The Wall of Value: Tips to Reap Powerful Client Insights

At the end of most commercial airline flights, the captain customarily thanks the passengers for choosing to fly with that airline. They know that consumers have many choices today and it has never been more important to establish lasting relationships and communicate your value.

With this in mind, before every consultation, take the time to ask yourself, “Why should this client hire me?” Clients have many agents to choose from, but they will hire the agent with the most value and a track record of delivering referral-worthy customer service.

1. Are you asking the right questions and establishing expectations?
2. Do you listen and respond to client needs?
3. Are you making your value known on and offline?

1. Establish Expectations
Whether winning or maintaining clients, open ended questions offer insight into motivations. Understanding their needs is crucial to establishing and maintaining expectations. Unlike yes or no questions, open-ended questions invite conversation and offer the best insights. To get the conversation started and best serve your client, consider these options:

• Have you ever lived in this neighborhood?
Yes- What do you love most about it?
No- Is there anything about this neighborhood you do not like?
• What attracted you to this neighborhood (schools, safety, acreage, etc.)?
• What do you like the most about the home I showed you?
• What did you like the least about this house?

Make and keep a list of questions that invite this type of detailed communication. The responses will help you better understand what is important to your client. With this powerful information, you can be more purposeful in selecting homes to show buyers.

The more an agent understands their clients’ needs, the better service they provide. #CSWeek @kwri

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2. Listen and Respond to Build Loyalty
There are two aspects of relationship behaviors agents can utilize to strengthen their client relationships.
• Personal Relationship Behaviors
• Consultative Behaviors

Personal relationship behaviors are related to non-business discussions and interactions. Building rapport is the first step in finding commonalities, growing connections, discovering interests and opening lines of communications.

Consultative relationship behaviors are fact driven, analytical, solution oriented and address the needs of clients.

“Personal Relationship Behaviors have a greater direct impact on loyalty than either consultative behaviors or perceptions of salespersons trust,” according to The Importance of Relationship and Consultative Behaviors on Realtor-Client Relationships, a Keller Center research report by Steven Newell PhD and Richard Plank PhD.

While you need to deliver facts and help clients analyze their options, remember that for many, real estate is the single largest purchase they will make in their lifetime. There can be a great deal of emotion tied into a sale or purchase. Your clients are humans and they will appreciate you communicating with them in a friendly and personal manner.

3.  Make Your Value Known Offline AND Online
Today’s digital environment can be a great advantage for agents. Establishing and promoting your online presence helps boost your reputation by keeping you current and in front of leads.

In this digital age where referral leads can be garnered online through website testimonials, take time to review sites and social media channels. Your online presence should be considered more than an optional component of your marketing plan; it should be required.

Real estate is a relationship-based business and few things speak louder than a satisfied client testimonial. The National Association of REALTORS® 2014 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers showed that 19 percent of recent buyers viewed online recommendations when searching for a real estate agent, and half of those buyers said they were influenced by what they saw. What’s more, 38 percent of buyers who didn’t use online recommendations said they’d consider doing so next time – a response that was particularly prevalent among the next wave of buyers, the millennials.”

By keeping your online business profiles updated and professional, you can offer prospective clients insight into your expertise and experience.  One way to achieve this is to ask for and display client testimonials. When you display client testimonials online, you are able to showcase your track record of customer satisfaction and the value you deliver.

You are great at what you do. And your clients agree. Don’t be afraid to tell the world!

Building a Strategic Real Estate Business Takes Strategy

Success doesn’t come from a whim. The most successful real estate professionals have strategy and purpose behind their approach to business. Keller Williams associate and REALTOR® Magazine’s “30 Under 30” finalist in 2015, Saria Finkelstein of Plantation, Fla., is a great example of how purpose leads to excellence.

Finkelstein comes from a long line of real estate professionals that spans three generations; success in the real estate industry is in her blood.

At Mega Camp 2015, Finklestein sat on a panel about buyers agents and discussed the importance of referrals and mastering buyer presentations. During the panel, Gary Keller asked: “What is one piece of advice you would give to agents working with buyers?”

“If you master your buyer consultation, it really begins and ends with that,” Finklestein responded. She follows what she calls the ‘Triple S Threat,’ which makes the process Shorter, Smoother and Sweeter.

Keller noted that Finklestein has taken control of the process so the process doesn’t control her.

On October 13, 2015 at 1:50 p.m. CST, Keller Williams Young Professionals (KWYP) is hosting a webinar with KWYP member Finklestein, which is open to all associates whether or not they are members of KWYP. Now is your chance to take advantage of this opportunity and learn how Finkelstein networked her way to $20 million in volume. Register for free. 

#kwyp

Keller Williams Young Professionals (KWYP) is a community for Keller Williams associates under the age of forty. It provides opportunity for these associates to fast-track their careers through unprecedented networking and referral prospects, leading-edge training, personal development and technology resources.

One of the many benefits of membership is being able to attend monthly live webinars with KW executives, MAPS Coaches and industry trend-setters like Finklestein. Some past webinar guests include Chris Heller, Mo Anderson, Tony DiCello, Dianna Kokoszka, Mary Tennant, Jay Papasan and many more.

Price it Right to Sell

Agents must be part mathematician, psychologist and artist to price a home to sell. Pricing is crucial since it makes or breaks deals: too high and you risk smaller buyers’ pools and longer stays on the market, too low and buyers might suspect there’s something wrong with a property and offer an even lower bid.

To find that sweet spot, run through the following strategies:

✓Dive into the data. A comparative market analysis will encompass recently sold homes, active listings and pending sales in an area. The process starts with a home walk-through and analysis. Suggest sellers hire an inspector to assess their home’s major systems. Showing photos and figures at listing appointments helps sellers understand why their often-inflated estimate isn’t in their best interests. By talking through the comps, you can jointly decide on a price.

✓Square foot pricing. No comparable homes? Choose a few properties as similar as possible to the seller’s. Add up the total square feet and divide by the number of homes for the average per square footage. Next, for the average selling price, add selling prices and divide by the number of homes. Finally, to get the average price per square foot, divide the average selling price by the average per square footage. Finally, multiply the average price per square foot by your home’s square footage to get a price point.

Do you know how to price your real estate listings to sell?

✓The “just below” method. Research shows pricing just under a round number can garner sellers more money, so at $999,900 versus $1 million. The difference signals a bargain. One study on sales in Hampton Roads, Va. found “just below” sellers got on average 2 percent more.

✓ Remember “range searchers”. Most buyers will say they want a home for under a specific round number, say $500,000. A home priced at $505,000 misses out on a swath of potential buyers. Be mindful of these “range searchers” when price setting.

✓Employ “price banding.” Look at the neighborhood inventory and take advantage of a pricing gap. For example, if five homes are at $475,000-$477,000 and four start at $490,000, price in the $480,000 band. For a look at your local inventory, use the KW Mobile App.

No matter your strategy, to set realistic expectations and save time, always form a contingency plan in case the property doesn’t go for the suggested price. If it hasn’t sold in 30 days, what price reduction will you recommend? Here is what Mark Spain of The Spain Team in Atlanta, Ga., showed Family Reunion attendees they need to do to make sure another listing doesn’t go unsold.