[photopress:woman.jpg,thumb,alignright]I have to admit that it felt a little odd, even to me, for us to be personally painting the kitchen of my newest listing. We, the owner and I, were getting his place ready to go on market. He had his hands full with his own projects that needed to be done before we entered the listing in the mls. The color scheme of the condo was already transcendental. I wanted the kitchen to be a light color, because darker colors minimize space, and the kitchen in an 827 square foot condo is not something you want to minimize.
In my own house, I like to “repeat” a color by adding different amounts of a “smashing” color in one space , to white paint for tone on tone effects. And given this kitchen had a “pass through” to the dining room/living room “flexible” space, I wanted the kitchen to be “a glow” of the color in the eating area. Given there is not much wall space in the kitchen, I decided it would be easier and faster if I just did it myself, rather than try to explain how to mix the color to the right degree of “glow”.
I was thinking of “anonymous Joe” when I was making the bed yesterday before the first showings. It was “kind of” made already 🙂 I went around changing lightbulbs from 60 watt to 100 watt in the entry and hall, scrubbing the grout in the tile floor of the entry and kitchen, taking the “mauve” colored towel the owner had used that morning off the towel bar and ditching it in his hamper, because the mauve towel he had used was clashing badly with the citrus colored wall behind it. Turned his hand towel, the one I had picked out as “the right color” (but he wasn’t supposed to USE!) around so the tag wasn’t showing. Several other truly “anal” things, standing in the doorway of every single space from every single angle, and tweaking until I was “satisfied”.
This morning I was thinking of Russ’ before the fact contract, with a long list of “services and metrics” that all agents will provide to all. Some list of generic things that people think provide value, when really every single person needs “Whatever it takes”, and whatever it takes changes from individual to individual, be they buyer clients or seller clients. In 16 years I’ve never had to paint someone’s kitchen before, and frankly hope I never have to again. But at this time, for this client, that’s what needed to be done. The poor owner was wasted! It was hot, he had been working on “his stuff” until he was ready to slash his wrists, and I just rolled up my sleeves and chipped in from morning until night until we were done. Sometimes doing it with them, helps keep them going and sometimes my crawling around in every space helps me find things that need to be fixed, that the owner truly just never noticed. The more I do, the more I can head the home inspector off at the pass, so the seller knows his true net proceeds better, after repairs, before I hit the button sending him “live” into the MLS.
I never sat in his house with a little marketing flip chart. I never provided some big list of “services and metrics”. I didn’t even have a written contract saying I would be paid, while putting in twenty to thirty hours helping him get the place ready. When he said half jokingly after all the work was done, “maybe I should stay here”, I took his hand and looked him in the eye and said, “Seriously, if that is what you want to do, if you decide not to sell it after all, that’s OK. Don’t feel like you have to sell it now, just because we worked so hard getting it ready. You do whatever makes you happy.
I remember training a few new agents and making a little bag for each of them to put in their trunk with windex and paper towel and toilet cleaner and brushes (for the vacant house toilet rings). I remember a new agent who “got in it for the money” refusing to touch the bag and saying “I don’t want that in the trunk of my car!”. I remember him refusing to go measure the unfinished basement size, because he saw a cobweb and he had his “good suit” on. No, he’s not in the business anymore…actually he never did sell a house and yes, I did fire him and he went to a local big firm before he quit altogether.
Real estate is a business like none other, and their truly IS a reason why “we make the big bucks”. There’s a lot of reasons why we make the “big bucks”. But most importantly it’s because we do “Whatever It Takes” to sell the house “For the HIGHEST Price, In the Least Amount of Time and with the Least Inconvenience to the Seller”. This owner should have an offer within 3-5 days of “going live”, at the highest price achieveable, and be able to go back to watching his TV (which I have moved 🙂 from his living room to his bedroom). To do this job right, we can’t have that House Values goal of having 20 to 30 more “leads” this month!
