my superficial, off-the-top-‘o-my-head answer was that no, I don't use charts and graphs and statistics … (28 comments)
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sellers: How to Be the BEST Thing to Happen to Your Seller (A Free Show at SWS)
- 08/06/10 01:49 AM
REGISTER FOR THE SHOW
I've been running a little series of teleseminar shows in the SWS Virtual Studio this summer about various topics of interest to agents who want to improve their listing strategies. From commission negotiation to intelligently pursuing expired listings to helping a seller price right - lots of fun stuff!
To wrap up the series, the next show is about being an exceptional listing agent who is truly a blessing to his or her seller clients. And being an exceptional listing agent is so much more than simply writing good MLS copy or creating beautiful brochures or even pricing … (12 comments)
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sellers: Pricing it Right - Some Aha Tips from Wednesday's Show
- 07/30/10 12:11 AM
On Wednesday evening, Loreena Yeo joined me in the SWS Studio to talk with me (and a few hundred of y'all*) about "Pricing it Right - Helping Your Seller See the Light!" Well, I graciously let Loreena go first, thinking I'd get *my* turn soon, but it wasn't to be. Not that Loreena was a microphone-hog or anything - not at all, but the audience clearly wanted to hear more from her than the time I'd allotted was going to allow.
So, being the primary decision-maker here in the SWS Studio, I made the executive decision to save my thoughts for … (22 comments)
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sellers: Live, in the SWS Virtual Studio this Wednesday - Pricing it Right - Helping Your Seller See the Light!
- 07/26/10 12:20 AM
Pricing it Right - Helping Your Seller See the Light! (A free teleseminar at Sell with Soul)
REGISTER FOR THE SHOW HERE
Pricing is tough enough in today's market (well, any market really), but sometimes the most difficult part of getting a listing priced right is convincing your seller you know what you're talking about!
Many real estate trainers advise you to use condescending scripts and dialogues to persuade a reluctant seller to price his home to sell. Hmmmm...the last time I checked, insulting the intelligence of your audience is a lousy way to build the trust and rapport you'll need to … (7 comments)
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sellers: 35 Listings in 90 Days? Do Your Goals Support Your Business Model?
- 07/07/10 02:00 AM
Just got off the phone with an ambitious newer real estate agent who is all fired up about selling some real estate. Some serious real estate. He has a plan. He's committed to this plan. He's passionate about his plan. He WILL meet his goal or die trying.
His goal? To have 35 listings in the next 90 days.
Impressive. And given his enthusiasm and commitment, I think he can do it.
But should he?
This agent is a follower of SWS which means, among other things, that he is committed to being the best thing that could ever happen … (200 comments)
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sellers: Live (and Free) in the SWS Studio this Weekend - "Real Estate Commissions - Answering the Tough Questions!"
- 06/16/10 01:01 AM
One of the toughest conversations for a real estate agent is the one where we talk to our seller prospects about how we're paid. Oh, some of us are more comfortable with it than others, but even the most experienced, seemingly confident agents struggle with the topic at times. And newer agents almost always dread that part of the listing interview.
And there are perfectly good reasons it can be a tough conversation! After all, real estate commissions are usually the most significant expense in selling a home and many sellers are understandably a bit cynical that those high fees are … (10 comments)
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sellers: Interviewing for the Listing - How to Come Out on Top Even if Your Commission is Higher than Your Competition's
- 03/08/10 11:17 PM
Picking up from yesterday's blog about my agent friend Sam who was referred to a seller who "has a friend who will list it cheap," let's talk about how Sam should handle the whole issue of commission, knowing that his competition is in all likelihood going to charge less.
The question I signed off with yesterday was something along the lines of should Sam address the issue of his competition's lower commission head-on?
In my opinion, no. He should not. Why?
Because, the only way to "address" it would be to criticize it. And that's not cool. Any overt attempt Sam … (28 comments)
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sellers: "The Seller Has a Friend Who Will List it Really Cheap"
- 03/07/10 10:44 PM
Got a question yesterday from an agent who was referred to a potential seller by an acquaintance. However, the acquaintance warned the agent (let's call him Sam) that the seller has a "friend who will list the house really cheap," so Sam may not have a chance at procuring the listing.
Sam asked me how I would approach the situation - how would I respond if the topic of commission comes up in their initial phone conversation? And how would I go about persuading the seller that I'm worth my "full" fee and that the "friend" may not even be worth … (29 comments)
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sellers: Okay, So the Sign's in the Yard - What Next?
- 02/02/10 10:42 PM
Your listing agreement is signed and you're heading out to install the lockbox and yard sign for your fabulous new listing! By this afternoon, the property will be entered into the MLS, and hopefully your fancy-schmantzy home brochures will be delivered by the end of the week.
