I've been back dancing in the rain for about a week now. I've read posts upon posts of people and, as usual, it brings up some great points, but it also causes some concern.
I'm seeing quite a few remarks about how we can get the consumers to buy a house from us. Basically, don't tell them that the house is outdated in case their tastes are outdated as well, how to court them to have them buy any house from us and how to script what you are saying so that they will buy.
My assertion is that my clients will buy a house from me regardless. It may not be this house at this time, and that's OK. I'm going to walk into every house with every client as if I were listing it for them today and point out resale issues (both good and bad), tell them if it's overpriced, fairly priced or underpriced (yes, there are some of those as well). At the end of the day it's not about making a sale, it's about making a loyal client. My business model isn't about selling homes just today, or even just this year, or the next five years. I plan on spending around the next 20 years selling homes. I will be honest...sometimes even brutally. I will not pressure them to buy a certain house. I will find them the right house, something they will be happy in and will be able to resell in a few weeks when they get ready to. I will even tell some clients that I think it's a bad idea to buy at that particular time. If they are in town for less than two years (and not wanting an investment property after that) or if they can't seem to make their payments as it is (actually the credit crunch has taken me out of that position thankfully).
To remove agents from the "used car salesman" perception will take years. Let's try to forward the cause though. If you are that desperate that you sell a home to people who shouldn't buy it, allow someone to buy something that is priced too high in your opinion, or expect people to buy a house from you within the first couple of homes you might be in the wrong field. I hear car dealerships are hiring....
Comments(41)