We can’t, as an industry, keep doing less and less for more and more. And frankly, Joe and other consumers cannot keep hounding me about exactly what I am going to do, before I meet them and see “their product”. Because clearly there are different prices because of the different amounts of effort needed to sell their home at the highest price, in the least amount of time and with the least inconvenience to them (short showing period).
Those who want to trade in one “price fits all” for a lower “price fits all”, well…I thought you wanted a “fair price” for the job at hand and an end to the price being “fixed” at “6%”. If all you want to do is trade in one price fits all for a lower price fits all, with the guy who needs more service STILL getting paid by the guy who needs less service….I truly hope that’s not the case.
Let’s let each client pay for their individual service, some higher and some lower and always a fair price for the service required to achieve the goal. I truly hope THAT change is the one coming down the pike. Let’s end “price fixing” period. Not just trade in one fixed price for a different fixed price.
Because if it’s just about a tug of war on which fixed price to use…then I’ll have to move over to the other side of that rope. Please tell me it ain’t so.
Service like this is why no matter what “new innovative business models” come to the industry, top tier agents will never go away.
Have a Super Duper offer already. The owner is calling me “Jerry Maquire”.
I’ll agree with you Robert, if you agree that “top tier” doesn’t mean “top volume”. Passing everything off to assitants so you can do 45 listings at once doesn’t equal “top tier” in my book 🙂 A “kick ass” agent equals superior work product, not necessarily top income producer.
Have a Super Duper offer already. The owner is calling me “Jerry Maquire”.
I’ll agree with you Robert, if you agree that “top tier” doesn’t mean “top volume”. Passing everything off to assitants so you can do 45 listings at once doesn’t equal “top tier” in my book 🙂 A “kick ass” agent equals superior work product, not necessarily top income producer.
Wow… it’s all I can say. I’m a realtor and I’d have no problem hiring you to be my realtor.
I believe in superior service as well (however I probably won’t be painting interiors wall anytime soon, Wow… again).
I butt heads with traditionalist ‘6%ers’ (as I call them) from time to time. I’m a 100% agent in my office so I have alot of flexibility to offer any kind of program for any kind of real estate related service to my clients. I offer negotiation and transaction services to sellers all the time for a flat fee. Especially to sellers who want to ‘get a deal’ on my commission.
Many sellers think that the job of marketing a home is easy (and it was for the last couple of years to an extent). They think that anyone can do it. So I challenge them to do so. I haven’t had one seller take me up on it. It helps also if they allow me to explain where there money goes (and usually the portion they are most concerned with — the money I’m going to make personally — ends up being the flat fee for service I offer them).
But hey, I do want to make more for doing less… I bet we all would. But I also believe that you get what you pay for. In the end my listing clients have agreed.
Wow… it’s all I can say. I’m a realtor and I’d have no problem hiring you to be my realtor.
I believe in superior service as well (however I probably won’t be painting interiors wall anytime soon, Wow… again).
I butt heads with traditionalist ‘6%ers’ (as I call them) from time to time. I’m a 100% agent in my office so I have alot of flexibility to offer any kind of program for any kind of real estate related service to my clients. I offer negotiation and transaction services to sellers all the time for a flat fee. Especially to sellers who want to ‘get a deal’ on my commission.
Many sellers think that the job of marketing a home is easy (and it was for the last couple of years to an extent). They think that anyone can do it. So I challenge them to do so. I haven’t had one seller take me up on it. It helps also if they allow me to explain where there money goes (and usually the portion they are most concerned with — the money I’m going to make personally — ends up being the flat fee for service I offer them).
But hey, I do want to make more for doing less… I bet we all would. But I also believe that you get what you pay for. In the end my listing clients have agreed.
Todd,
I have had three agents, from competing companies, hire me as their agent in the past. That raised some eyebrows, for sure.
What’s “marketing”? I suggest that acting like we are “marketers” instead of people who “make it happen” is BS. I’ve yet to sell a property because of marketing…marketing is what makes people feel OK signing an agreement to pay…whatever. But marketing is NOT what makes a house sell, by and large.
