Selling Soulfully with Jennifer Allan

It was such a hit last year that we thought we'd do it again... A show about selling real estate without selling your soul!

This Thursday morning, I'll have two SellWithSoul-minded real estate agents who follow SWS principles and are - gasp - SUCCESSFUL! Even though they aren't selling their souls to make it happen!

My guests will join me in the SWS Virtual Studio and tell you how they run their businesses without resorting to icky, cheesy, intelligence-insulting tactics. How they've done it their way, using techniques and strategies that feel right to them, that don't make their skin crawl or reduce them to smiley-faced, cheesy real estate hucksters. How they've resisted the pressure of their brokers, trainers and associates to Suck it Up and Just Do It in the interest of generating business... if that "it" is something they don't feel comfortable doing.

Here are some of the topics my guests will address:

• Is it possible to be "soulful" from Day One, or is a certain level of Old School practice a necessary part of getting started?
• What prospecting activities have you been encouraged to do, but refused?
• Did you ever consider doing and/or implement any prospecting strategies that conflicted with your gut? If so, what was the outcome?
• Have you ever gotten flack from your broker for not being willing to implement prospecting techniques you were uncomfortable with?
• When things aren’t going well, do you ever question yourself as to whether or not you should continue doing things your way, or if maybe your gut instincts are leading you wrong?

Be assured, this is not a sales-pitch for any SWS program or product. Just an hour or so of intelligent, common sense discussion on ways to succeed selling real estate without becoming someone you don't recognize... or even much like.

Join us?

The DETAILS
Date: Thursday, October 27th, 2011
Time: 8am Pacific / 9am Mountain / 10am Central / 11am Eastern
Duration: 60-90 minutes
Equipment Needed: Computer with high-speed Internet access or a telephone.
Cost: Free to attend live, but you must register below:

REGISTER FOR THE SHOW HERE

I have a friend who listed her house with one of the top agents in her area. They went on the market about two months ago, at the exact price the agent recommended and supported with his market analysis. Showings were brisk at first, then trickled off, as typically happens. Feedback has been generally positive, although the home is rather unique and simply not practical for many buyers, and the feedback has reflected that.

A few weeks ago, out of the blue, the agent recommended a $50,000 price reduction. This caught my seller friend by surprise since the feedback she'd received never mentioned that pricing was an issue; most of the negative feedback centered on the unique features of the home that made it "not work" for the buyer. But no one, to her knowledge, had mentioned price as an obstacle. My friend asked the agent for an explanation of his recommendation, but no explanation cometh, the agent simply reiterated his recommendation that she reduce her price.

My friend came to me for advice. I suggested she ask him the following questions as to the WHY of his recommendation:

1. Has there been consistent feedback that we are overpriced? (If so, it has not been shared with us.) 
2. How is the overall market right now? Is anything in our price range selling? Is the market typically slower this time of year?
3. If the market is not interested in our home at the current price, would your recommended price reduction change that? 
4. Will reducing the price by $50,000 overcome buyer's objections to the unique character of the home, or will buyers still expect a more traditional home?
5. Are homes in your recommended price range getting more activity than homes in our current range?

and the kicker...

6. Has the market changed significantly since you recommended the price we listed at? 

My friend is not categorically opposed to reducing her price if that's the right answer, or to withdraw the home from the market and wait for a better time to sell. But she wants (and deserves) information. A coherent explanation. Some evidence that her agent (who is supposed to be looking out for her best interests) put a little effort and thought into her situation -- and his recommendation.

Contrary to what we like to believe, our sellers are not stupid and they aren't unreasonably stubborn. But when we recommend a list price, back it up with data, and then, like clockwork, push for a reduction to that price six weeks later without explanation or exploration of other solutions, home-sellers have every right to be frustrated with us and to question our credibility. To doubt our commitment to their best interests. Or perhaps, to reach the conclusion that we're just lazy.

(My friend is thinking all these things about her agent and I can't blame her).

The moral of the story... before you recommend a price reduction, make sure you have answers to all the questions YOU would ask if it were YOUR home on the market and your agent advised you to give up a chunk of your equity. DO your homework, not just to pacify the seller, but also to determine if, indeed, a price reduction is the right solution. Maybe it is, maybe it's not. But be a PROFESSIONAL real estate agent and find out.

Oh, and it wouldn't hurt to price it right in the first place.

RELATED BLOGS
When Your Listing Isn't Selling, What's the First Thing to Fix - All together now...
STOP! Before You Reduce the Price!
If Price is All That Matters, What Do They Need Us For?

