I got yelled at on a call last week for declaring (most) realtors saps, but my attitude is, "If the tree fits..."
How else to explain the typical Realtor M.O.? "Take all comers, beg them to "choose" to work with me, spend my time chasing down deals and visiting houses with people who aren't serious, live in fear that the seller/buyer will cut me loose, maybe get a commission occasionally"
Pfui...that's sappy behavior if you ask me. (And by virtue of the fact that you're still reading this, I'll consider myself asked!)
What about running your realtor business like a "real" business? Identify a niche, a target market. Develop some special skills and credibility in that market. Profile your ideal customer.
Attract prospects and qualify THEM.
Let THEM audition for you instead of the other way around.
TRUE professionals don't beg for business, they choose from applicants.
Realtors deserve the rap they get because most are like yippy little dogs, hopping around trying to get you to "like them" enought to deign to work with them.
Double Pfui. If I wanted to spend all of my time trying to get everyone to like me, I'd go back to junior high. (and I was about as successful there as most realtors are now).
"Okay, Frazier, enough about the problem. What's the solution?"
Well, first off, I will tell you that the SOLUTION is not going to fit most agents. Most agents will recoil from what I would propose the same way vampires react to the morning sun.
But for agents who are done being doormats, stooges, saps, and pushovers and who are ready to start being respected and coveted as professionals with "in demand" specialized knowledge, my "solution" is to become an Investing Agent, an investing specialist.
There are about 23 immediate benefits for a realtor in making the Agent-Investor shift in their business but I'll just go over the highlights here (and the "Dear God, I could never do that!" reactions): Benefits (If you want more detail on any of the benefits below, there is a more detailed "7 Step Guide to Transforming Your Business By Becoming an Investing Specialist" at www.Agent-Investor.org)
1. Replace "1 time Every 7-15 year Buyers" with REPEAT Buyers
2. Deal with Buyers from Anywhere Around the World
3. Deal with Properties From Anywhere Around the World
4. Buy Properties Without Visits
5. No More Chaffeuring
6. Remove (some of the) Emotion out of the Buying Process
7. Deal with people who rely on you for your Professional Opinion
8. Create Buyers rather than waiting for people to BECOME Buyers
9. Develop your own investing skills
10. Develop your own ADVANCED Investing Skills
11. Create Additional Streams of Income Through Consulting
12. Profit from Other Agents and Wholesaler's generation of deals
13. Profit from REOs and Short Sals
14. Send an Email to Your List; Get a Contract
15. Protect Your Business From Seasonal "Lulls"
16. Go from Interchangeable Commodity to Valued Advisor
17. Develop "Real Skills" rather than the ability to enter data into the MLS
And many, many more... So, what will ordinary realtors say when this suggestion pops up?
"Working with investors is a waste of time."
First off, contrast that with your super efficient use of time working with your "traditional" buyers but I'll let that pass for now. I will say that working THE WRONG WAY with investors can be a waste of time. Which is why you learn the RIGHT way - making them covet working with you, apply to work with you, go through YOUR Screening process.
"I wouldn't want to niche; I want to be able to work with anyone."
Ah, the swan song of the truly pathetic. That is a person who needs to get niche slapped! Yes, it's tempting to be "open for business" for all comers, but that is a recipe for obsolescence and futility.
Vanilla is nice - it's safe, but it's also easily overshadowed by the flavors that take a stand...Like Chunky Monkey.
While you're out there trying to be all things to all people, you are competing with every other VANILLA agent in the market and you're not giving your customers any REAL reason that they MUST choose you over someone else.
And don't talk to me about "Great Service".
Customers EXPECT great service. If that's your "Unique Selling Proposition", you're going to starve, kid. Oh, wait...you are starving.
"There are no investment deals in my market."
Now, I know that you're just lazy. REOs are exploding. Prices are dropping,. Rental demand is increasing. Money is still super cheap...for the right buyer/borrower. Get off your duff, Part-Timer and go learn the business. It will help you increase your "right now" income as well as your own personal net worth. (I'm not sure if you've ever heard but real estate has made more millionaires than any other investment or business vehicle)
So, the long and short of it is that if you can start to focus on ATTRACTING investor buyers and helping YOUR network become investors, you've got a heckuva business on your hands. The question is whether you're ready and able to emerge from the pack of lemmings and change course. It's up to you BUT let me give you a little hint about where the pack of lemmings end up. It ain't pretty.
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