Whew! You're done, right? Time to move onto the next listing prospect!
Well, that's up to you, but I don't recommend it.
Those first two weeks of a new listing provide a beautiful window of opportunity to knock the sox off your seller and cement your position as his or her all-time favorite real estate agent. Oh, … (47 comments)
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sellers: Real Estate Prospecting - Turning Cheese into Soul - Expired Listings & FSBO's
- 11/30/09 11:48 PM
Here's the first installment in a series - Turning Cheese into Soul.
For the record, I have never seriously pursued Expireds or FSBO's myself; however, I have BEEN an expired listing and have appeared to be a FSBO, so I speak from the perspective of a consumer, not a real estate agent or trainer.
And I tell ya - the expired and FSBO campaigns I've personally been the recipient of are pretty darn cheesy. Obviously the agents are taking a shotgun approach to getting business from us poor saps who desperately need their "professional services." The good old Numbers Game - throw … (22 comments)
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sellers: "I'm Your Friend, So I'll be Honest with you...!"
- 11/22/09 09:12 PM
Couldn't sleep last night. Got up, turned on the TV, flipped thru channels until I landed on HGTV. When I can't sleep, HGTV tends to be my go-to channel since they usually have SOMETHING on besides "paid programming."
Anyway, I got my first taste of The Property Shop with real estate goddess Tatiana. I'd heard that she wasn't exactly the warmest, fuzziest real estate broker on the planet... and, indeed, I doubt she's often accused of being a little ray of sunshine.
This particular show's overall theme was the difficulty of working with friends and family. Okay, fine. You have my … (115 comments)
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sellers: Pricing Historic Homes in Urban Neighborhoods, Step Four - Analyzing the SOLDs - Dealing with the Outliers
- 11/10/09 12:06 AM
Thanks to those who are sticking thru this series with me! While I think that the process of properly pricing homes is fascinating stuff, I know it's not nearly as sexy as other topics! (Although SELLING your properly priced listing is very sexy, indeed.)
In the previous installments...
IntroductionStep One - Before you price, prepare!Step Two - Preview, preview, previewStep Three - Play detective
...we talked about how to effectively preview the competition to figure out where your potential listing falls into the scheme of things. So, what about the SOLDs?
The problem with using SOLDs in your market analysis is, unless you've … (4 comments)
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sellers: Playing Detective... Pricing Historic Homes in Urban Neighborhoods - Step 3
- 11/06/09 10:04 PM
Here's the third, well, kinda the fourth (if you count the introductory teaser) installment in my series "Pricing Historic Homes in Urban Neighborhoods." You can read the rest of the series here:
IntroductionStep One - Before you price, prepare!Step Two - Preview, preview, preview
I've had a few comments come in to the tune of "Wow - that's a lot of work - is it really necessary to spend so much time pricing a home?" Well, I say - YES! It is necessary! After all, our product is property, and our sellers pay us darn good money to know our product and … (18 comments)
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sellers: Pricing Historic Homes in Urban Market - Step Two - Preview, Preview, Preview!
- 11/03/09 11:43 PM
Just another installment in the series: Pricing Historic Homes in Urban Markets...
IntroductionStep One
In the last installment, I recommended that you always, always, always drive by your subject property before doing anything else. If you can get inside, so much the better...
So after you have a good visual of your subject property, it's time to go check out the competition - otherwise known as "previewing." (If your market frowns on previewing, and many do, please share with the audience how on earth you properly price homes!).
When I interview to list a property, I often find myself bonding with the … (23 comments)
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sellers: Pricing Historic Homes in Urban Markets - Step One - Make Like a Boy Scout...
- 10/29/09 11:22 PM
Earlier this week (or maybe last week?) I promised to do a little series with tips on how to properly price historic homes in urban markets. Here's where I promised that - you might want to read it first.
Got distracted by conversations ‘bout Real Estate Reality Shows, but here I am again, back to the more mundane issues of our daily grind... pricing homes to sell. Yawn. (I say that a little sarcastically; I totally love this stuff).
Pricing historic homes in urban markets is a bit (a lot?) more time-consuming than pricing newer homes in planned developments. But, at … (13 comments)
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The other night, Loreena Yeo and I did a show at the SWS Virtual Studio on the topic of getting listings SOLD quickly. And yes, assuming there is a buyer in existence for a property, it is entirely possible to sell a house in a matter of weeks, not months. In fact, that should be every listing agent's goal - that their listings sell to the first "real" buyer who comes along... or maybe the second or third on an off-day ;-]
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