“Mom, you gave her a bigger piece of cake than me!” It’s a refrain we’ve been guilty of ourselves in our youth and have, if we’re parents, heard from our children. Moms and dads learn early on that they must, at all cost, “be fair.” If you’ve gotten into the habit, good for you. But when you put on your “REALTOR® hat,” you need to drop the idea of being fair and do what it takes to be No. 1.
As a REALTOR®, do you want to walk away without the listing in 50% of your presentations? How about losing 50% of your contract presentations? Isn’t that being fair? Divide with everyone equally? If you’re in the real estate profession, you want an edge. Something that gives you the advantage.
This may seem like an interesting theory but, in our business, it’s more. It’s a guiding principle. It drives every one of our products, including an established, end-to-end real estate marketing platform like Point2 Agent, or the new Point2 Express Tools series.
In your business, always think of how you can tip the odds in your favor. Here are four business scenarios to consider:
1) Does your website allow you to show sellers how and where their listing appeared on all of the sites you advertise or syndicate the listing to? This helps to address home-owners who often complain that they “can’t find” their listing.
2) Use technology to manage a homeowner’s frequently unrealistic listing price expectation. You can explain that, while it is not a recommended strategy, you will list the home at the client’s chosen price for 30 days. At the end of that time, using advanced analytics, you can report on exactly how many people have viewed the listing.
3) If you are using the right platform, you should be able to review a buyer’s search history on your website and get a head start on understanding their priorities. This information will assist you in selecting future listings for this prospect that will likely hit home.
4) Additional information that you can glean from the use of tools, such as a mortgage calculator on your site, as well as information on areas and types of homes viewed, can add invaluable information into the mix to boost your position with the prospect.
With all this information, you should be able to show prospective purchasers homes that fit their needs as determined by their own search criteria. At the very first meeting, you will have a deep knowledge about the buyer’s needs, wants and desires. This edge will make the customer more comfortable as you demonstrate understanding of their requirements and show them properties that best suit their needs.
These are just a few of the technologies available today that intrinsically give the agent an “unfair” advantage in the marketplace.
In today’s market, tipping the odds in your favor is more important than ever.
Walt Baczkowski is vice president of Sales and Marketing for Point2. For more information, please visit www.point2.com.