I believe that every real estate agent who wants to be the best thing to happen to their clients (thus generating a steady supply of new clients throughout their careers) should invest in and commit to a real estate-specific contact management system. No, not to send out cheesy drip-mails to their nearest and dearest every two weeks, but to maximize the likelihood that everyone they know thinks of them fondly when the subject of real estate comes up in their day-to-day wanderings.

On Tuesday, October 18th, I did a teleseminar show in the SWS Virtual Studio on the subject, and discussed several ways contact management can be used to help a real estate agent enjoy the success they dream of. At the end of the show, I asked attendees to send me at least one thing they learned that would help them achieve that - and below are the results of that poll!

Favorit-est Tip #1
Create checklist (or Action Plan) templates for your transactions, specifically, your Active Listings, your Buyers-Under-Contract and your Listings-Under-Contract. Every time you enter into a transaction, apply the appropriate template and voila! Your transaction-specific to-do list auto-populates into your daily task list so nothing slips through the cracks! (you can see samples of mine in my VIP Lounge here.)

Favorit-est Tip #2
Print out a list of your "Group One's" (your social network) every quarter and work your way through the list, making personal contact with a few each week. Each week, different names will "call out" to you from the list, depending on your mood, and by the end of the quarter, you'll have at least attempted to talk to or meet up with everyone on the list. Once you're through the list, print out a new one and start over.

Favorit-est Tip #3
Use your contact management system to REMIND you to do things, not to do them for you! Don't ask your contact management system to DO your staying-in-touch, particularly with your Group One's and your clients. Just set up tasks that will remind you it's time to send a birthday card or a how-ya-doing email or a market status report - then send the greeting card, write up the email or send the report personally.

Favorit-est Tip #4
Every time you have an encounter with someone you know, think of something from your conversation you can follow-up on, and create a task for yourself to do it. For example, if your friend tells you they're job-hunting, set a reminder to call them in a week or two to see how it's going.

If you'd like to read more of my ramblings on Contact Management (exciting stuff, I know), just go here: www.SellwithSoul.com/contact-management.

Thanks to everyone who attended the show and provided their feedback!   

REGISTER FOR THE SHOW HERE

It used to be that the inspection period of a real estate transaction was biggest hurdle to overcome once your buyer (or listing) were under contract. Get through the inspection and sigh with relief - you're heading for a closing!

Well, that may not be the case today, but it doesn't mean that inspections aren't still a painful process for everyone, and are responsible for their fair share of failed real estate transactions. And when a sale falls apart due to inspection issues, everyone loses - the buyer, the seller, the lender and of course, both agents involved.

Sure, there are some properties that are simply in such poor repair that unless your buyer is Joe Handy(wo)man or your seller is Mr(s). Cheerful Moneybags, the deal should crash & burn. But most of the time, inspections kill the sale not because the home is a money pit, but because emotions and egos get in the way... and down the proverbial toilet we go.

But the good news is that YOU, as the buyer or listing agent, have a whole lot more influence over the outcome of the inspection than you may have given yourself credit for. You CAN hold these sales together (if it's the right thing for your client, of course!) and do your part to help everyone happily continue the journey toward the closing table.

So, if inspections have been a deal-buster for you in the past, or if you're a new agent and aren't really sure what your role is during the inspection process, please join us for a frank discussion about Inspections and How to Survive Them. 

THE DETAILS
Date: Thursday, October 13th, 2011
Time: 8:00am Pacific / 9:00am Mountain / 10:00am Central / 11:00am Eastern 
Duration: 60 - 75 minutes
Equipment Needed: A computer with a high-speed connection and speakers or a telephone.
Cost: Free to attend live, but you must register below!

REGISTER FOR THE SHOW HERE

So... whatcha' thinking I might be thinking here? More lunch dates? More blogs? More Facebook, Twittering or Linking In? Or, egads, more cold-calling, door-knocking or referral-begging?

Nope.

Here's a reeeeal easy way to double your business every single year.

EARN one referral from every single client.

If every buyer and seller you serve, every year, were to send just one buyer or seller your way in the twelve months following your time together, you'd double your business, wouldn't you? And of course, if your buyer or seller is that tickled with you that they'll send one person your way, I'm guessing they might do it again... and again... and maybe even again!

So, how do you go about inspiring your buyers and sellers to refer business to you?

Expensive closing gifts?
Nope.

Incessant reminders of your affection for referrals?
Nope.

Monthly newsletters and postcards showcasing your listings?
Nope.

Boilerplate greeting cards on the one month, three month, six month and one year anniversaries of their closing?
No again.

A contract signed at closing where your buyer or seller commits to sending you at least three referrals?
OMG, no.

