All of this being true, it would seem wise to have an online presence to substantiate your belief. As crazy as it seems, as agents reduce the amount of money they spend on print advertising, they are not as quick to invest in online advertisement resources.

I would encourage each of you to spend the next several months building up your online presence. There are many avenues available in which you can start building your own online identity including; Blogging, Facebook, Twitter, company provided website, online contact management services and Realtor.com.

For those who want to take their online marketing a step further, you should consider having a professional website created that include an IDX solution for customers to search for homes at your site. You might also want to consider investing in marketing and branding ads on sites such as Yahoo.com, Trulia.com or Zillow.com.

Here are a few links that provide instruction and tips that will help you get started on this new path to business!

Building a blog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnploFsS_tY

Start Facebook account: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-New-Facebook-Account

Field guide to effective online marketing: http://www.realtor.org/library/library/fg203

As agents we should pay particular attention to our spending habits and why we choose the companies and services that we use daily. They can provide insight into the mind of a potential customer, because we are also potential customers and as such we think like a customer thinks.  So what is there to be learned from where we purchase our gas?

I can count on one hand the number of times I have actually walked into the gas station’s building over the past year. I am sure that inside the station there will be a smiling sales person behind the cash register offering a warm greeting, maybe even a manager watching over the comings and goings, making sure shelves are stocked. I am usually in a hurry and have no need for a huge soda pop in a cup or a pack of gum. I’ll buy the station’s gas even without the warm and fuzzy greeting or any direct selling of their product. Why?

There are 3 reasons that I can think of for buying gas at a particular station without ever going in to speak with a sales associate.

1. I have a need.
2. They are are able to handle my need.
3. Convenience.

I have a need

I have a need for gas, so a purchase is going to follow. From the customer viewpoint, the need comes first and starts the purchase process rolling. Buyers and sellers of real estate have a need as well.

• Seller needs to relocate.
• Buyer needs to stop renting and buy a home.
• Seller needs to short sell their home.
• Buyer needs to use FHA or VA financing.
• Seller needs to purchase another home after selling theirs.
• Buyer needs to purchase a home in a specific area.

They are able to handle my need

I know that the gas station can fill my need. How do I know? I can see that they have gas pumps. I see other people buying gas ahead of me. They have a big sign advertising that they are a gas station and have a variety of grades of gas to sell.

Do customers know that you can fill their real estate needs? Do you make sure your marketing and prospecting efforts carefully outline what you offer that fills the needs of others?

• Do you promote yourself as a relocation specialist?
• What have you done this year that clearly identifies you as an agent that can assist first time homebuyers?
• Do you make sure your market knows that you have the education and qualifications to assist sellers with the short sale process?
• Who knows that you can help a buyer obtain a FHA or VA loan?
• Buying a home while selling one is more complex; does your customer base know you to be a knowledgeable real estate professional?
• Are you the area/city/town expert?

If we are to learn from the gas station, the customer would need to know all about us even without or before meeting us.  How is that possible?

Word of mouth, marketing and prospecting that accentuates your services.

Your current and previous customers are walking billboards. Your family and friends are your radio and TV spots, reaching into hundreds if not thousands of households with a message about you. Word of mouth will let people know that you can fill their needs before they ever meet you.

Does your marketing and prospecting accentuate what the customer is really concerned about, their needs? Is your message clear, for instance, that you are a relocation specialist and do you offer examples of how that benefits them. Do they know you understand the fears and concerns with buying a home for the first time and are able to guide new home buyers successfully through the process? Remember your goal is to introduce your skills to the customer and let them know what you can do for them before getting face to face.

Convenience

I pass by several gas stations on my way to the one I most commonly use because of the convenience of using this station. I know where to find the station, they are easy to find, easy to use, and are able to provide me what I need when I need it. If not, I search for the next “known” gas station I need.

