Sell Solutions Instead of Tasks
When I first saw the list of 179 things an agent does for a client that NAR published, I cringed. The last thing people want right now is a generic list of tasks they may not need and don’t pertain to them. I imagine them saying, “So if I don’t need all of this, can I get it cheaper?” It is time to focus on customization. What is valuable to them?
It’s like creating a resume. Don’t list a bunch of tasks you completed. Say how completing those tasks helped your employer achieve or exceed their goals or make more money. We need to make them envision us helping them, too. We need to stop generalizing and assuming. Real estate, particularly relocation transactions, and the people involved are like snowflakes… no two are the same.
When I consult with a brokerage, we create a lot of materials customized to the unique value proposition of their company and their market, always keeping the end user in mind. Who is the target audience, and what matters to them? How will we save them time and money, mitigate risk, and make things easier? How will we help set them apart? One brochure does not fit all.
Stop with the ‘me’ already.
I can assure you that no transferee or local customer cares if your company wins an award unless you explain to them why you won that award and how the expertise that caused you to win that award directly benefits them. They might care about service scores and reviews from transferees who have come before them. Those tell the transferee’s story that resonates with someone going through the same thing.
When I see an agent market themselves as the ‘Top 1% of real estate agents’, I want to scream. Me. Me. Me. Do they actually think that resonates with consumers? They have no idea what that even means. We need to stop talking about us and focus on them. When you brag (and I highly encourage humble bragging), target the audience most likely to benefit from the expertise that won you the award. How is our expertise solving their problem?
Slow things down to get ahead.
Sometimes, it makes sense to slow the process down so we can connect more effectively. That’s why I love the two-step listing process for corporate relocation listings. It allows the assigned agent to meet with the family, see the home, learn what is unique about it, and then return a second time to present the custom detailed broker market analysis. How can anyone provide a customized listing presentation on a home they have never been inside of? They can’t.
If an agent does a listing presentation on the first time meeting the client and seeing their home, there is nothing custom about it. It is a cookie-cutter, ‘this is all the stuff I do for everyone’ presentation. That’s why I don’t like those glossy pre-printed booklets agents use in listing presentations. While they are beautiful and expensive, you have just told them, “We are so confident that your property isn’t unique we have actually printed a booklet that we give to everyone with the tasks and features we perform for everybody.”
By slowing down the process, we make the client feel valued and heard. I know agents often think it is a race to get to the customer first, but if they explain why they do it in two steps, it will set the agent apart. Creating a custom presentation and marketing strategy will make them know you were listening. It works the same for buyers by creating a custom house-hunting tour addressing their specific criteria. It is so important that we explain how we have prepared for the changes from the NAR settlement and why we are different from what some other companies have done.
Steps forward:
Ask more questions. Their answers will reveal their wants, needs, and worries. Once you know that, you can customize your services specifically to them, addressing what problems they are trying to solve.
Benefits over features. Talk about how the features we offer benefit them. Less task-oriented, more substance and solutions.
Stay positive. Discuss the benefits of the NAR settlement with the customer, including the fact that there is now more transparency and a more dedicated fiduciary relationship based on who represents the buyer and seller. Putting a positive spin is different from what most agents are out there selling.
Support the source of business. Advise your staff and agents to avoid speaking negatively about the transferee's employer or their policy. We should not interpret or hypothesize why their policy does or does not provide certain benefits. Our job is to help support them to the best outcome while respecting their employer.
Be an advisor. Be really clear with the RMC that if the listing referral comes across with the full commission (buyer and seller) listed, it must be uncoupled. Some still haven’t gotten the message about the various requirements and changes from the settlement.
Tell them why. Some brokerages are using documents and agreements with confusing language and that may leave consumers with no easy way out. If your competitors' documents differ from yours, make sure you see what they are using and explain the differences. Some agents just shove an agreement across the table and tell buyers to sign it. I am hearing of buyers signing multiple buyer agency agreements. Clearly, no one explained what that document really means.
Question the clauses. Some RMCs are using ‘exclusion’ clauses on the buy side that should be floated by your attorneys before signing. We must protect the procuring cause when our agents do the work. Hopefully, more of them will adapt and use the WERC-approved buy-side clause.
Understand what the customer wants, no matter who they are. We often have ‘value blindness’. Until we understand what the end user wants, we can’t deliver a meaningful point of differentiation to them. To the naked eye, many brokerages and real estate agents may look the same. You don’t have to dig too deep to prove that theory wrong…especially today. We have to do a better job helping the end user sort out the differences, but we have to understand them first.
What is our fiduciary responsibility to the industry?
People seeking an agent’s help don’t expect an agent to work for free. However, if an agent cannot articulate how the compensation structure has changed early on in the relationship and the customized value they bring, then they may end up working for free or be guilty of steering. Neither is a good outcome.
This is our opportunity to set ourselves apart, which may mean throwing bad actors under the bus. We are obligated to our industry to self-monitor and report those jeopardizing everyone in it. Let your custom solutions speak for themselves, and the business will come. Let me know how I can help.
