Feeling a little “scratched and dented” these days?
You can usually get a deal on a major appliance that has a few marks or dents on it, but it’s still useable and presentable in your home. Sometimes I get the feeling that even experienced agents feel a bit scratched and dented sometimes. We take a look at what the heck we’re doing because we’re not getting the results we need. We’re still pretty presentable, but have been knocked around a lot by mass rejections to our mailings, cold calling and/or door knocking. So some of us will flee the business or go to another brokerage because it has fewer fees or whatever.
Or, some of us will actually consult with our brokers about the lack of consistency and the lack of production. The fact is, during the last few years of observing some agents who bought into “coaching for a fee,” I see they are very frustrated by the meagre results they get after hours and hours of calling with the same scripts. Or maybe they have new scripts that are suitable for the Canadian market. I actually heard a respected trainer from the U.S. stating that his firm has developed a tailor-made dialogue for our fellow Canucks!
Hmm. Yes I can see that in some respects our market is different because we don’t have the mortgage defaults that we see south of the border. But really folks, a seller in need of our services isn’t exactly hanging out a Help Wanted sign unless he’s a FSBO or a “mere posting”.
Look, I’m not denigrating whatsoever the merits of coaching for a fee. But what happens to our colleagues is they overlook some other aspects of what’s available to them in the way of marketing and branding themselves as a unique salesperson in any particular neighbourhood.
Over the years of training, I’ve always presented to both new and seasoned agents the following idea: develop a V.I.P List of Service Providers and Specialists in your area. Regulatory bodies usually require that we suggest three of each to be fair. So how many providers can you name, starting with A – accountants, appraisers….and so on.
Make some new friends with say 30 or so categories and guess what you have? A new batch of possible buyers and sellers or renters that have made most of their money in real estate. Ask those who provide materials along with services, if they’d give a 10 per cent discount if you used their name when referring them.
Think that they’d be good prospects to send MLS listings to in the event that they may know someone who’d be interested, if not themselves?
This is a tried and true system of marketing. Call it a V.I.P. list or a concierge list or whatever. It will take some time to get it going, but think about doing it after you’ve had umpteen rejections on the phone.
Happy marketing and let me know if you take up my suggestions.
“There’s only one thing better than a referral from a client, and that is a referral from his friends and/or associates!” – S. Albert
Stan Albert, broker/manager, ABR, ASA at Re/Max Premier in Vaughan, Ont. can be reached for consultation at stanalb@rogers.com. Stan is now celebrating his 43rd year as an active real estate professional.
Stan Albert, ABR, ASA is a consultant with Re/Max Premier in Vaughan, Ont. He can be reached for consultation by email. Stan is now celebrating his 45th year as an active real estate professional.
