Lisa Gray

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Lisa is an accomplished marketer with years of expertise in direct response marketing, digital marketing, data analytics and business development working with both B2C and B2B.

Customer service! The best gift you can give your clients & Yourself

Apr 15, 2019

It’s the shortest path to being remembered & referred.

Knife sets, branded bottles of wine or Home Depot gift cards won’t make you memorable to your real estate clients, months or years after closing.

Only brilliant customer service and consistent follow-up can do that. To provide them with the best service, you’ll need to know what they want and need from you and go about providing it.

NAR recently released its 2019 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Report and while it’s heavy on millennial information (as usual), there are tidbits of information that apply well to all generations in the real estate market.

Understand who you’re working with

While it’s challenging to make blanket statements about a group of people based on age, it’s crazy to lump them into the two broad categories of “buyers” and “sellers.”

The NAR report at least gives insight into what the different generations are seeking in an agent and in a home.

Your most likely clients will be millennials and baby boomers (sorry, Gen X). Thirty-seven percent of recent home buyers are millennials and 32 percent were baby boomers. Two completely different sets of real estate consumers with completely different sets of wants and needs.

Millennials choose neighborhoods based on how convenient it is to their jobs. So, it should come as no surprise that commuting costs are a big factor when they search for a home.

Many baby boomers, on the other hand, are buying a home because they’re retiring. Their minds are on saving money as well, and their hot button is energy efficiency. A home that won’t burn through their retirement funds with heating and cooling costs.

These, again, are broad generalizations, but they give you a starting point to understand who you’ll be working with this year.

The initial client consultation is your opportunity to dive deeper into their specific wants and needs. This is true whether they are buying or selling a home.

Send a special thank you to those who matter most (Available in the postcard section under Customer Appreciation Series)

Prepare your clients

Millennials, especially, crave knowledge of the process. However, all buyers can benefit from a thorough buyer or seller consultation. How’s yours?

If it’s done on the fly, lasts about 15 minutes and doesn’t include anything they can physically hold in their hands, you have some work to do.

“The biggest benefit of using a real estate agent during buyers’ home search was the help they provided understanding the process,” according to the new NAR report.

In fact, 60 percent of all buyers surveyed claimed that the biggest benefit of working with an agent was getting help to understand the process.

Ensure that your consultation covers every step in the homebuying process and answers every conceivable question they may have.

Then, create handouts and copy them to the buyers’ section on your website. This might include a Mortgage 101 guide. More examples include explanations of the various government-backed loan mortgage programs or a walkthrough of the appraisal process and what a home inspector does.

The more time you spend with buyers in helping them learn the process, the smoother it will be and the more memorable you become.

Let your clients know you are thinking of them (available in the postcard section under Customer Appreciation Series)

Get your team in place

I once met a waitress who played a game with every customer she served. No, the customers weren’t aware of the game.

She called it “Anticipation,” and the rules were simple. To declare herself the winner for the day, she would need to anticipate what each table of customers needed and wanted. This rule was in place from the time they were seated until they paid the check.

This meant remembering the mint jelly for the guy who ordered lamb, ensuring the bread basket remained full and that there was sufficient butter on the table. Each table had a myriad of small details hat needed attention and if a customer had to ask her for something, she lost the game that day.

You can’t anticipate everything a client needs during the selling or buying process. However, you can fulfill many of them with your preferred vendor list.

If you are new to real estate, these are the professionals you turn to for mortgages, title and escrow, staging, cleaning, movers, repair work and legal advice.

While it’s a bit lengthy you can find a list of the types you may want to consider partnering with at TheRealEstateTrainer.com.

Then, tell your clients that it’s all part of your world-class “concierge service.”

Funny thing about we humans: we vividly remember the bad service we receive. Good service? Not so much. Which is why consistently following up after the transaction is so important.

A subtle reminder of just how awesome you are can get the referrals rolling in.