Can potential customers say the same thing about you? Do you have enough for-sale signs out in the neighborhood that make it easy for a new customer to find you? There is a phrase, “you list to last” and the reason I find this to be true is because listings result in new customers calling the phone number(s) on the for-sale signs. Are you online? Do you take advantage of social media sites leaving online directional signs to you? Can the potential buyer or seller conveniently locate you anytime of the day or night from their home or office? Do you answer the phone? This is a biggie. Are you always letting calls go to voicemail putting all of the work on the caller to either leave a message or move on to a more convenient agent? If we are to pattern ourselves after a service such as a gas station, we need to be around every corner, open for business and ready to serve the needs of our customers.

We can learn from our everyday purchases

There is a lot for us to learn from our own buying and spending habits. Analyzing why we purchase from one store or vendor over another will help us reach more of the customers we seek. Start making mental or written notes as to why you shop a certain store or read one direct mail piece over another and then incorporate what motivates you into your own real estate business.

Photo Credit by the Italian voice

Your initial response to the buyer’s question is probably going to be along the lines of:

My name is Greg Staker. This is a great home you have called about, and may I ask your name.  Or your response might be; let me pull this information and send you an email or give you a call with the information, your contact information is? 

Your goal is to get the buyer’s contact information, find out what they want and then sell them what they want. More often than not you find out quickly that the person calling is not concerned about your goals.

Your goals are not the buyers

You are most likely one of several agents this buyer has called today or this week, asking about a house.  There is an old saying, why buy the cow when the milk is free, and this is played out daily in real estate offices throughout the country.  Inexperienced and less successful agents are more than happy to act as information providers without requiring any commitment from the buyer.  List prices or addresses are offered up freely to anonymous persons on the other end of the line.  In return, the potential buyer is unwilling to offer up the information you have requested and will counter you with any of the following excuses.

I just want to know the price.

I am looking for a friend.

I want to drive by the home.

Sound familiar?

When encountering those excuses, many agents offer the buyer the same service as other agents in hopes of starting a customer relationship with the buyer.  How many times have you said or heard someone say this to a buyer?

I have access to all of the listings for sale in this area; there is no need for you to call anyone else.

 It is better for you to pick an agent and let them do the leg work for you so that you don’t miss out on the latest listings? 

A few agents even give in to magical thinking; somehow, someway this buyer will just call them back.   The only thing of “value” the agent offers is their cell phone number.

I’ll provide you with my cell phone number and if you like the home or see another home you’re interested in, give me a call.

When you offer the buyer the same value as the agent before you, and the agent after you, what reason would the buyer have to commit to you? 

If they commit to you in the small things, the big things will follow.

 The buyer does not know you. There are no reasons for the buyer to feel comfortable enough to commit to anything.  Fear creates trust issues.  Buyer fears are based on their uncertainty, inexperience, bad experiences, or feelings of being rushed into a decision.  Establishing a relationship with the buyer or getting a commitment from them is best handled in small steps. 

The first step in relationship building is in letting them know right from the start that you can provide them with something of real value. Immediately after their initial inquiry about price or location you may want to respond in a manner similar to the following.

You may be happy to learn that my services as an agent are free to you.  Additionally, I am able to provide you with the information you need to purchase the best home for the best price.

You just told them you can provide them with what the 2009 National Association of REALTORS survey indicated that buyers want most from a real estate agent.  Help in finding the right home to purchase.  Initially, you’ve not asked for anything from them, which helps to ease their fears, you have also eased the fear of uncertainty as it relates to what this is going to cost them by your use of the word “free”. 

From your initial offer you will then move to the next step in helping them feel at ease.  When a buyer feels at ease, it helps them to open up to the possibility of their trust and commitment to you.  I suggest holding back from boring housing statistics which could result in you coming across to the buyer as cold and uninvolved and instead replace those stats with a story about the home or neighborhood that a friend might tell over a glass of tea. 

Let me provide you with the specific information you have requested.  By-the-way, my name is Greg Staker.  You are asking about the price of the home at 111 Pick-a-name St.?  I love that area.  I remember walking down that street on my way to school or the community park is a great place for picnic, or my granddaughter took her first ride on a swing close to the house you’re asking about.

