In October of '07, I attended 2-day think tank sponsored by Keller Williams held at Baylor Institute. I documented it here.
This morning I received this report from KW on what consumers expect from agents.
In a nutshell, the report derives conclusions that offer little in the way of surprises. The key takeaways include:
- Buyers and sellers begin the process of choosing an agent by accessing social sources through word of mouth referrals from people they know.
- Agents are chosen based upon name and brand recognition from within the neighborhood.
- Key factors in choosing an agent are reputation, trust, honesty and knowledge.
Trust, expertise and honesty. I've seen these three words branded across real estate websites for the past decade. It's one thing to have your copy editor write them or a designer to create the graphic. But today, you need to back it up. When you do, you gain the edge. You build your reputation and word of mouth spreads.
Fortunately, there are a myriad of ways today given access to online tools and Web 2.0 platforms to expose your honesty, your expertise and your trustworthiness. If you have delayed in utilizing what the Web has to offer, what are you waiting for?
- Davison
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Great blog as always and thx for the report from all those MBA's and PhD's.
The key point I'll take from this report is social interaction, whether it be on Facebook, your website, at the grocery store, neighborhood, etc… If you're out there and your talking the talk, word will get around. Sure the "social learning curve" may be a bit steep at first, but the front end work and discipline at the start of your career will yield you business for generations to come
How soon we forget the essentials. I will still go back and watch the 'I am not a lead' video and look at my web presence to see if it reflects that mindset. Now it's the social medium that requires our greater scrutiny. Look sharp agents…there's huge opportunity coming in 2009 if we just pay attention to the details!
Marc
With regard to:
>Key factors in choosing an agent are reputation, trust, honesty and knowledge.
I would agree BUT what's really left out is that ALMOST all of my clients vet agents online BEFORE contact.
When a consumer calls me, they act as if they know me–and on some level, they do.
The conversation is relaxed and easy and they feel comfortable, which I like.
Even if an agent is referred to someone, the consumer will go online to see who else may be out there.
Agreed. I think it's left out because its assumed that however this information is gathered, albeit online or in person, these are the things people seem to look for and gravitate towards. And what surprises me is how few agents really understand that and how few brokers really attempt to leverage it. The fact that you have and experience success from it is proof positive this research is bang on.
Marc
Amazing (and sad) that something so simple is all it takes to stand out as an over-achiever in our industry, but it is the truth.
Agreed. I think it's left out because its assumed that however this information is gathered, albeit online or in person, these are the things people seem to look for and gravitate towards. And what surprises me is how few agents really understand that and how few brokers really attempt to leverage it. The fact that you have and experience success from it is proof positive this research is bang on.
Marc