I wrote about this home a few weeks ago in a post titled Susquehana Real Estate Company. Between then and now, I have been gone from home and focused on other things.
Today is June 9th, 2009. While driving to get coffee this morning, my wife informed me that the homeowners (sellers) have moved out. The home now sits empty. As does the flyer box.
Apparently, the first allotment of flyers, which I assumed were paid for by the broker, was a one-time option. Once depleted, his responsibility was met. Both to the seller and to the agent.
His hands were washed clean.
As for the agent, perhaps it’s unimportant to her whether this home sells or not. I have to consider that as an option after a conversation I had with an agent last week who currently holds 3 multi-million dollar listings that according to her “will never sell.”
“Why would you represent them if they’ll never sell?” I asked. “Because having my sign out there on the lawn for everyone to see will get me new clients.”
Ultrabrite smile.
I choose to not print the invisible thought bubble that popped over my head but thought about the post Brian wrote titled Secrects, lies, real estate and Zappos and about the invisible stain of distrust on this broker’s otherwise clean hands.
Maybe I’ve got the listing agent above all wrong. Maybe she really needs to sell this home to support her family. But what would it take to refill the box with a stack of new color flyers? $8.00? That’s less than two Venti Cappuccinos a month. What am I not getting?
It’s entirely possible that while real estate textbooks harp on contracts, laws and basic real estate mumbo jumbo, and though we all seek to jam a whole bunch of social networking down practitioner’s throats, I wonder if today’s agent is missing some basic business fundamentals understood by the ancient merchants who ran the Mesopotamian trade routes from Carchemish to Ur.
Invest in a good dromedary. Load it with goods. Schelp them across the Sahara. Sell them. Buy other goods. Schlep back and repeat the process.
Maybe I can draft a simple business course and offer it through the NAR. It would educate agents on the basic tenets of investing a little to make a lot. I could title it:
From Staples to the Flyer Box
I think this would fly. Especially if a designation was offered upon completion. All we need is a catchy Acronym.
One that would look good on a business card.
Any ideas?
- Davison
Twitter: 1000wattmarc
Sign up for the 1000watt Spotlight e-newsletter
and keep up with the ideas, apps and people that are changing real estate.
20 Tools to Bring your Real Estate Business to the Cloud
A mist of difference
Freaking...
HNTS seems like a good designation.
HNTS = How Not To Suck
I’d take a Davison written class online but probably not through NAR.
You should change the sign rider to display your name and phone number. See if you get any leads. I bet nobody notices for over 2 weeks. Maybe even fill the box with some flyers. That would be a fun experiment.
What? A course in common sense? Who would attend? People without common sense wouldn’t have the common sense to attend. Those with it, don’t need it.
Seriously, it’s a human nature/mismatch problem, wrong person in the wrong job. A better course would be for leaders who retain and reward self destructive behavior. Maybe call it, “How STUPID strangles your success!”
It’s a “Mind Set” issue, not a “Skill Set” issue, I think.
I’m not throwing stones, many times my biggest hinder is myself. Ugg. Gotta rise up!
This coming from the same guy who has his home listed but has decided not to sell… yet his home remains listed and he is frustrated with his agent?
You assume much about the listing without knowing any of the details. You then expand by speaking of another agent you hold obviously little regard for and extrapolate that agent’s motivations to the agent listing the unsold home.
Instead of attacking the agent why don’t you do a little balanced journalism and actually call them? Find out what the deal is. Then you’d have a story. Till then you’re just playing armchair quarterback.
And how ’bout we get the story on the non-sale of your home, the job the agent did, and dealing with an unmotivated seller?
@Frank or whoever you are
1st statement – yeah, same guy. How bout that.
2nd statement – I do. And correct.
3rd statement – I am not a journalist. Never claimed to be. I did not call them for a reason. As for the what the deal is – the deal is all about what people assume about real estate, not about what a reporter thinks. That’s the POV here.
As for the story – I believe I told the one I wanted to tell. Worked for me.
4th statement – You want the story on the non sale with a non motivated seller? Talk about assuming much. But sure bud. Here ya go.
It’s a typical drama featuring a destination that we couldn’t swing based on what we needed from our house that isn’t selling. No offers. In the mix is a protracted refi that is still pending.
But just today (as I posted on Twitter hours ago) for the first time since signing over to my agent, he advised to drop it by $50,000. Not sure what I will do.
[...] Bookmarked a link on Delicious. From Carchemish to Ur | 1000Watt Consulting [...]
Hi Marc…my 2 cents.
I initially drop off about 50 flyers for the drop box if the seller wants one. Not all do.
I put 10 in at a time, as if it snows or rains they get wet. I ask them to check and if they get to the last 10 to call me and we will deliver 10 more.
If they move and the house is vacant, I ask them to have a neighbor check for them. Most neighbors are happy to help their neighbor out.
