Jul
19
What do you think is worse? The person who wears you out with hourly phone calls and multiple emails…or the person who seems to never return a call or email?
It’s a real life story for sure! Surveys show that one of the biggest reasons that sellers get frustrated with their listing agent and buyers move on to get the services of another Realtor® is often due to the lack of communication. An important tenet of any relationship is the interchange and connection that is fostered through purposeful and relevant communication.
I work with several top producing, very busy professionals that often WOW me with instant or quick response. And if for any reason they are even remotely delinquent, I get a solid apology and acknowledgement…. and that makes people feel valued and important!
But so often in any business, tardy or non-existent responses can set a negative tone. No response is considered a severe rejection, and if that is not your intent, then get better at communicating. Use multiple mediums and never forget that document always trumps conversation, so take good notes in any interaction and clarify so everyone is sure that all parties are clear and informed.
There are hundreds of historical examples of how miscommunications caused wars; deaths and family break ups…so why don’t we be more purposeful when communicating?
Here are a few thoughts for you to ponder
1) Simply ASK your client, customer, prospect, friend, spouse, or partner how they prefer to receive their communications from you. Do they prefer email, text, phone, letters, or is Facebook their favorite medium? In any case, using a medium that is their preference does increase the probability that they will in fact respond to your communications.
2) Have a system in place that makes it easy for you to connect. If you use a smart phone, then communication using text and email can be more easily exchanged. If they prefer Facebook, then get a Facebook app for your phone to save time.
3) Email is still a popular medium, but in general we all suffer from email overload. A smart move is to not assume that your communication actually went through. Spam filters, and email fatigue contribute to lost connections and if your email was not read or was lost in a junk file, your lack of response can easily be misinterpreted that you are not interested, don’t care, or are unwilling to communicate.
4) Don’t mistake using a singular medium as the only type of interchange. Good old fashioned voice connection should be included in your communication strategy periodically. Letters, postcards and voice mail can still support the exchange of information. But hearing the tone, inflection and timbre of a voice tells you more than any flat medium can provide.
5) Always confirm what you think was transmitted. Clarify. Ask Questions. Confirm….all are important to keeping the conversation clear, understood and validated.
6) Be cognizant of the 4 generational dynamics of age and behavioral styles when communicating. People are always more comfortable when you speak to their core values and preferences and through a channel of their choosing.
No matter what you are doing with any one person or group, communication is the KEY to relationships and clear responses build ongoing referrals, trust and confidence. Pump up your awareness and get better at communicating! Now…who should you call…right now?
Bio: Terri Murphy, is a Social Communication specialist is an author, speaker, communication consultant, and author of 5 books, including her latest with Donald Trump. She is the founder and Pres. of WomensWisdomNetwork.com www.MurphyOnRealEstate.com and serves as CIO of U. S. Learning in Memphis and Email: Terri@TerriMurphy.com – And for more info visit: www.MurphyOnRealEstate.com
0 Comments
Jun
25
Testimonial
Terri Murphy Prelisting system CD:
” From: Michele Luedke [mailto:micheleluedke@century21award.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 2010 11:45 PM
To: coach@verlworkman.com
Subject: Terri Murphy’s Pre-List System
Dear Verl,
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have always been a buyers’ agent and
in 12 years of real estate I have only listed 8 homes. Mostly my past
buyers who were now selling their home. (so I never had to “sell” myself).
Just hours before leaving for my daughter’s wedding I received a call from
a past client wanting me to list their home. (They were not on my 3-2-1s
so I hadn’t called them in years. He’s a retired engineer and I’m a warm
and fluffy agent who doesn’t like numbers). Panic was in my thoughts and
I offered to have another agent in the office come list his home, but he
wanted to wait for me to get back. I remembered Terri Murphy’s Pre-list
system disc you provided….I had never looked at the contents of the disc
(sorry) but quickly reviewed the pages, made the changes needed, printed a
copy, overnighted the package. (Within 30 minutes the package was done and
I was off to the wedding). When I arrived at the appointment they had all
documents needed per the request in the listing package and 2 keys made.
The only question asked was how much would the commision be in the listing
agreement. When I said total commission would be 6% the answer was great
let’s get started! It was the easiest listing appointment I have ever
had. I will never turn down a listing appointment again!
You rock!
Sincerely,
Michele Luedke
Century 21 Award
700 La Terraza Blvd. #100
Escondido, Ca 92025
Cell: 760-519-4510
Lic. 01248068 “
Game Changers Video:
For Realtors – Data Fusion
Click the link:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid85694571001?bclid=85691341001&bctid=85709937001
-
Washington, DC. Game Changers Presentation
In Photos: Paul Shahan, Terri Murphy & Susie Hale
Terri,
Game Changer Coach
Great to be in DC with NARl! -Bay East Association of REALTORS….
DataFusion/RealtorResume Game Changer’s project!
Presented By: Mark Flavin and Terri Murphy
Terri-
Game Changer Coach
First impressions are almost always irreversible and can make or break your connection in a matter of seconds, and how you connect on and offline will make determine if you will win or lose!
What can you do differently than you have been doing? Are you relying on the same old things, systems, and habits…. or even more concerning, doing the same things your competitors are doing?
Today’s savvy consumer knows what they want, and are not willing to pay for services that do not meet their need. The largest buying segment of housing is GenX, and they are especially good at finding another professional who is willing to do it “their way” and fast!
So, how about tune up for your presentation program? Whether you are presenting to a buyer or seller, creativity, expertise and delivery will boost or beat your chances.
Here are 3 key tips on how to fine tune your connection:
1) Speed of Response: How fast are you responding to your lead requests? If you don’t have systems in place to respond in a nano-second, your prospects are moving on to the next agent who does have a method to respond in real time with targeted information …and that is what it takes to make a first WOW impression!
2) When you are meeting face to face, have you revamped how you personally “go to market”? Are you “market” presentable? Are you fully focused on your client? Have you anticipated their every need?
Before your meeting, are you equipped with a with deep needs analysis pre-written questionnaire that demonstrates you are prepared, interested and focused to authentically discover and fulfill their real objectives?
Unfortunately, this is an area where many of us have slacked off. Having left a fast and furious marketplace, we didn’t have the luxury of time or the need to build trust bridges with our prospects.
A slower market is loaded with multiple opportunities to engage, connect and earn the right to provide our services to those in need and a great time to demonstrate strong differentiation from our competitors. As an example, if you are still running a paper CMA from your local MLS and showing up with a worn out one size fits all presentation, you might need to start looking for another job!
NAR reports that in 2009 that 34% of the properties sold were purchased by GenX. Translated that means they are driven by their own core values and preferences. Those preferences include real time response, deep expertise and real accountability. Think about investing some time in a marketing makeover and don’t wait another minute to re-design how you go to market while you still can! NAR’s Learning Library offers some free and almost free online webinars to help you do just that. Check them out at: (http://budurl.com/MurphyMktgMakeover)
3) Get rid of the old tools and get good with the NEW ones! You are right to be confused, frustrated and downright stubborn about trying to figure out what’s in what’s out/what’s hot and what is not, but that is no excuse.
You might be able to connect with prospects, but keeping all the updates consistent and valuable takes help from techno tools. Set aside some time or ask the experts what tools are recommended to help you service 24/7 without working all those hours.
Learn how virtual tours like OBEO.com will do the reporting on activity to the seller automagically for you and engage an interested prospect with interactivity on the tour.
Your time is your money, so employing automated, customized drip systems that offer opt-in/opt-out options integrated with your IDX information is the only way to provide real time information as it is listed to prospective buyers or sellers considering to market their home.
NAR reports that approximately 98.9% of prospects search for properties on the Internet BEFORE engaging an agent. Surprisingly only 60% of agents even have a website! Do the basics, but do them right. Get a full web marketing website that does the work for you. Check out http://www.realprosystems.com/ and get the whole enchilada: Podcasts, blogs, drip systems, automated campaigns, back end training and the list goes on. You can’t afford to be the jack of all trades, so figure out what systems can best support your goals and go for the gold.
We’ve heard if you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep on getting what you’ve always gotten…and that’s just not true anymore! We know we can no longer do what we’ve always done to even stay even with what we’ve generated in the past! If you are truly serious about making money by leveraging your time and expertise, get with the program. Very few customers or clients say I don’t want to work with that professional because they are too good at what they do, too eager to help me get exactly what I want and too much of an expert at their craft….just ask them!
Bio: Terri Murphy, Communication specialist is an author, speaker, communication consultant, and author of 5 books, including her latest with Donald Trump. She is the founder and Pres. of WomensWisdomNetwork.com and serves as CIO of U. S. Learning in Memphis and one of NAR’s GAME CHANGER 2010 Coaches. Email: Terri@TerriMurphy.com – And for more webinar resources visit: http://budurl.com/NARFREEWebinars
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