Send the Thank You as Big as a House postcard from the Customer Appreciation Series to all of your past clients.

Let your past clients know you’re there for them (available in the postcard section under the Customer Appreciation Series)

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are Free killer tools to help your success!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here

2. “Get More Listings” Free Online Webinar

“Get MORE Listings & Begin to Dominate Your Market!” Free online webinar. Learn the 3-7-27 strategy for explosive growth, why 95% of agents have less than 20% market share, and how to become the agent everyone competes against. – Click Here

3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. – Click Here

4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan. – Click Here

5. The Free Online ROI Calculator

Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! – Click Here

Earn the Respect You Deserve From Your Clients

Apr 8, 2019

Just curious: Why aren’t you telling your clients what you do for them? Sure, we’ve all seen the memes or infographics that list the tasks agents perform, but do you supply these to each and every client that signs on with you?

Do you outline on your website and in your listing presentations what you actually do for clients? And, no, we aren’t talking “negotiate to get you the best deal,” or “make suggestions on how to get your home ready for the market,” although those items do have a place on the list.

We’re talking a lengthy and impressive list of everything you do to earn the money you’re paid.

It’s truly a pity that this is even a suggestion. Do you wonder what your doctor, lawyer, veterinarian, hair stylist or plumber does to earn the money you pay them?

Apparently, buyers think that all you do is run MLS searches and open doors for them and sellers think your biggest contribution is helping to figure out home value and sticking a sign in the yard.

Unfortunately, the real estate agent’s “respectable profession” has been downgraded to a pastime, according to Justin Fox at Forbes.com.

Unlike other professions, to get the respect you deserve, you’ll need to earn it – to prove your worth.

Sucks, I know.

Provide them insight (available in the postcard section under the Get More Listings Series)

From their mouths to your ears

“With the press of a button, the home was online and buyers began touring the home,” a home seller told Andrea Requier at MarketWatch.com.

“However, my listing agent was not giving the tours, the buyer’s agents were. After the home sold, I realized that my agent did very little to earn his share of (the commission),” he concluded.

Notice how the seller credits both technology and buyers’ agents for the traffic through his home. He doesn’t seem to have a clue that his listing agent is responsible and exactly how much work it took to generate that traffic.

We can place the blame for real estate consumers’ ignorance of your job duties on others, but since so much of what you do is performed behind the scenes, the blame lies with agents.

It’s not enough to tell prospective clients how amazing you are. It’s not enough to list your statistics and to sling a snappy slogan at them.

This is not your parents’ real estate industry

“Emerging technologies and data-driven startups are empowering consumers and fundamentally changing the way they buy and sell properties,” according to Tommy O’Shaughnessy at ListWithClever.com.

“What’s more, discount and nontraditional brokerages are challenging the longstanding reign of the traditional realtor model.”

There are real threats to what we once assumed was a pretty bullet-proof profession. Now is not the time for complacency; not when all of these emerging technologies and alternative brokerages are busy proving their worth to the consumer.

What else real estate consumers don’t get

Interestingly, nearly half of home sellers think the buyer pays their agent’s commission, according to the results of a Clever Real Estate study published in February 2019.

Other interesting tidbits from the study include:

Nearly half of listing clients were unaware that they would be paying the buyer’s agent.
Nearly 40 percent of the survey respondents feel that artificial intelligence technology can sell a home better than a real estate agent.
Millennial home sellers were twice as likely to say that their agent was “unimportant or not important at all in the home-selling process.”

Yikes!

Far too many agents aren’t educating their clients and it’s to the point now where their ignorance of the process and what you do to earn the commission is discounted below that of artificial intelligence.

Provide peace of mind and confidence (available in the postcard section under Get More Listings Series)

It’s time to let them know a few things

To prove your value, start with explaining every last detail of the buying or selling process.

