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April 2007
Index of all
messages
from the Association President
President's Message - Why is NAR adamantly against banks in real estate?
By Cheri Long
I love my job!
Where else in the world could you enter someone else’s home and go through their closets? In fact, it’s not discouraged but encouraged! Where else could you look in peoples’ basements, garages, yards, and have them want an honest opinion of how it showed?
I love my job, but it also comes with great responsibility. You are entering someone else’s home, looking through their closets, telling them how the way they live appears to the rest of the world. So let’s talk about our etiquette. How we should act should be obvious...but it’s always good to review, relearn, and reapply basic principles of etiquette.
If you can’t say something nice...
Don’t talk badly about a fellow REALTOR®. This is actually a violation of the Code of Ethics, but it’s also common sense. Buyers or sellers may hear you and wonder what you say about them behind their backs. If you have a problem with an agent, simply acknowledge your familiarity with that person and remain silent. Not saying anything can speak volumes too!
Make a courtesy call
If you pull up to a house and the buyers don’t want to go in, please pick up the phone and cancel the showing. If you are running late, please call. This small gesture will increase the public’s awareness of our courtesy and professionalism.
Stick to the clock
Arrive on time…not REALTOR® time, but client time. If being late is unavoidable, call and let your party know when to expect your arrival. Assure them that you will give them undivided attention when you arrive.
Keep your mitts off
Don’t touch the seller’s personal belongings without permission. I remember a seller once told me how upset she was when she came home from an open house and the agent had moved her furniture around. Of course I knew why, but she didn’t understand and hadn’t given permission. I was hired when that listing expired and asked her how she liked the furniture when it was rearranged. She said she actually liked it and we moved it into that arrangement and had success.
Stick together
Make it clear that everyone will stay together when you show the property or hold an open house. Don’t let clients split away from you – that is the easiest way for theft to occur. And it doesn’t take long for a sleight-of-hand to occur.
Wait your turn
If an agent is already showing a property when you arrive, wait patiently and walk the outside area with your buyer. If you must go inside for some reason, speak with the agent who’s already there and explain the situation. Go upstairs if they are downstairs, or vice versa. Never, ever hand over a lockbox and keys without verifying that you are giving them to a licensed agent. Call their office if you must...it’s better to make sure than be sorry.
Ignore the phone
Limit phone call interruptions while you are with your clients. If you are expecting an important call, apologize and warn them ahead of time, making that the exception to the rule. Clients are less apt to feel abandoned if the call comes in. Don’t give your clients the impression that they are less important than whoever’s on the other end of a string of calls.
Leave something behind
If you feel funny about leaving your business cards at a listing, make some that have a “Thank you for letting me show your home” message. If you want to get really fancy, you can even reference the feedback that you will be giving to their agent. Leave something appropriate so that the seller knows you have come and gone and isn’t awaiting for your arrival.
Make and answer feedback calls.
It’s time consuming, but it is part of our business. It is also important to a seller who is anxious to hear anything that may help achieve their goal. Listing agents should prompt the buyer’s agent’s memory with a brief description of the house, highlighting something that would make it stand out. If you send an e-mail requesting feedback, send a an interior and exterior picture with it so that theagent can remember it easily. Respond with an honest answer. If you can’t remember, say so – maybe that means nothing is glaringly wrong with the house and was just not a match for that buyer. I like to ask the agent when the offer will be coming and listen to their response, or tell them I’ve held my breath this entire time awaiting their feedback. It lightens the moment.
Make some friends
Align yourselves with Aurora Association of REALTORS® Affiliates...people you know are professionals in this industry. Sellers do not want unqualified people going through their homes. They hired you to control the showings. They don’t want to entertain a laundry list of items from a “buddy” inspection. Nor do they want repairs, paint, or carpet from untrustworthy sources.
I hope you can find your own niche in this profession. It makes every part of the transaction better if you are happy with what you do, how you do it and why you do this job. Remember, we are spending millions of dollars in marketing ourselves to the public so they notice us. Now that they are, let’s turn it up a notch!
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