Promoting…yes. Pre-negotiating with agents…yes. But marketing? Not letting anyone see it until it is totally ready and being the judge of when it is totally ready, is way more important than “marketing”.
BTW, this listing is $199,999 and a full 6%. I would have done the same on a higher priced listing for a different fee, but at this price level the “perceived always %” was appropriate.
Oh…forgot…you can’t hire me as “your realtor”, because I’m not a Realtor, which apparently means I ain’t got no ethics 🙂
Todd,
I have had three agents, from competing companies, hire me as their agent in the past. That raised some eyebrows, for sure.
What’s “marketing”? I suggest that acting like we are “marketers” instead of people who “make it happen” is BS. I’ve yet to sell a property because of marketing…marketing is what makes people feel OK signing an agreement to pay…whatever. But marketing is NOT what makes a house sell, by and large.
Promoting…yes. Pre-negotiating with agents…yes. But marketing? Not letting anyone see it until it is totally ready and being the judge of when it is totally ready, is way more important than “marketing”.
BTW, this listing is $199,999 and a full 6%. I would have done the same on a higher priced listing for a different fee, but at this price level the “perceived always %” was appropriate.
Oh…forgot…you can’t hire me as “your realtor”, because I’m not a Realtor, which apparently means I ain’t got no ethics 🙂
Sheesh Ardell, talk about going the extra mile. Reminds me of one of the first homes I sold a long time ago. It was near Dick’s Drive In @ Crown Hill in Ballard and was surrounded by large dark cedar trees. The house was dark brown and the owner liked Goth stuff. I painted the exterior of the house, fixed a few things and installed new linoleum in the kitchen. (they supplied me).
Oh, and the other one where my wife and I had to personally move (yep, rented a U-Haul) a client after the new owners found the owner passed out on the bed. My wife remembers that one vividly like it was yesterday. Took us ’till a little after 1:30am, but we got it done. And, the old owner insisted driving to the new place (we tried to take keys but were unable to, long story) ended up hitting another car and was taken to jail– where we ended up picking the owner up at the station then dropped off at the new home. No, we didn’t unpack.
Talk about traumatized new agents. Those were the days.
Sheesh Ardell, talk about going the extra mile. Reminds me of one of the first homes I sold a long time ago. It was near Dick’s Drive In @ Crown Hill in Ballard and was surrounded by large dark cedar trees. The house was dark brown and the owner liked Goth stuff. I painted the exterior of the house, fixed a few things and installed new linoleum in the kitchen. (they supplied me).
Oh, and the other one where my wife and I had to personally move (yep, rented a U-Haul) a client after the new owners found the owner passed out on the bed. My wife remembers that one vividly like it was yesterday. Took us ’till a little after 1:30am, but we got it done. And, the old owner insisted driving to the new place (we tried to take keys but were unable to, long story) ended up hitting another car and was taken to jail– where we ended up picking the owner up at the station then dropped off at the new home. No, we didn’t unpack.
Talk about traumatized new agents. Those were the days.
I was using the term marketing loosely. Let’s not quibble with our interpretations of our business practice. I like your take and your enthusiasm and have no problems with any of it.
And I’m new to this site, explain what you mean that you aren’t a realtor please.
Todd, the public becomes educated when agents “quibble”. Please don’t take it personally. Lots of agents use “marketing” and “service” as generic terms. And generic is difficult for the general public to define.
In agent forums, I don’t quibble on these terms. But since this is primarily a consumer oriented site, we need to define things better for their benefit.
I am a licensed real estate agent…not a realtor. A realtor (which must be capitalized and have the trademark sign if you are a member) means that you are a member of the National Association of Realtors. Being a “licensed real estate professional” does note + being a Realtor. It’s not a generic term, it’s a trademarked “club” members only, club.
Are you a Realtor, meaning a member of the local, state and Nationional Association of Realtors aka NAR? I don’t have to trademark it, because I am not a member.
Todd,
As to being “new to this site”, the friendly owner, greeter, monitor of the site is Dustin Luther. He is an all round very nice and great guy, but he is away this week at the Inman Conference.
