Being Remembered

[Shawn Mcenteer]

I have been hosting open houses weekly. Most home seekers coming in will visit many open house during the day. My question is what are some good tips/ strategies to be the Realtor that stands out at the end of the day. How can I be the guy they remember? I want to create an edge so when I follow up with them they know who I am instantaneously.

[Engelo Rumora]

Hi Shawn,

Great post.

I worked as a real estate agent in Australia for a while. It might not interest you but I used the "Peacock Theory" haha

I would always wear a crazy coloured pockets squares or ties.

If you speak with confidence and know your stuff no matter what colours you have on you people will take you seriously.

Thanks and have a great day.

[Shawn Mcenteer]

Engelo thank you! I am going to show this post to my friends who laughed at me for saying this. I completely agree with you. A matter of fact I tell my wife to do that same thing. She sells jewelry and I tell her she should wear a bright scarf and clients will never have trouble remembering who they worked with in the past.

[Engelo Rumora]

haha

Sounds good.

They say success comes from doing things differently. I have no problem wearing pink lol

Thanks and have a great day.

[Account Closed]

I don't think it is what you wear that make people remember you. If the buyer gets a good deal, and you get the paperwork done in a hurry the buyer will remember you regards what you drive or wear.

Joe Gore

[Joel Owens]

Shawn you have to define who your target market is.

First WHAT is selling in your market??

If you peruse the MLS and see that buyers 80% of sales are gobbling up 4 bed 2 bath with a 2 car garage and a basement on a half acre lot size in the 250k selling range then you have a pulse on what is moving in the market.

You wouldn't want to take on 10 listings of 500k price larger homes if most of those are not selling and buyer demand is low for your area in this cycle. "Go where the buyers are!" is the key to transacting.

So I would even ask yourself first if you are even sitting at the right open houses?? Even if you see buyers they might not be in a now buying mode and just a looking mode because the market isn't where they want it at yet to purchase. Follow up is key over time and maybe 15% are now buyers purchasing in the next few months. The rest are generally 6 months to 1 year out. Some may plan on buying but never happens due to death, divorce, relationship breakup, job relocation out of the area, reduced income, loss of job, credit issues, family growing (baby) needing more space then anticipated, health issues, etc.

You can't control what happens in people's lives but you can be consistent with the follow up and getting better at your craft. I do commercial real estate only so I do not mess with residential but the premise is the same in some respects. Residential is more emotional based buying. You could offer a "buyer protection guarantee" where if the home buyers need to sell within one year for any reason you will sell it yourself for them for free on your side of the commission.

99% of the time this never happens but gives buyers the extra security of removing roadblocks to moving ahead with a purchase. Does your business card look like crap or is it a nice design that will hold up and has messages and offers on the back of the card?? It's all about marketing your business and yourself to stand out from the crowd. Of course when you land a client you need to set expectations so you are not showing them 50 houses. Most will not even remember past the first 10 houses.

[Edward Burns]

While not a real estate agent, what I have seen is many people that go to open houses are essentially window shopping and do not really know what they want. In addition, most agents holding an open house are the listing agent. Since your ultimate goal is to sell a house, I would make it a point to at least have a passing familiarity with other homes having open houses in the area. Then when Mr and Mrs Jones say they like the house overall but the bedrooms seem a little small or whatever, you can respond by saying I know a house that may suit your needs it is located at ****. They are currently having an open house there. Why not look at it and if that home suits your needs, call me and I can work the seller and his agent to see what we can work out for you.

Will it always work, NO. But personally I would go back to an agent that tried to steer in the right direction.

[Aaron Montague]

@Shawn Mcenteer Have people remember you because you knew everything about the house, and quickly. What year was it built? When did the renovations occur? Why is the room upstairs pink?

Always have a ready, truthful answer to those questions. Nothing slows the selling process down faster than missing information. Know your comps and why THIS place is better than every other house that looks just like it. It is better because:

2 car garage. Yawn... THIS place has an extra storage shed out back!

4 bedrooms? just like all the others. THIS place has an office nook in the basement.

Finished basement? Wait, the other places aren't finished? And THIS place has the Owens Corning basement system in place!

@Joe Gore's point about the paper work is important, have it ready to go. Put the offer here, initial. Sign your name here. Done. Tell them the contingencies, make sure there is an opt out clause based on the inspection, financing, whatever.

If they didn't come to buy, get them ready to buy. If they came ready to buy, make sure this is the house for them. If it ISN'T the house for them, get them out the door with a quality lead on another place (preferably your listing).

Pink squares are a great way to get noticed. Selling the average consumer their dream home in a helpful, professional manner is how to be remembered.

[Nimrod Flores]

The dress code thing is a good point.

Another point is your presentation, it is how you present to your client that would make them remember you.

In saying this, you have to gauge your client's personality so you can use the proper approach and nail your presentation.

In general people tend to forget facts but will remember how they feel about it.