If they are residents of your community, you might then add a follow up question, perhaps asking what school they attended or you could ask them a “do you remember when” question about the city or community. If they are new to the area, then your follow up might include an additional highlight about the area; you could tell them they will want to visit the local library or a popular downtown store.

So far, in addition to offering them something of value, you have shown them that you know the area, live in the area and can help them get to know the area.  You spoke to them about growing up in the community and a few of the good features to be found.  This helps to take you from a salesperson in their eyes and turn you into more of a neighbor/person. 

Your next step is to ask one small favor of them.

Ok, I have the information here.  I am sorry, when I introduced myself I did not ask you for your name?

At this point it is reasonable to expect the buyer feels comfortable enough to offer you their name.  Once you know who you are speaking with you can proceed with building a relationship by again offering them something of value.

By the way Mr. Buyer since we are talking about price, did you know that the median sales price of a home in this area is $$$$?  That is right, $$$$.  Half of the homes sold this year have been lower and half have been higher than $$$$!  Is it your goal to purchase a home lower than, higher than or around the median sales price? 

You are hoping to spend lower?  Great, there are 1,000 homes listed right now for sale that are lower than the median sales price.  The particular price of the home you’re inquiring about is $$$.  If you’d be willing to provide me with your email address/phone number, I’d be happy to screen the current list of homes in your price range.  I can also include size and location or other criteria you’re seeking and provide you with the addresses and prices, if that would be convenient for you?

 Earlier I discussed how every agent the buyer speaks to will offer to provide them with information on all houses for sale in their area.  But you are the only agent who will offer to provide them with more.

Not only can I provide you with a list of homes for sale in that area, I can take it one step further. 

• I can provide you a list of homes that are being sold with a home warranty for your added protection against costly repair work after you move in. 
• I can provide you a list of homes that have had new roofs or tiling or carpet or windows, etc installed within the past year. 
• I can provide you a list of homes where the seller is offering to pay a portion of your closing costs. 
• I can provide you a list of homes where the seller has indicated they are motivated to sell, perhaps resulting in a better deal for you. 
• I can provide you a list of homes complete with a comparison chart of what similar homes have sold for so that you are comfortable you are not paying too much.

You can go on and on adding to the list or including features or concessions that the buyer has indicated is important to them, thus providing even more value to a task that everyone says they can do, it is just that you can do the same task, better.

Once the buyer gives you a name and contact information, you are half way there to commitment, to allowing you to assist them with the purchase of their home.  The rest of the way will require that you continue to offer them service and care of real value that other agents do not offer.

Using the steps above will help you get a commitment that allows you to start building a customer service relationship from buyers who call you while on floor or from your advertisements.  – Remember to listen, listen, listen and be sincere with your potential customer, instead of sounding like you’re reading, well, a script. -  From there it is up to you to continue providing the buyer with reasons to trust and have confidence in you in order for you to maintain that commitment with them throughout your sales career.

Our practice is to send every customer a service evaluation survey immediately after their closing. We want to know among other things, what prompted them to contact our company and our associate and what did they think of the service they received.

Each new evaluation received offers insight on what it truly takes to succeed in this business. Without a doubt the answer can be found in providing great customer service. I am confident that providing great customer service will result in more business during your career than good marketing or prospecting.

A majority of the great comments received are the same with each returned evaluation; the agent is very professional, efficient, courteous, and friendly. Their agent was there for them and made sure the customer was provided continuous updates. They were shown the homes they wanted to see, and the process was explained to them in detail. Taking into account all of those great observations and compliments the best thing the customer does just before sending the evaluation back to us is when they circle “yes” next to a question that asks” Would you recommend the agent and our company to a friend?  Answering yes is the result of great customer service and is invaluable. Great customer service builds successful real estate careers.