I’m just “holding the fort”.
I’m sure Dustin, will return and appropriately apologize for my behavior.
Nice to have you, and thanks for your comments.
Hey Galen, can you be all round, nice friendly, great, sweet, greeter man for awhile 🙂 I think you fit the bill.
Ardell, yes I am a realtor. I don’t get wrapped up in trademarks or whatever… please don’t tell anyone that I don’t capitalize the word or use the symbol.
I am president of my local Association and a member of the Arizona Pro-Standards Committee. I’m as realtor as one could get, minus the pom pom’s as I don’t get all lathered up into a frenzy about those who are members and those who are not.
Big changes are in the works in the not too distant future and I hope, perhaps, to be involved for the positive for the national organization and on down.
But thanks for the clarity on my request. You are an interesting read to say the least.
Todd,
I was a Realtor for many years and still remember Sharon Voss, the President of a Women’s Realtor group telling everyone that if someone cut me, my blood would be Coldwell Banker Blue. So I think I was “complete witih pom poms”.
Can you share any changes in the wind? Or ones you would like to see come about?
Ardell,
No real changes as of yet, but there is a realization that better business people (business people with newer and fresher idea’s) are coming into the profession from technical savvy fields. I think it will be a challenge to more normal broker mentality that still dominates NAR and many other organizations.
Keep in mind that I’m from small town USA and don’t have any experience in a real metro market, and that I’m concentrating my efforts currently to my community and Member organization. I’m betting the situations between here and there are vast.
The changes I’d like to see in this profession surrounds the qualification process of getting a brokers license. It’s one thing with the large influx of agents, one thing that I’m sure many probably have issues with. My beef is on the broker side of the equation. All these agents really don’t have a ton of good brokerages to choose from. The level of service from brokers I’ve seen is horrible.
I see this when I serve on hearing panels for the Pro-Standards Committee. I see negligent agents that harm the public that are still not severed by the broker, or agents that didn’t mean to be negligent but their broker used them and their case to make a silly stand on some issue that is outside the code of ethics.
I’d like to see a real mentoring program supported (as an option for new agents), and I’m not strictly speaking of assistants. Maybe as a qualification of a new licensee is that they have to sign up with a mentor, in doing so get a lower dept of real estate fee (and who knows?? Organizational discounts as well??). Perhaps the qualified mentors get the same kinds of discounts (or heck even waivers of some of these fees… talk about cooperative).
To Everyone,
Sorry for Ardell’s behavior in my absence at Inman. 😉
Ardell: You’re the best.
To Everyone,
Sorry for Ardell’s behavior in my absence at Inman. 😉
Ardell: You’re the best.
Bravo Ardell!
I don’t know many agent that would go the lengths you sometimes do for you clients! It says a lot about the person you are and the fact you CARE about your clients and what it takes to get a house sold.
I remember when I first got licensed. My Broker sold a house to one of her investors that she has done a lot of business with. The house was owned by an elderly lady that passed away and the family wanted to sell the house to get the money out of it. None of them had any use for it. So anyway….they get to the day of closing and close on the house. The buyer didn’t do a final walk thru-which shame on him, but he didn’t really think it would be a problem since the house needed to be gutted and start from scratch. He was planning to fix it up and sell it, so he wasn’t worried if they had gouged the walls up moving stuff out or anything. So he gets the keys at closing and heads over to the house………he pulls up to find that the family members had taken everything that was inside of the house that was left that no one wanted, ie: furniture, clothes, dressers. boxes, etc, etc etc……and dumped it out next to the side of the road. In the meantime, the neighbors had rummaged through and ransacked everything that was dumped out by the street. Needless to say…….now the ENTIRE front yard was covered in garbage and trash!
So the buyer calls my broker and says, can you get a hold of the listing agent and see if he can get someone to come by and clean this mess up since his buyers just left mound of junk sitting here instead of getting a dumpster to get rid of it? So she calls…..and he LAUGHS at her on the phone and says, I did my job, I got my paycheck, I don’t owe you people anything!!!! She was appauled!
