A buyer calls you. He tells you that he and his wife will be in town for a few days the following week and will be able to look at some homes one day during that time. You agree to meet the one day and pencil him in, and he promises to call that week with a time. He calls the following week and says that they have arrived and will be in touch to set appointments to see some of the homes. The day before the agreed upon date, he calls again, but to tell you that he has been called away on emergency business, but his wife will be staying a couple of extra days. Therefore, they will not be able to look at any homes. What would you do in this scenario?
This happened to me recently, but I was not going to lose this buyer. Since his wife was staying the extra days, I offered to take her for a tour of the areas they were interested in searching for a home. She explained that she was not interested in looking at homes, but I told her it was only a drive around to see the area. She agreed.
So, at the appointed time, off we went. As we were driving around, we were able to chit chat about different things. I was able to find out a little more about the couple and what specifically they were looking for. Not only that, I was able to see what areas appealed to her most as we were driving. She in turn asked many specific questions about the areas (about parks, recreation, things to do, etc.) After the 2 hour tour, I dropped her off at her car and she was so thankful for taking the time out to show her the areas of interest. When mentioning the name of the area, she was now able to visualize it. She mentioned that she and her husband would be out in a couple of weeks, at which point they will then look at a few of the homes on the market and will be in touch when they come back out.
This example shows that if you take the extra steps, the clients will remember it. So, who do you think they will call when they come back to town? Once you show them that you are there to help them, NO MATTER WHAT, they will come back to YOU. They will trust you and your name will stick in their minds like glue.
Excellent Post. It is never a bad idea to go the extra mile for your clients.
Thank you for shariing this with us :)
Good job! I can certainly see why you will be their "Realtor of choice" in the future! Thanks for sharing this.
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Brigita,
Definitely stay in touch with them until they come back, ensure their loyalty because so many buyers do not understand how this works and they need to understand, as gently as you can put it, that you don't get paid until you sell something. I had some buyers that everytime they called I jumped, I even had their house listed and took them to see dozens of homes, but they ended up at an open house and put an offer in through that agent that was at the open house. I kid you not! Ensure they are loyal -- I could kick myself over and over and over for not getting a buyer agency agreement, but I ASSUMED (and never assume anything) that they understood how this worked. Once burned, twice shy! Good luck!
Taking that initial first risk in driving someone that you first met around might seem like a time waster for some but it is a great way to build up a rapport that will last well into the future. I have met and introduced people to different areas around our city and have had them refer clients to me since I was the first to give them an overview of things and not to just show them homes!
Great work Brigita and good luck with them in the future!
Richard, Al & Victoria: Thank you. This is a great way to also get referrals.
Gaylen: We need to show them that we care and that we are not in it for the commissions. We have to consider that they are our employers.
Ed: The name of the game is to make your clients happy. Without them and their referrals, you are out of business.
Melissa: Thanks!
Andrew: If you show that you are willling to help them out, they will stay with you until the end.
Sondra: Sorry to hear about your experience. But, we do learn from our mistakes. I do keep in touch with my clients, in some sort of way. This way they think of you.
Jon: I did mention this to a few agents, they felt it was a waste of time and if the client wanted to see the areas, they should drive around themselves. Just think, if you have them in your car, they are a captive audience. All of us can chat and get to know each other plus build a trust between us.
Great post. The best agents in this business are the ones who go above and beyond to build relationships.
Did you get their email address to send them samples of listings out there?
Ive also sent a cheap city map highlighting the areas we looked at. Its always an extra excuse to make contact and keep your name out front. Also a city guide from the Chamber of Commerce is nice to send as well. Not only are they cheap (free), they make you look really thoughtful.
Good Luck
Brad: Thanks. I try to do my best to stand out from the rest. With so many agents out there, you need to strive to be the best.
Chad: I am sending them listings from the areas they are considering. I try to keep in touch in whatever way I can. Even if it's just a little note asking them how they are doing. It shows you care about THEM.