Now if they don’t call, we don’t know. Yes I could drive by 30 listings a week to check but not the best use of my time.
FYI I personally never sold a house from a drop box, I would rather the person driving by call and let me point out the features of that home. I have sold homes that way.
Good luck with your home selling.
*sigh*
Flyers are easy. Once the initial rush by the neighbors to grab on is complete, you fill up the flyer box. When the box is nearly empty, your client send you a text, Tweets you, emails, whatever and you bring more by. It ain’t rocket science. Personally I don’t think flyers work, but most sellers want them. It’s easy enough to comply. We go in up front with the “No open houses!” speak, but flyers? Like you said, it’s a couple cups of coffee.
As for planting a sign to get more clients, I’ve always struggled with that. A sign that’s been in a yard for nine months, that’s starting to lean over, that’s got weeds around the base says exactly what about your skills in selling a home?
I find it embarrassing is one of my signs is in front of a home that won’t sell.
[...] – That is honestly why I got into the business. Here are two posts, one from Mark Davidson From Carchemish to Ur and one from David Lorti called Why Realtors [...]
I think it comes back to the 80/20 rule where 20% of the agents do 80% of the business. Flyer boxes on the sign seems so 1990. Where is a link to the property/agent’s website on the sign? You don’t learn marketing at real estate school but I’m certain Prudential has that information available for those agents who seek it out.
Isn’t it really more like a 90/10 rule?
Whatever the rule is, flyer boxes IMO is not 1990′s. Case in point – I had a weekend house guest two months ago – a well to do chairman of a large company. He came here to unwind, catch up on sleep and escape the stress of he’s been under.
On Saturday morning, we loaded into my Rover and drove the five minutes over to Shell Beach. After about 60 minutes of walking around, breathing in the cool Pacific air and marveling at how pristine the Central California Coast is, he decided he wants to buy a home here and asked if we could drive the surrounding communities where he systematically had me stop at almost every home for sale so he can get out and grab a flyer.
Some yard signs had the URL’s, some did not. But as he sat in the car, going through the flyers, making notes, making a few calls, the value of those things resonated with me.
I too am certain Prudential offers some modicum of education on how to actually practice real estate. Most companies do. But what good is that education if its practice is not encouraged or enforced?
Look, this is not about flyers and whether or not they will sell a home. This is really about what an individual stands for and one simple way in which that individual can provide meaning to the public.
I think it’s 90/10, at best. It may be approaching 95/5…
“But what good is that education if its practice is not encouraged or enforced?”
Therein is the crux of the problem. This stuff really isn’t rocket science. But the entrenched brokerage model of “Hire enough people with a pulse and a license and someone will get a lucky sale now and then” needs to change.
Too many brokers (the vast majority I’d say) won’t release non/under performing agents. They have non-existent selection and hiring skills. Hire the right agents, help them, and if they don’t perform, help them more or show them the door.
Sadly, even for brokers that do this it doesn’t fix anything in the industry because I can fire an agent today and they can literally hang their license somewhere else inside of 10 minutes.
I think 95/5 sounds about right.
Interesting note about firing weak agent and having them go elsewhere. I think that is an interesting phenomenon that has occurred over time but I have been witnessing some interesting developments of late.
For instance, one CEO of a company with 1500 agents, has been going through his company cleaning house. Hundreds have been removed from the roster. More to come.
He told me he doesn’t care if he cuts the number in half. All he wants going forward is a company filled with professional agents. There’s a lot more here that was discussed but as a branding guy I already started kicking around a variety of campaigns that would take his initiatives to the streets and make that mean something.
That particular empty box seems to really get you going
You bring up great points though, it does not matter how many followers you have on Twitter or how many friends you have on Facebook. If you dont have some of the basic computer and people and sales skills that are required in RE, then you will not be successful. It is completely possible to spend all day online doing social networking, yet never get one inch closer to making a sale. Some of the best leads I have ever received came from being social in the real world community, rather than on the net.
@Josh, yeah, something about that box and all the dead bugs inside it are giving me nightmares. I know, I need to get a life.
Interesting post Mark.
The phrase about leading a horse to water comes to mind. Sometimes, it does not matter how much training you give some agents, they still don’t get it. Never will.
I really do believe that the real estate world and the agents who work in it are representative of the population as a whole. As with your example, 90% of the world just don’t get it, never will. That’s what I’ve found in all my experiences, not just with real estate agents.
[...] Bookmarked a link on Delicious. From Carchemish to Ur | 1000Watt Consulting [...]
If a sign is on a property too long it can hurt an agent’s image with surrounding homeowners. I don’t see the relevance of having a large inventory that does not sell. Sounds like the agent needs a psychologist.
Aloha,
Keahi
Dude,
You should totally call the company up and ask them whether they know how to ship good from carmesh to Ur and what their deal is. Love the way you write marc.