Does a Tough Market Create More Business?
Cited: Reality Times
Many real estate agents often wonder how they can meet more prospects and get more business. As with any business professional, they want to know what they need to do to increase their business and meet new prospects. However, there is something that is more important than just acquiring new business or meeting new prospects. That is earning the respect of the prospects that you meet to encourage them to do business with you.
You see, as agents we can’t control a lot of things when it comes to having a person buy or sell a home with us. We can’t control their job situation, their credit rating, or even the timing of their desire to move.
But what we can do is significantly impact their desire to want to work with us when it comes to facilitating the buying or selling of their largest personal asset. And if you’re able to do that on a consistent basis with a majority of the prospects you meet, then you’ll have a much better chance of getting more business, simply because it’s a byproduct of their desire to want to work with you.
So with that said, how can you increase your credibility – in their eyes – so that more prospects make you their Realtor of Choice? Here are a couple of my favorites.
Ask the right questions. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people mess this up. Asking the right questions is less about your desire to want to close a deal, and more about developing an understanding of your prospect’s situation.
Some examples include:
- Why are you thinking about making a move?
- What do you want to see in your ideal neighborhood?
- Name a feature in your old house that you want to see in your new home?
- What kind of commute do you have now and what’s your tolerance going forward?
Those are all good questions because they focus on your prospects and their situation. From there, you’ll want to provide some ideas and options of different neighborhoods that fit their criteria.
For those looking for a beautiful home in New York . . . The Nyack Riverfront property and hamlets on the Hudson River are much like they were 100 years ago. Colonial, Victorian and other old world structures are found throughout the landscape. And modern, contemporary structures sit high on the mountaintops. You will find many fine restaurants, art galleries, antique shops, marinas/boat clubs, bike shops, golf courses, country clubs and numerous riverfront parks and hiking trails near the Nyack NY real estate.
Obviously, you’ll want to do a more comprehensive search on MLS to make sure you’re getting everything that’s out there, but saying something like, “Ok, so you don’t want more than a 30 minute commute from downtown and you’re looking for a quiet neighborhood where you can raise a family, right? Have you taken a look at the XYZ subdivision lately? I was showing that to a client the other day, and it really looks like they’ve got some good deals on some nice homes. It’s located about 20 minutes from downtown, and from what I’ve seen, it looks like a really nice neighborhood to raise a family.”
You see how that automatically increases your credibility in the mind of that other person? You gave them information that they probably didn’t know, and you related it to their specific situation. If you do that enough times, you see how it’s almost impossible for this prospect to not at least consider working with you? Take my word for it: If you want to get more business in today’s tough market, asking the right questions (and providing insightful points) is always a great start.
Become a Problem Solver. A lot of times you’ll run into situations where a person wants to buy or sell a home, but there are some roadblocks standing in the way. I’m talking about things like credit rating, curb appeal or anything else that impacts your ability to facilitate their purchase, but falls outside of the traditional “Realtor” role.
If you want prospects to really want to work with you, then becoming a problem solver to handle those situations is the way to go. Instead of just saying, “Well it looks like you’ll need some help on getting your credit back into shape”, how about actually having a person – that you already know – who helps people out with these situations.
Instead of saying, “Boy, you really want to consider some landscaping work on the yard before we can even think about selling this house for top dollar”, how about having the name of a handyman or landscaper whose work you’ve personally seen, who can help out with some loose ends around the house.
You see how you identified the problem and provided an option for solving it? Any Realtor can say, “Do this and do that”, but you’re now coming with options and solutions…which is exactly what you want to do when it comes to earning their respect.
For most people, buying or selling a house is one of the most stressful times in their lot and that is the bottom line. You want to be the person who can ask the right questions, write the right answers and give options for moving things forward when challenges begin to pile up as they usually do. You want to be there “go to” person.
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My Take: I believe in the old phrase, “The customer is always right!” However, as we all know, the customer is also sometimes wrong. That is why you should always be able to offer a client an alternative solution. Of course, that does not mean the client will take the advice that you give, but at least you gave it.
For example, let us say that you have a client that is moving to Houston and you have some Houston homes for sale even though the client is not interested in Houston real estate. They actually want to live on the outskirts of Houston in Cloverleaf, Galena Park or even Bellaire. However, you have information on foreclosures in Houston that could save your client thousands of dollars. This is the type of information that clients like and can earn you referrals.
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