SO….guess who had to go clean up the garbage? YEP, me and my Broker! She didn’t want her buyer angry because of what someone else had done. So we spent 4 hours out there cleaning up garbage for her buyer.
That saying is true that you do what it takes for your customers. He remembered that she went out there to clean that mess up. He only uses her as his Realtor to list and buy properties now. So for the 4 hours we spent there cleaning up garbage repaid itself by the repeat business he now gives her.
Bravo Ardell!
I don’t know many agent that would go the lengths you sometimes do for you clients! It says a lot about the person you are and the fact you CARE about your clients and what it takes to get a house sold.
I remember when I first got licensed. My Broker sold a house to one of her investors that she has done a lot of business with. The house was owned by an elderly lady that passed away and the family wanted to sell the house to get the money out of it. None of them had any use for it. So anyway….they get to the day of closing and close on the house. The buyer didn’t do a final walk thru-which shame on him, but he didn’t really think it would be a problem since the house needed to be gutted and start from scratch. He was planning to fix it up and sell it, so he wasn’t worried if they had gouged the walls up moving stuff out or anything. So he gets the keys at closing and heads over to the house………he pulls up to find that the family members had taken everything that was inside of the house that was left that no one wanted, ie: furniture, clothes, dressers. boxes, etc, etc etc……and dumped it out next to the side of the road. In the meantime, the neighbors had rummaged through and ransacked everything that was dumped out by the street. Needless to say…….now the ENTIRE front yard was covered in garbage and trash!
So the buyer calls my broker and says, can you get a hold of the listing agent and see if he can get someone to come by and clean this mess up since his buyers just left mound of junk sitting here instead of getting a dumpster to get rid of it? So she calls…..and he LAUGHS at her on the phone and says, I did my job, I got my paycheck, I don’t owe you people anything!!!! She was appauled!
SO….guess who had to go clean up the garbage? YEP, me and my Broker! She didn’t want her buyer angry because of what someone else had done. So we spent 4 hours out there cleaning up garbage for her buyer.
That saying is true that you do what it takes for your customers. He remembered that she went out there to clean that mess up. He only uses her as his Realtor to list and buy properties now. So for the 4 hours we spent there cleaning up garbage repaid itself by the repeat business he now gives her.
Becky,
Loved your comment. But we do it because it is our JOB to get everything done that needs to be done, not to get “repeat business”. It is our job to see things through to the “bitter end”.
I’ve seen more problems on the West Coast than the East Coast because West Coast has “escrow” and East Coast knows “it ain’t over till it’s over”. Too many agents think it’s over when they Open Escrow and Escrow does everything after that… not so!
Thanks for the story, Becky. I will add however that the Buyer’s Agent should have seen the house and not waited for the buyer to HAVE TO CALL. I do a walk through all by my lonesome before I hand off the key, and take care of these things before the buyer even sees them.
Todd,
Thank you for your EXCELLENT thoughts. I’m up to my ears in mulitiple offers…but I’ll toss out a couple of thoughts.
1) Why is “training” about how to “get leads” instead of how to “do the job well” at many brokerages?
2) Why is all the money being paid to “support services” like House Values and Sweat Hogs about getting MORE business instead of HOW TO DO the business at hand?
3) Why are all of the continuing education courses about ethics and feng shui and everything but what to do once the client signs on the bottom line?
Way too many classes and services about getting more people to sign on the bottom line, and almost none on how to “BE THE GLUE that holds the transaction together”.
How can we fault the agents for not knowing how to do their job well when the training is not about how to do the job well?
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I’ll answer
1) because of the numbers game that many brokers play. My first broker told me point blank that he needed 3 deals from each newbie to make any effort he put in to them profitable. He let people (newbies like me) walk with no sweat off his back. It was all about bank account for him, like it is with many brokers.
My second broker trained and trained on the paperwork. It was helpful to me, TO ME, as an agent but it did nothing for the client. She is a sweat hog subscriber as well.