You should set aside time daily to evaluate the type of customer service you provide. Perhaps your time management has room for improvement so that you never keep a customer waiting for you or your follow up skills and systems could be tweaked so customers are never left in the dark.

Our customers will tell us what we do well and what we need to improve on. They will also tell us what they want and expect from us, we just need to listen.

Meeting people

As a real estate salesperson your main job is meeting people. Until you are successful at meeting people you cannot accomplish all of the other tasks and jobs that are part of a real estate career.

Meeting people and then being introduced to more people will handle a multitude of issues you will face in this business. If you are not successful with taking listings you can offset that by increasing the number of buyers you meet and work with. If you have little success with qualifying buyers or getting buyers to write offers, you need to meet more sellers and leave the buyers to the showing agents.

If your day to day activity revolves around putting out fires, chit-chatting with fellow agents, staying on hold with the lender’s short sale department and little or no time was devoted to prospecting in order to meet new people, you will most likely never realize the success you expect.

Agents who enjoy a high level of success do so for reasons other than being accomplished at administrative or clerical work. They are successful because they enjoy being face to face with people and they know how to increase the number of people they are face to face with.

Their results show that they take the time to be involved in their neighborhood association, they are active in their community or church. You can glean from a top agent’s multiple closings that they continually monitor their prospecting efforts to ensure it is touching the right people with the right message. They are not shy about asking for a referral from past customers. They would rather delegate the paperwork instead of letting it get in the way of them meeting more people.

Meeting people is a real estate agent’s number one job. Ask yourself, “Have I got a plan in place to meet people today?” If the answer is no, rework your plan.

You need to stand, smile and extend your hand in greeting whenever someone walks into your office. This will give the customer a warm, welcome feeling. Once you have determined that they are interested in buying or selling a home, take them away from the reception area and back into an office where they can feel comfortable to discuss their situation in private.

You should avoid; answering a ringing phone while they are with you or trying to conduct business with them at the front desk.

Customers who walk in are usually potential home buyers. Their expectation is that you will help them find a house. Take your time and work on building a relationship with them before you start hammering them for financial information. Make small talk first, why did they stop into your office? Do they live in the area? Have they lived here long? What do they think about the amazing weather, the local sports team? Let them get comfortable with you and you with them. Keep an eye on their body language and adjust your conversation accordingly. Ask them what type of house they are interested in and then listen. Find out if they are first time home buyers or repeat buyers and ask them if they have questions about the process; listen and answer . Once they feel you care and that you will listen, they will be more inclined to talk about the personal stuff like financing and getting qualified.

A great first impression followed up by great customer service will result in a customer who will turn to you for real estate assistance throughout your career.

Listen

• What is their motivation for buying/selling?
• What is the time frame they expect this to happen?
• What have they heard about current market conditions and how does this influence their thought process?
• What has been their experience with buying/selling a home in the past?  What did they like? Dislike?
• What don’t they want to hear?
• Who makes the decision?  Who do they need to consult with before signing a contract?
• Why did they contact you or decide to use your services?

Give the customer what they want

• As a buyer they want the best value available.
• As a seller they want the most money in the fastest amount of time.
• They want your patience and understanding when they are nervous, confused, or seeking more information.
• They want to know up front what buying a house will cost them or how much they can expect to receive from selling their home.
• They expect you to update them continuously during the transaction.
• They expect you to be more concerned with their complete satisfaction than you are about getting paid.
• They want you to speak politely and professional to them even when they are upset or tense.

Ask yourself, if you are successfully meeting people but not closing transactions are you failing to listen or provide the customer what they want?  There are steps you can take to improve your listening and customer service skills.

•  Shadow an agent in your office who is doing well and pay close attention to their manner and style when discussing real estate with a potential customer. 
• Ask your manager of another agent to listen and observe you when you are on floor, at an open house of in front of a customer.  Then ask them to give you an honest review of how you did and have them include helpful critique and suggestions.

The customer will tell you what it is they want in order to work with you; you just need to hear them.

