Question:

Hi, Walter. I spoke with you briefly on the phone today.

I’m curious about the “Needs Analysis” you’ve put together. Do you really find that REALTORS®, especially top producers, will give you enough time to get through all of these questions? It seems like a lot and I would be afraid of making the REALTOR® feel like he/she was being interrogated. Any advice here?

Thank you.

Bill Mitchell
The Mortgage Centre

Answer:

Hi, Bill. I enjoyed talking with you, and the new DVD is coming out to you….

On the meeting question — if you set it up with the calls, letters, and postcards, the agent will understand that you are trying to offer service like they have never experienced before. You have to get your head around it first. The guy who wins the job is the guy who read the annual statement. How can you help a business unless you understand the business? When you tell the agent, they will understand.

Here’s how it might go: “I have a desire to help some of the top agents in the area {appeal to their ego}. I have learned that if find out where you are having challenges then I can develop solutions to help. In order to accomplish this process, could I have 20 minutes of your time? We can schedule it anytime that is convenient to you. The questions that I ask will help us both concentrate on some of the most important and profitable systems in real estate brokerage. Your answers will help me to concentrate my efforts where you need me the most. When and where could we spend a few moments together?”

You will soon know more about the top producers in the area than anyone else! You can then use my products to slowly “drip” ideas on them where they need it most. It is the most effective way to turn a top producer in an annuity for you.

Thanks again!

Question:

Hi, Walter. I spoke with you briefly on the phone today.

I’m curious about the “Needs Analysis” you’ve put together. Do you really find that REALTORS®, especially top producers, will give you enough time to get through all of these questions? It seems like a lot and I would be afraid of making the REALTOR® feel like he/she was being interrogated. Any advice here?

Thank you.

Bill Mitchell
The Mortgage Centre

Answer:

Hi, Bill. I enjoyed talking with you, and the new DVD is coming out to you….

On the meeting question — if you set it up with the calls, letters, and postcards, the agent will understand that you are trying to offer service like they have never experienced before. You have to get your head around it first. The guy who wins the job is the guy who read the annual statement. How can you help a business unless you understand the business? When you tell the agent, they will understand.

Here’s how it might go: “I have a desire to help some of the top agents in the area {appeal to their ego}. I have learned that if find out where you are having challenges then I can develop solutions to help. In order to accomplish this process, could I have 20 minutes of your time? We can schedule it anytime that is convenient to you. The questions that I ask will help us both concentrate on some of the most important and profitable systems in real estate brokerage. Your answers will help me to concentrate my efforts where you need me the most. When and where could we spend a few moments together?”

You will soon know more about the top producers in the area than anyone else! You can then use my products to slowly “drip” ideas on them where they need it most. It is the most effective way to turn a top producer in an annuity for you.

Thanks again!

Not sure how to get those buyers off the fence?  Maybe you’ll be able to identify with this short Q&A.

Question:

Walter, first let me say that I think you are an awesome coach and I love attending your sessions at the NAR conferences. I subscribe to your newsletter and refer to your articles often and refer others to your free stuff.

So, now I would like to “Ask Wally” what should I do with a client (that was referred from a past client) who has been out 3 times and won’t pull the trigger? He is qualified and wants to buy a second home in our resort town, but “thinks” the prices will still come down (and they probably will). How can I get him to commit? Should I stop showing him properties?

He is supposed to come down today to go looking again and I would like to “nail down” his motivation, if any.  Thanks for taking the time to respond.  I need all the help I can get in this tough market.

Sharon A. Curtiss

Hileman Real Estate, Inc.

Answer:

Hello, Sharon!  Thanks for the nice words.  I want you to think about what I am about to tell you…it might apply, and it might not.  I want you to see the big picture so you feel better about kicking this guy in the butt. 

1. Most of your time should be spent soliciting sellers, making listing presentations, getting price reductions, and following up with them.  More sellers mean more activity in co-op showings, offers, double-ended transactions, and buyer calls.  When you spend most of your time doing this, tough buyers tend to go away as a referral or to our new buyer’s assistant.

2.  I would have asked him a LOT of questions, gotten him pre-approved, met with him, and asked him to sign a loyalty agreement.  You might not have this buyer if you had those requirements and he failed to meet them.  Remember, a lot of listings means you can raise your standards with buyers.

3.  Assuming you do items number one and two above, you took this guy because he had motivation and he followed through on your systems.  Therefore, he should have you writing offers on all property he likes at the price that he feels we might fall to.  At this point, that can not be more than 20% off already low prices.  Every two or three properties shown should result in an offer at the price he feels we will be at in a year. 

4.  If he has not done 1-3, you should feel okay about working on business that is a little more profitable. 

Hope this helps!

I have the privilege of speaking at several franchise and board events.  I personally sold a house a day over a long career, and I understand other offices that “get it.”