Gifts, drips, cards or contracts won't inspire anyone to send you business. Oh, they might remind someone that you exist and how to find you, but unless they already think highly of you as a real estate agent, ain't no business coming your way as a result of said gifts, drips, cards or contracts.

It's so, so, so simple. Just be great at what you do. Take care of your current clients as your very first priority. Go the extra mile (where, to paraphrase Roger Staubach, there's not much traffic). And then stay in touch just enough to remind without becoming a nuisance.

And watch your business grow...

RELATED BLOGS:
Y'think Your Clients Are Talking About Their Real Estate Agent?
If a Tree Falls in the Forest and Nobody Hears it, Is Your Realtor Doing His Job?
Okay, So the Sign's in the Yard, What Next?
Ten Ways to Show Your Seller You Don't Care
I'm the Best Listing Agent I know

My husband and I plan to move to a lakefront property here in the Florida Panhandle... someday. Definitely not today or tomorrow, probably not next year or even the next (although you never know) ... but... someday.

Well, it's Sunday morning and all is quiet here at the homefront, and I couldn't think of anything I'd rather do than surf the 'net looking at lakefront properties. I'm seeing some Good Stuff - properties I'd like to know more about, if for no other reason than to start identifying and learning about neighborhoods in the area that offer waterfront homes.

But of course, in order to find out more about the Good Stuff I'm seeing, I have to register my name, phone number and email address. Which I really don't mind doing - I understand that the agent who is providing (and paying for) the search engine does so with the hope of generating business for him or herself. Hey, they're providing a free service that I'm happy to take advantage of and if the only cost to me is a little contact information, I can live with that.

BUT...

I'm sitting here at my computer hesitating to enter my contact details. Not really because I'm worried about being barraged with phone calls from hungry real estate agents, but because I suspect they'll be annoyed with me when I disclose my admittedly weak motivation to buy. After all, I have a house to sell that I've given no thought to selling, I haven't spoken with a lender, and I have no real need to move. I'm definitely not that 90-day paycheck that you *should* be focusing your time, effort and energy on.

So, what should I do? Do I go ahead and register, and, if you call me, lie to you about my timeframe? Do I register and then avoid your call? Do I register, and when you call me, tell you the truth and risk being ranted about in your blog as a Buyer Who Wants to Waste Your Time?

Seriously, I'm asking...

I recently released two newsletter mini-clinics especially for aspiring real estate agents - that is - real estate agent wannabe's who are not yet licensed, but hope to be someday. The first is called "So You Wanna Be a Real Estate Agent" and was created to help people decide if real estate is a good career for them, and the second - "So, You're ALMOST a Real Estate Agent" is about helping pre-licensees (those currently in real estate school) figure out what they can be doing NOW to prepare for that happy day they hang their bright shiny new real estate license on the wall of their new office.

Anyway, since I released the two mini-clinics, I've been contacted by several aspiring agents asking for my advice on the whole pre-rookie experience. Guess what the number one question is?

"Should I start putting together a website?"

My answer is always the same (I tend to be predictable that way). I say NO (although I do advise them to get a domain name for email purposes).

Here's why.

Brand new real estate agents have a lot to do. A LOT. They need to be learning about their real estate market. They need to be mastering their contracts and disclosures. They need to become intimately familiar with their MLS and their contract software. They need to understand how the buyer process works from showing to offer to contract to closing. They need to put together a plan to market their listings and decide how to structure their fees. They should be shadowing other agents on showings, inspections, appraisals and closings. They should be creating their team of great lenders, inspectors and handymen. They need to be reconnecting with their spheres of influence and creating transaction checklists. They need to learn about short sales and foreclosures. They need to learn how to properly price homes and create coherent, compelling, persuasive CMAs. They need to choose a contact management system and learn how to use it.

PLENTY to do.

Now, if there were unlimited hours in the day, unlimited dollars in the bank and unlimited energy in the proverbial gas tank, then sure, let's add "creating a website" to that list. But the reality for most new agents is that there is not unlimited time, an unlimited budget or an unlimited supply of energy, so a little triage is necessary.

(By the way, if a new agent is finding that they DO have plenty of time on their hands, something is WRONG! Take a look at that list above and determine what it is you aren't doing... and do THAT).

Your website can wait. For now, just sign up for your broker-provided site, do the minimum required to not look like a slacker, and focus on creating a great product (that would be YOU) so that when the time comes to Create Your Website, you actually have something compelling to say about that great product!

The moral of the story - rookie agents - mark "Create My Website" off your list of Things to Do Today. Whew - one less thing!