Explain to your buyers what to expect from the mortgage process, from start to finish, including the major players (loan processor, underwriter, etc.) and what duties each performs. This shows your knowledge – stuff they wouldn’t get if they were winging it on their own.

Go over the purchase agreement and all other forms the buyer will be expected to sign, explaining when he or she will receive it, what it means and what happens after it’s submitted.

You’ll naturally want to explain your part in the process as well. Assisting with repair negotiations and stressing the importance of performing the final walk through with a professional at hand are two you don’t want to neglect.

For instance, you might want to explain to a home seller:

“After you sign the listing agreement, I’ll head back to the office and call the sign company to ensure a sign is placed in your yard. I’ll begin the marketing campaign by writing a description of the home for the MLS entry. Then, I’ll …”

Step-by-step, what you do from list to close, or from the time a buyer signs on with you to close.

It should go without saying that you should explain complicated terms. Even some you don’t think are complicated, such as contingency, escrow, earnest money and title search.

A glossary of common real estate terms on your website can streamline this process. Just steer them to the right page.

Speaking of your website, how about creating an infographic outlining all the steps that you take when working with clients and posting it on your site?

So much of what a real estate agent does goes on behind the scenes. How are consumers going to know what you do—the value provided by working with you—if you don’t let them know each and every duty you perform?

Send at least 100 Just Curious About Selling postcards from the Get More Listings Series.

Let them know you’re ready to listen (available in the postcard section under Get More Listings)

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are Free ways we can help you have an INVINCIBLE 2019!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

2. “Get More Listings” Free Online Webinar

3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

5. The Free Online ROI Calculator

Provide a fresh perspective (available in the postcard section under Get More Listings Series)

March Contest Gift Card Winners!

Contests

Apr 3, 2019

1.Congratulations Haeyoon Jacobus on winning our 1st Prize $250 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card!

Haeyoon shares the following experiences with ProspectsPLUS!

“I can’t wait to see the results of the Market Dominator System I’m using with my co-advertiser. I am also using postcards to market to my neighborhood. I’ve had a great ROI!

I love the easy, breezy process and the great customer service! I’ve dropped all of my other postcard marketing companies.

ProspectsPLUS! is the one for me!

Haeyoon’s Latest Marketing Pieces Include – the Market Dominator & Neighborhood Specialist Flyer.

2. Congratulations Sue Wise on winning the 2nd Prize $100 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card

Sue shares the following experience with ProspectsPLUS!

“ProspectsPLUS! postcard mailings are an easy way to reach clients”.

Sue’s Latest Marketing Pieces Include – The FSBO Door Hanger & The Fence Sitter postcard.

We understand why Sue likes door hangers, they’re the ideal tool for branding yourself as the neighborhood expert.

In addition, they catch attention, provide the perfect reason for canvassing, and are an easy and effective leave behind. It looks like Sue’s last door hanger choice (below) was meant to target FSBOs.

FSBO Door Hanger, Fence Sitter postcards

Take the lead from Haeyoon and Sue and send at least 100 marketing newsletters and/or postcards to an area where you want more buyers or sellers!

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

Agents Beware: Help Your Clients Avoid Buying a Nightmare

Customer Care

Mar 18, 2019

As a new agent, you no doubt learned that, in many states, home sellers have a legal obligation to disclose known problems with the home.

As well, home buyers have an obligation to perform due diligence. The law, however, understands that home buyers, even with the best due diligence, are inexperienced and may not understand what to look for.

Enter, the real estate agent – the third side of the disclosure triangle. While states differ in their agent disclosure requirements, most make it pretty clear that an agent has a duty to disclose any known material facts that may impact the value of the home.

In California, for instance, the Civil Jury Instructions state that:

“A broker must disclose these facts if he or she knows or should know that the buyer is not aware of them and cannot reasonably be expected to discover them through diligent attention and observation.”

Legal duty aside, helping your client make a wise buying decision is basic, good customer service. The stuff that referrals and glowing testimonials are made of.

