Tuesday, February 12, 2013

What is your Value Proposition?


What acts of significance difference do you bring to the table for your clients? What items of value will you provide which other REALTORS will not provide? Below is a list of suggestions to step up your Value Proposition performance for your clients.

 ·      Deliver what you said you would deliver... "Over promise" and "over deliver" is something most agents are not willing  (or simply cannot) do for their clients...Do what you say you will do... and then some!

·         Tell the client what they “need to hear” not what they “want to hear”… Your credibility is at stake…Some REALTORS will make the mistake of procuring a listing by being dishonest about value, condition, location and will list the home for what the seller “wants to get” instead of a price related to the market conditions. Take the time to make honest recommendations to them about "getting their home ready to show." Provide them with the names of vendors who can do work with them if they need the contact.

·         Communicate, Communicate, and Communicate. Let your client know what they should expect from you. How often are you going to contact them and what information will you be sharing with them. A client’s expectation of your level of communication may not be aligned with reality…make sure up front to educate them to your methods and frequency of communication. Ask them how they wish to receive communication (email, text, voice, etc.) and then use the form of communication they prefer.

·         Every client deserves a personalized business plan for buying or selling their home. This spells out in writing what they can expect from you… and what you expect of them. It also lays out their goals for buying or selling, which allows you the ability to bring them back and re-visit their goals when they get off track.

·         Marketing Report. Provide you client, at least twice a month, a written marketing report documenting your showings, your marketing, feedback and any other information which will be helpful to them in looking at the overall picture of their home. This requires a lot more work, but as a professional who is getting paid handsomely for their efforts, this is a document the seller deserves. But remember: All the marketing in the world will not sell an over-priced listing!

·         Pre-Planning Contracts. Hopefully, before you have ever received an offer on your listing, your clients have seen what the Offer to Purchase & Contract looks like. One of the quickest ways to earn your commission in a Sellers mind is to negotiate the best terms/price for them. Become an expert Negotiator! Getting a Seller $5000 more or a Buyer bellowed appraised value on their dream home or negotiating favorable terms... Show them your strategy for negotiations on their behalf and let them know you are looking out for their interests.

·         Once the contract is accepted, take the contract and extrapolate all of the important dates into one document and e-mail it to the Seller. They are then able to follow along with what is going to happen next and know that you are on top of their transaction. Provide the same list to the other Agent so that everyone is on the same page.

·         Follow through. Dot I's and cross T's. You want all of your transactions to close, But if there is a problem, you want to know about it immediately and do everything you can to address the issue at hand. Never push a transaction to close for your benefit…make it all about the client… not about “I need to make my car payment this week”.

·         Go to every Closing. Never miss a closing!!! This is your opportunity to get referrals and build further trust. I am surprised at how many agents have stopped attending closings or send an assistant to closing. This is not acceptable and can make your client feel unimportant or unworthy of your time.

How can someone align to something when they don’t know the purpose behind it? Be clear to educate your clients of every detail of the buying and/or selling process. Provide benefits to your clients which go purely beyond your personal financial rewards…Be willing to “inconvenience” yourself to the convenience of your client…but remember to stay in control of the entire transaction…losing control can be a detriment to all parties involved.
 
Eddie Brown  © 2013
 

 

 

 

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