In meeting the top brokers and managers, I have found some commonalities.  Below are systems that are currently active in the top offices in North America. 

1.      Top offices understand inventory.  More listings bring more activity, more buyers, more double-ended transactions, more sellers, more recognition, and more recruits!  Higher splits are paid on listing sales.  Every new listing taken is discussed each week at the office meeting.  Awards are given to listing generators.  Agents share how they got the listing.  The manager asks everyone what new pro-active seller lead generation system they are working on.  If they are not working on any, the agents are aggressively coached in obtaining one.  A listing culture permeates the office.

2.      The broker, owners, and managers understand and teach the agents that the only reason a property does not sell is because the seller is under-motivated, does not understand the holding cost, and/or the property is overpriced.  Period.

3.      Management doesn’t talk about the market on a macro-economic scale.  They don’t care! Talking about the market getting better means that the agents believe they don’t have to work now, because it will be like the order-taking environments of 2006 sometime soon. 

4.      Local problems are discussed and cured.  If the appraisals are a problem, then all appraisers are met with comps and sales that fell outside the MLS so all agents can fight for the value.  These are discussed at office meetings.  It’s the sergeants that have to take the neighborhoods.  

5.      Buyers sign loyalty agreements, or company resources are not spent.  Commissions are not reduced.  Overpriced listings are only taken, if attached to a motivated seller.  Short sales are only handled if it meets the criteria for a possible closing.  Buyers are shown “off market” property as a way to impress, earn loyalty, create double-ended closings, and meet new potential sellers. 

I train on systems that work.  These are the same systems that other great managers share with their agents every day.  It seems to be what makes winners. 

Walter Sanford was one of the top real estate agents in North America for nearly thirty years, and now, he is one of the most requested speakers, trainers, and coaches.  He has authored dozens of systems and books on checklists, pro-active lead generation, affiliate lead generation, plus others.  You can hire Walter for speaking engagements or coaching or buy his products by visiting his website.  For more details, visit www.waltersanford.com, call 815.929.9258, or email Walter at walter@waltersanford.com.

Curious about how to get more double-ended transactions?  So was Valerie!  Maybe this exchange will help you, too.

Question:

Hi, Walter.  You often speak about marketing homes to find a buyer prior to putting the home in MLS, in an attempt to double-end more transactions.  So many websites take their information from the MLS, even Postlets downloads from the MLS.

Could you please give me some ideas for marketing the home outside of the MLS so I can attract more buyers?  Please keep in mind that some properties may not attract buyers from signs (highrises, interior locations, etc.). Thanks!

Valerie

Answer:

Hello, Valerie.  That is a great question!  Every agent should look for the easy ways to increase income.  A few easy ways are raising the price point, raising your commission, eliminating clients who have not jumped through the motivation hoops, and my favorite — setting up systems for a double-end transaction. 

The debate has been going on forever.  Should we be allowed to handle both ends of a transaction?  I believe that as long as you can be more efficient while achieving your client’s goals then the answer is absolutely yes. 

I loved being able to tweak my business based on the higher returns of handling both ends of the transaction.  I gained twice as much commission to keep, spend, or help to make the transaction.  I was able to have more control with less posturing.

A double-end transaction allows you to put two clients into your database.  It also makes your business smarter.  For instance, I wouldn’t show short sales to my buyers unless they were my listings.  I would not take one of my good buyers off the market unless I had control of the short sale listing.  The same thing went for REO listings.  Since both of these inventory classes are unreliable at best, I would not bother unless I had more control over the process.

Most people think of double-ended transactions as a means to produce a buyer with a new listing before it hits the market.  This is tough because you don’t want to hold the property off the market too long, because that is not in your client’s best interest.  When I listed a property, I would tell the seller: “One thing I would like to do at the start of this marketing plan is to create some buzz.  Selling a secret property is always more exciting to a buyer than a retail MLS property.  Could I please email my database about the availability and see if I can generate some showings because of its exclusivity?”  In my long career, no one ever said no. 

This is the process that my office would follow with all new listings:

1.  I would take the listing with an MLS form that allows the property to be held off the market for 10 days.  Everything needs to be legal with the MLS!

2.  I would leave the listing presentation with an extra key that I requested in my pre-listing confirmation package.  I would install a lock box and put up a stake sign from my trunk.

3.  While still in my car in front of the house, I would go online and use a service to send my just listed cards to the entire neighborhood.

4.  I would also update my social media sites with the new listing, notifying them of the “secret property.”

5.  I would email my database with this secret property opportunity

6.  I would let my office in on the “secret.”

7.  I would personally call all of my “A” and “B” class buyers whose needs matched up with this new listing’s amenities.

8.  I would hold an open house on the next available Sunday.

This process increased my double-end transactions to about 18% of my sold listings.  This is just one more way to get paid for doing a good job. 

Good luck, Valerie.