Tag Archives: closing strategies

Eliminating the Emotion–No job that we do as Real Estate Professionals is more important

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I recently wrote a Featured Post about negotiating. I stressed how important it was for people to “walk” at some point in negotiations, either before the property was placed under agreement or at the closing table.

The consistent sentiment from those of you who responded was that you worked hard in the beginning of the engagement to develop a set of expectations from your client , and then tried as heard as you could to keep  that “wish list”, if you will, in front of the client, at all stages, with the objective that  the client would not change course and start to ask for new concessions, normally late in the game.

This approach appears commendable. Almost everything in our business improves with preparation and diligence. I would suggest another important element when you are speaking with your client early in the game. Tell the client that emotions should be “left at home” while they are negotiating for their home. As much as they want the home, or want to sell the home, they need to maintain a “poker face” throughout the process.

In my experience, any  significant show of emotion by Buyer or Seller opens up the doors to the other side. A client needs to  be comfortable with his or her goals for the transaction. They may change somewhat after the home inspection. Perhaps, they need even to be put down in writing. But, I have found that we do out best for our clients if we remind them, gently but firmly, that they should not lose sight of what their goals were in the transaction and what they really expected.

Sometimes the best way to remove emotion is to remove the client. Urge your Seller not to attend the cllosing. Nothing is added by the Seller’s presence, and the chance for an emotional flare-up is increased by the Seller’s presence. The  parties do not need to like the people on the other side; they just need to accomplish what they originally set out to do, purchase, or sell, the property, on terms which they have assessed as fair. If we can keep them focused on that course, we are doing our job,

Vendor Inclusive Marketing (“VIM”)–Using your tested referral sources to explode your business

closing, Marketing / Communication, ,

Vendor Inclusive Marketing (“VIM”) is probably not new to most of you. You are probably using many elements of VIM in your everyday practice. Because you are a cutting age professional, you understand the worth of knowing the very best electrician in your market. The guy who will show ip promptly at a customer’s home, do an effective diagnosis of the problem,  provide a reasonable estimate for the work to be done and then deliver his services, on time, at the price which was quoted.

Knowing who this person is elevates you in your customer’s eyes, and, realistically, provides a ready source of referrals for you the next listing, next legal engagement or next mortgage application which comes before that artisan. It is just common sense that the person to whom you have given solid, quality referrals will think of you the next time work in your line of business is available. Who knows, your VIM person may go out of his way to promote your services without even being asked.

Given the effectiveness of VIM as a marketing concept, I am making a view suggestions here which cannot help but increase your VIM score and drive business to your door:

     1. Assemble a VIM List of reliable vendors. Your professional experience may have you pretty far along the way on this list already. What you need now is to organize your referrals and get them in a document, or on your Web Page, so you can easily reference them.

    2. Deliver the “VIM List” at what you consider the appropriate time. Because my time to perform is at residential real estate closings, I deliver my VIM List in conjunction with the Notebook given to every Buyer at a closing I conduct (See my post “The Closing Table–An opportunity for marketing”). I put a plastic page for business cards in the last section of my Notebook. I tell my Buyers that the people who are in my book are tested sources. I, and my clients, have used them and they are solid.

    3. See if you can get your VIM List people to give discount certificates you can give to the Buyer. In these days of required penny-pinching, f you can give solid referrasl, at discounted prices, to your Buyer, you are doing something. Not only will your VIM List people do everything possible to give you referrals, the Buyesr will, as well.

In prior posts, you have commented on my ideas and given me new ideas to build my marketing efforts upon. For instance,one of you suggested that I place a 2010 Calendar, with my firm’s name on it, in the ever-present Notebook. I got my printer to prepare same for free,and he puts his information on the reverse of te calendard, which I place in the insert infron of the Notebook. Win-win for both of us, and a tool to keep our firm’s name in front of the client.  “Drop” marketing,if you will. Please share any of these enhancements with me. We are all working together to develop a better mousetrap. TOGETHER WE CAN!!!!!! (Sound familiar).