THE THINGS WE DO!!--FOR OUR CLIENTS, OUR CUSTOMERS...

THE THINGS WE DO!!--FOR OUR CLIENTS, OUR CUSTOMERS...

I am really not complaining; I know that the job of a real estate professional is hard. Even though the public seems to think we make a lot of money for very little effort, WE know what our jobs entail, especially if we produce more than the average agent.

I, personally have found that the more effort I put into a listing the better the chances it will sell faster than one that comes on the market and sits there waiting for agents to become aware of it and to show it...just like the saying: "The squeaky wheel gets the oil", a house will sell faster if the listing agent does the following without fail:

1. Price it as close to the real selling price as possible.
2. keep the property in the public eye through open houses, advertising, Internet exposure.
3. Make the local agents aware of the property as often as possible through agent open houses.
4. Make sure your photographs are top quality and even professionally shot in many cases.

So, what's the big deal you say? Why should we not knock ourselves out for our clients and customers?

We SHOULD! I am saying that we DO knock ourselves out and we still get to hear how the public makes the assumption that, through a quick calculation of taking 6% of a sale price "anyone can see that the real estate agent makes a fortune!"....never realizing that we only get a portion of the whole thing, or that 6% is becoming a thing of past as well!

I think it is time that our job description becomes public knowledge; most people want to know what it is that we do for our clientele! I am willing to pull from my own personal experiences what our job description really is. I think it may do a real service to the individuals who are perched on the edge of joining the ranks of real estate professionals---it can be the difference between a big disappointment for someone looking for a new career and a well prepared professional who KNOWS from the start, just how much work is actually involved in this profession.

• Prepare to live without an income when you first start out.
• Cold calls on interesting properties for a buyer
• Preparation for a day of showings
• organizing showings--phone calls to set up appointment's
• Pricing research--comparable sales
• planning for at least 6 months of carrying the listing and all associated cost.
• Photograph new listing--email files to marketing
• Marketing proposals--presentations that are polished and competitive to the other agencies.
• Research zoning and setback restrictions.
• Develop a collection of service people including builders, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, painters, who are available for clients to use at the drop of a hat. 
• Take the time to make sure that new listings are clean and staged properly for showings.
• Develop relationships with lawyers for the benefit of clients/customers.
• Travel to other cities for closings.
• Attend meetings on-sight for new construction sale.
• Attend informational seminars for better preparation when working with clients/customers

Then there are the EXTRAS...these are essential for one to become a top producer:

• Have been known to paint a fence, a bare, peeling wall, and even to weed a side yard boarder garden.
• Prepare to speak to clients/customers at all times of day or night.
• Have added a de-humidifier to a wet basement.
• Have replaced a gasket in a leaky faucet.
• Have called an exterminator for a vacant house and cleared out the mice that had moved in.
• Have taken photos, printed them up, labeled them and bound them for distribution for an Architectural Review Board meeting.
• Have waited in line at the Town Hall Building Department for an hour to get survey/building envelope.
• Have made embarrassing phone call to someone telling them that the smells in the home are overwhelming and a a result I have had buyers leave the premises. 
• Have had the late night phone call, in near hysterical tones asking,...no, begging me to go to the house and turn off a faucet, or an oven in someones kitchen.
• Have had to endure verbal abuse and criticisms from a sellers wife after not closing the blinds in one of the bedrooms--when it was the housekeeper who forgot to do it.
• Counsel owners when they are losing their homes.
• Counsel new buyers when they develop "Buyers Remorse"
• Become the middle man (woman) for a couple going through a divorce--keeping the peace.
• Had to council a homeowner in an episode with his neighbor who laid claim to part of the owners land (adverse possession).

Well, as I am writing this I am realizing that more than half of what we do as real estate agents has to do with the "psychology" of buying and selling real estate.It is important to realize this because we can not sell homes to human beings with out an emotional connection; we MUST relate to our following--Seth Godin calls our following TRIBES. The connection we have with our TRIBE results in how successful we are...or not. In order to make money in this profession, we must work harder than we have ever worked in any other job!...and we must be as involved with our clients/customers as civility allows!