As you advance in your real estate career you’ll learn that most houses have problems, from the tiny to the gigantic. Yes, even newly-constructed homes.

Some are obvious, while others lurk behind very scant evidence of their existence. With experience, you’ll get to know the clues – the red flags that something isn’t right.

Compel fence sitters to call (Available in the postcard section under Fence Sitter Buyers Series)

In the meantime, we’ve gathered some of the more common clues to look for when showing homes to your buying clients.

The electrical system

Old homes are notorious for their electrical system problems. Outdated or damaged wiring, too few electrical outlets and burned out or loose connections are common.

Before buying into your client’s desire to buy a home that needs to be rewired, let him or her know that they can “expect to pay $8,000 to $15,000 to rewire a 1,500- to 3,000-square-foot home,” says Angie Hicks of AngiesList.com.

A chief complaint of many owners of old homes is that there aren’t enough electrical outlets to meet their needs. While the cost of adding new outlets isn’t as high as replacing the home’s wiring, it can still be costly, depending on the electrician’s hourly fee.

“. . . adding a new electric outlet can range from $100 to $800, with the average cost around $350,” according to the pros at ImproveNet.com.

As you tour a home, especially if the home is more than 50 years old, do a bit of snooping. Flick all the switches in the home to ensure they’re operating.

Help the move-up market understand the process (available in the postcard section under Move-Up Market)

Take a look at the electrical outlets for obvious signs of trouble (scorch marks, etc.). Run your hand over the outlets. They should be cool to the touch. Warm outlets are “strong indications of an unsafe wiring condition,” according to Donna Boyle Schwartz at BobVilla.com.

How’s the plumbing?

Don’t be shy – turn on the water at the taps and check the pressure. Low water pressure may signify a leak somewhere in the lines.

It may also be a sign of less serious problems, including:

A water softener that needs servicing
A pressure reducing valve that isn’t set properly
Clogged aerators

Check the pressure while running the hot water only. If it’s lower than the cold-water pressure, there may be a problem with the water heater.

Press your toes on the flooring surrounding the toilet. If it feels soft, the toilet may have a leak.

Finally, in multi-level homes, look at the ceilings on the floors beneath bathrooms for signs of discoloration. This may indicate a leak somewhere.

Maintenance Red Flags

You’ll be hearing the term “Deferred maintenance” a lot during your real estate career. Some folks find home maintenance too easy to put off. As the years go by, problems don’t go away, and many tend to get worse.

Deferred maintenance is often easy to spot. It’s the overflowing gutters, the chipped paint, the dripping faucet and the toilet that rocks when someone sits on it.

While some of these may seem like minor fixes, taken as a whole, you’ll need to wonder what else was deferred that you can’t see. It’s something that you definitely need to share with your client.

Check out the floors

While your home-buying client is marveling over the gorgeous hardwood floors in a home, you should be checking to see if they slope.

Especially if the home isn’t vintage, sloping floors may indicate foundation problems.

The two most common include “ . . . uneven settling in the outer foundation, or uneven settling of the support columns beneath the floor system. Either way, it’s not a problem that fixes itself, but it is a problem that will get worse over time,” warns the experts at BDry.com.

Buying a home with foundation problems isn’t something you want to encourage. HomeAdvisor.com claims that the national average cost to repair a foundation is $4,158.

Centex Foundation Repair in Central Texas gives us a better idea of cost by looking at their client’s bills: $2,162.42 on the low end to $13,705.19 on the high end.

“. . . so far this year our average price of repairs has been $5,911.70,” they claim on their website.

Excite Fence Sitters to take the first step (available in the postcard section under Fence Sitters Series)

Run this by your client before he or she falls madly in love with those Brazilian walnut floors.

Send at least 100 The Time is Now postcards from the Fence Sitter Series to an area where you want more buyers.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are Free ways we can help you have an INVINCIBLE 2019!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook