With the major holiday season behind us and things settling down, we find ourselves scheduling more and more listing appointments, as Sellers get prepared to list their homes. It’s a good reminder to everyone the importance of aligning yourself with the right Broker. In our opinion, it can literally make or break your deal and without a doubt impact your bottom line.
In a small community such as ours, the relationships among professionals is of the utmost importance. If people don’t care for your style, don’t enjoy working with you or simply don’t trust you, it will negatively impact a sale. If you are known for being difficult, aren’t respected by your peers or not considered to be proficient in your field, it will most certainly influence how people interact with you.
The same can be said for really knowing your market. Few would argue when we say Ashland really is it’s own little world particularly when compared to the surrounding communities in Jackson county. Implementing the cookie cutter approach to selling property here rarely works. Knowing the product, the audience and the market around us will serve the client beyond their wildest dreams. This level of knowledge comes only from experience and being integrated into this real estate community on a consistent basis. Period.
For those who think the latest and greatest in technology, Search Engine Optimization, videos and the like are enough to sell your property, you should think again. Zillow came in to our market and a lot of real estate agents became fearful. Why? Not really sure… after all, Zillow is not a person. They will never be inside your home. They don’t have any sense of supply and demand, they won’t attend our weekly meetings, they don’t get to participate in round table strategies, brainstorm and such. They aren’t invited and that’s just fine by us. Many of us are just simply doing the work…. day in and day out and the proof is in the pudding. Don’t misunderstand us…. the additional online exposure in whatever capacity definitely doesn’t hurt but it most definitely doesn’t replace good ol’ fashioned work ethic, integrity, reputation and in some cases a bit of old school marketing. Advertising and marketing are not the same and if you are thinking about listing your home, it would be to your advantage to dig a little deeper and compare the two.
Ironically, one of the many things that influenced our decision to join the John L Scott family a number of years ago was related to their commitment to staying innovative. They consistently reinvested in their Brokers’ businesses and made sure they were on the cutting edge of the technological advances in our industry.
We had grown weary of trying to keep up on our own. We really just wanted to connect with Buyers, Sellers and other Brokers and sell real estate. We knew the John L Scott mobile app would take our business to a new level but we also knew we needed to continue implementing the tried and true… “Do what you say you will do and don’t be a turd.”
Being a part of an industry where each Broker gets to put their own spin on things is refreshing. WE are our business. The way we treat people, how we conduct ourselves, our level of effort etc. Providing a level of service our clients rave about is the key to our success. When they are happy they come back, they tell their friends and loved ones and before you know it, over 85% of our business is from referrals. Sure… many of those people still check us out online, look over our reviews on Zillow, etc. but we have already received the endorsement by someone they love so we are steps ahead from the very start.
On average we sell anywhere from 70-100 properties each year so the first hand experience we have is priceless. We take our “jobs” very seriously and while we do want to help them buy or sell a home, we also want to make a positive impact in their lives. Many of these transactions involve other Brokers, giving us plenty of opportunity to engage with others in our industry. We work together, advocating for our clients, while keeping the common goal at the forefront – find a solution that works for everyone.
We don’t always get the listings we interview for and sometimes we aren’t even considered. Many times we don’t hear the reasons why so we are left to speculate. It doesn’t always feel fair and it never feels good but that’s okay. We will continue to do what we do… striving to be the best versions of ourselves, working hard for our clients and earning the respect of our colleagues one transaction at a time.
