The other day I received a phone call – he said by mistake – from a homeowner who last spring didn’t choose me to represent him. At the time, he mumbled that the reason who was that he thought another agent’s (regional) company had more reach than my (international) affiliation. A better fit. Wasn’t he listening? Wasn’t I communicating? Oh, well. Can’t win them all. Onward and upward.
Then, yesterday, when he called out of the blue, for an instant I thought, oh, maybe he’s figured it out. After all, he hadn't moved on his original timetable...there was hope! Not at all, as it turns out. He was looking for a notary in my office and was apparently surprised to reach me…directly. Well, this is my cell phone. I thought. Oh, he said, I found this number online and thought it was the main number. I also thought but did not say, remember when I told you I was ubiquitous...Still, I was nothing if not cordial and, without skipping a beat, I arranged to have him visit my colleague, who stamped his documents accordingly.
While doing so, she mentioned she was surprised he hadn’t used me to list his home and he replied that he and his wife felt “I didn’t ‘get’”the house. Really?
Okay, his is a house positioned on the property in an unusual way and my experience told me that might be a problem. No sense waiting for the house to hit the market to hear people say the same thing and break the news like it was a surprise. I had also suggested that inside, he concentrate on moving out some dated furniture that I would switch out with “Pottery Barn” overstuffed leather chairs that I use for staging. I urged him to declutter his third floor, put a closet door on a closet, let me replace the rugs and generally heighten the look throughout.
That’s what I do – stage to maximize the dramatic elements of a house. Along with various other value-added options that come with hiring me, taking advantage of visual opportunities to highlight a home – communicate what it really can be, not what it looks like raw -- is essential. Not to mention my position as a consistent top producer who has sold on his block and throughout his community, to the highest levels.
“No, she didn’t get our house,” he said. And then, he added, a bit sheepishly, I’m told: “Well, she saw it when it was a mess…”
Yes, I did. I also had to rush through my initial visit, I recall, because his wife was so busy and his daughter had a play date. When I returned with my price estimate and my PowerPoint presentation, the spouse wasn’t there at all and their daughter returned from school in the middle of it all and wanted his attention, and why shouldn’t she?
Perhaps I didn’t ‘get’ his house. He and his wife also didn’t ‘get’ me because they hadn’t carved out the time to do so.
I keep telling myself that there's a better way to do my job. Getting a listing is a complicated affair. Highly competitive, without thought, planning and perfect execution, it's not going to happen. Yet, several times this past year, I dropped everything and ran over without all that. One gorgeous, sunny Sunday at 5, just as I was sinking into the hammock with the paper, a homeowner called and said she was listing…”like right now.” Could I run over? My mind said no, but my heart said yes. I never like to lose when I think I can win. So, I changed out of my gardening shorts, checked the MLS comps, and shot over there like a whippet. We ran through the house, which was in various states of disarray, and then I ran through my presentation in record time on her rickety café table in the backyard because she needed an analysis yesterday.
I didn’t get that one, either. She chose a brand new agent in town with apparently infinite value-added skills who ended up (not kidding!) re-sealing her driveway, mowing her lawn, moving her furniture to her own storage facility, and God knows what else. That agent ‘got’ that house.
Early New Year’s Resolution, 2010: Just say no, I don’t work like that, Mr. Seller. If you are part of the couple or extended family who own the property, you all need to be there. You need to carve out real time for me because we need to be the same team, from square one. When I present my marketing plan, you will need to visit to my office because this is a professional meeting. Then, and only then, will I be able to ‘get’ you and your house and provide the highest level of service and top dollar for your home – and you will ‘get’ me -- in the process, fully comparing and contrasting the honest value of one Realtor over another.
But, Happy Thanksgiving and yes, I am thankful for all the great deals I had this year with the people who "got" me! And for much, much more.
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