I believe I see another possibility for agents spending time on these social media sites.  Time wasting.  For some agents being involved with social sites can also have a negative impact much like you might find in any real estate company. 

For visualization I will compare it to agents who gather around the office water cooler.  At first, standing around the water cooler exchanging war stories, discussing ways to improve marketing, prospecting or even the business itself or catching up with your office friends is harmless.  The problem starts when the agent never leaves the comfortable feeling the water cooler provides.  You will find the agent day after day loyally maintaining their post waiting for anyone who might drop by to give them an ear.  But by the end of the day, week or month, that is all they have accomplished.  No surprise, their income reflects where and how they have spent their time.

A successful agent on the other hand understands how to balance.  You will rarely catch them wasting an entire day talking the talk because they understand that their career depends on them walking the walk.  Walking requires moving away from the water cooler, walking requires physically meeting with those who need their services.    Walking includes developing a business plan that includes social media as one of many sources of business. 

While I have talked to some very good agents who skillfully use social media to further their brand or business, I do not think the majority of existing top producing agents in our industry today have embraced social media.  When successful agents finally sign up, I believe they will quickly discover how to optimize their time and effort to the benefit of themselves, their business and the customer.  Those are the agents we will want to pay attention to, those are the agents we will want to follow, friend or connect with.

Until the REO listing floodgates open up, agents should be going after the second part of the REO equation, the buyer/investor. If you direct you marketing and prospecting towards picking up the buyers looking for foreclosures, bank owned and distressed properties you will realize just as many sales as you would if you listed these hotly sought after listings. How can you get REO buyers? These 3 methods have proven successful for picking up new customers and clients.

1) Your office marquee sign should be offering a free list of bank owned properties to those who stop in. Companies sell foreclosure lists online and in the newspaper that interested buyers willingly pay for so imagine the interest you will generate by offering these lists for free!
2) Blogging about the REO market for your specific area will attract online users searching for this type of real estate. Making sure your blog title, content and keywords are location specific will help to increase the visits of those looking to buy an REO property in your market area.
3) REO homes add to the attractiveness of this real estate market to first time home buyers. The low prices these properties are being offered for in some cases coupled with the tax credit and low interest rates available provide strong reasons why a renter or potentially new home owner would want to buy. Your job is letting them know. Make sure you have a direct mail or direct phone campaign in place directed to renters in your area.

You don’t have to be the listing agent to enjoy the success that selling REO properties are creating in this market. You just need to have the buyers that make up the second part of the deal.

If you listen to what the buying and selling customers tell you, you will enjoy a successful real estate career.  In order to be in a position to hear the secrets to success that the customer has to offer, you must first ask them.  One of the ways you can be in a position to listen is to provide them with a customer service survey asking them what they liked or disliked about the real estate transaction they just completed and the service they received. 

These surveys are revealing to what matters most to a home buyer or home seller.  Agents who spend thousands of dollars on the latest marketing tools, Internet exposure, training and coaching in order to find and obtain customers, need not forget to build relationships with the customer.  If the goal is a successful, low-stress transaction, you may want to spend a little more time finding out what it is your customers feels is most important and then make sure you deliver each and every time you are involved in a deal. 

What are the secrets of our trade that the public feels are so important that they would take the time to praise their real estate agent on a survey for possessing these qualities and skills?

• Agents who are dependable
• Agents who are hard workers
• Agents who are determined
• Agents who are pleasant and likable
• Agents who are accountable
• Agents who are responsible
• Agents who are professional
• Agents who are courteous
• Agents who are efficient
• Agents who exceed the customer’s expectations
• Agents who go out of their way to help
• Agents who make sure the property they are showing is what the customer is looking for
• Agents who are attentative to every detail
• Agents who help ease the stress
• Agents who listen

All of proceeding were written compliments paid to agents who helped a buyer buy or a seller sell.  The secret to this business is not so secret really.  The difference between understanding and implementing these secrets in the transactions of our career is the difference between no success and a very successful real estate career.