My broker now cares less about what I do for business because he just wants his monthly rent check from me. AND for the first time I have the freedom to do what I want in my business and for my clients. I can tell I have a long way to go to match your level of service (I’m more of a technician of the negotiation and the pushing of paper than I am into home staging).
2) I think I answered above. However let me say that I have no qualms with any broker that I had hung my license with. I don’t fault brokers for trying to make the bottom line and then some, I’m not in this biz just for giggles.
3) I think I may be lucky in Arizona (or at least still too naive) to notice so much of that in CE courses here, but CE course’s really shouldn’t be marketing (general term again) seminars. They should be about knowing your craft in relation to contractual matters, so as not to screw your client or even yourself. Again the technical aspect of the black and white on paper is my strength in this biz, and I think my state does a decent job with this.
Also, ethics are a big deal to me and I have no issue abiding by them. Keep in mind though I’m biased because I serve on the state committee on professional standards. I’ve served on enough panels now that I’m totally afraid of what is going on out there amongst my peers. I’m appalled by what kind of agents brokers are taking just to fill space in their office, and by the kind of brokers that some have turned out to be. Because I know that I only see a very small amount of the bad crap that goes on out there in the public because most folks don’t file a complaint.
We can’t solely fault the agents, the brokers and the associations are culpable as well. Which is why we need to do better on the association level, we have to make a difference there. And you know what?? I think what you are doing on the net on this blog and many other blogs) is going to set the table for the future.
I recently started my own blog to have my own content published the way I want to see it. As I’ve come to realize, I’m way behind the great work that Dustin and his contributors have done. But that’s okay.
The new leaders of our profession won’t come from the associations, they’ll come from the internet, and then hopefully take over the associations. I think I get that you are not a member of any associations, but I’d want you in my Association.
Todd,
I was over at Greg’s blog, as you know, and saw the book Marketers are Liars in the sidebar.
I thought of your comment here yesterday that you were “using the term marketing loosely” and that I was quibbling.
The distinction between the fact that we represent people for a living and are not “marketers” for a living is not “a quibble”…it’s a huge distinction.
I’ll have to read that book. Thanks Greg!
I see your point clearly and have no issue. You have opened up my eyes better on this subject.
I do come from a sales background so my insticts sort of harken back to those days. What I love about this biz is that, yes I am a representative in a negotiation for a successful transaction of the transfer of property. It’s way more than selling or marketing.
Hey, this sounds like the Value for Money argument us web developers have to have every fortnight.
There are always those few professions that people fail to ascribe value to.
Hey, this sounds like the Value for Money argument us web developers have to have every fortnight.
There are always those few professions that people fail to ascribe value to.
Patrick,
The odd thing is that all agents worked as I do where I’m from and back when I started. We knew that the job was to help the seller get the house “positioned to sell” before we put it in the mls and put the sign up.
Now it seems agents tell sellers “Call me when you are ready” or just stick up the sign whether it is “ready or not” here we come!
That is a huge disservice to the seller who leaves “money on the table”.
Many thing “representing the seller” means neogitating the incoming offer and marketing, when it means getting them top dollar by tweaking “location, condition and price”, to the highest point.
I’m only “odd” because many don’t know what the job description entails. Clearly I am not the only one who performs the job to it’s full and actual description.
Patrick,
The odd thing is that all agents worked as I do where I’m from and back when I started. We knew that the job was to help the seller get the house “positioned to sell” before we put it in the mls and put the sign up.
Now it seems agents tell sellers “Call me when you are ready” or just stick up the sign whether it is “ready or not” here we come!
That is a huge disservice to the seller who leaves “money on the table”.
Many thing “representing the seller” means neogitating the incoming offer and marketing, when it means getting them top dollar by tweaking “location, condition and price”, to the highest point.
I’m only “odd” because many don’t know what the job description entails. Clearly I am not the only one who performs the job to it’s full and actual description.
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Painting a kitchen for your client is exactly the type of services that make good agents great.