Austin Texas Real Estate Blog

Before you decide to skim this post which may appear at first glance to merely be a story about a local restaurant, please know that it has a valuable real estate message.

I took my family to Red Lobster on Sunday after church.  As always, the food was great, but the service was not exactly perfect.  For some reason, I have noticed a disturbing trend these days with wait staff - they DON'T WRITE STUFF DOWN.

Is this supposed to impress me somehow?

"Wow, honey, did you notice that the guy didn't write down any of our complicated order?  I mean, there are five of us here.  If he gets it right, I think we should double his tip."

Actually, I usually tip very well, because I used to be in restaurant management in the mid-90's, so I know how hard the average waitperson works.  However, when my order is messed up, I get more perturbed if they didn't write it down.  It makes me assume that they weren't paying attention. 

Listening is a critical sales skill for ANY service provider, and the same goes for us in the real estate and mortgage industries.

About 6 years ago, I got my very first sale over the $1 million mark.  Thankfully, we have had a good number of them since.  I blogged about the entire story once, but I don't need to provide lengthy details here in order to make my point.  The buyers had worked with me several years earlier, then "put things on hold", then re-surfaced in 2002.  It turns out that they had worked with two other agents for long stretches of time, while searching for the perfect place. 

They told me that they had always found me to be trustworthy, so they returned to let me assist them.  I managed to find the right home on their first visit, and they closed on that home for $1.2 million the next month.

What did I do differently?

I WROTE DOWN her list of needs/wants.  Believe me, it was a long list.  After combing through all of the listings, it was apparent that there was really just one place that would work for them, and it turned out that I was correct. 

I have had countless buyers tell me something along these lines during my career:

"The last agent we tried to work with didn't pay attention to us.  She showed us what she thought we would like, rather than what we really wanted to see."

I am happy to state that I have built my business over the past 12 years by being a good listener.  Pay attention to your clients!  It pays off.  I tell home buyers the same thing when we are actively looking - I will honor their criteria until they tell me to make a change.  If we begin looking at properties and it becomes obvious that they can't find what they need, I present options.  They can raise the price range, or they can change the area of town.  Usually, it is the former, but I let THEM dictate this decision. 

I have mentioned this quote in the past, and I don't know the source, but I have never forgotten it:

God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.  We should listen twice as much as we speak.

Don't be the pushy fool who loses an "in hand" client by showing them the wrong homes.  LISTEN (and write it down) and reap the benefits!

I have a friend who, for the sake of this post, I am going to call Ted.  I don't actually know any Teds, so we should be safe using this name.  I am sure you know someone like Ted.  He's the kind of guy who manages to focus on the negative, no matter how well things are going for him.  Also, he is certain to point out how badly YOUR business must be going, with the current economy:

ME: Hey, Ted.  How's it going today?

TED: Pretty good.  I guess you must be just about broke, what with the real estate market in the tank, huh? 

ME: Actually, this has been our strongest month in awhile.  I am working on a couple of closings, and my agents have been busy.

TED: Well, don't get too confident.  The Dow took another nosedive yesterday.

ME: Frankly, I stopped watching the Dow a long time ago.  Every time that I hear about it dropping a lot, it seems like it is at the same level where I saw it before. 

TED: They're saying gas prices may go to FIVE dollars a gallon in the wake of the recent hurricane.

ME:  I hope it doesn't get that high, but I suppose we don't have a lot of choice in the matter. 

TED: Also, I was reading in the paper that real estate sales are down 20% in Austin from last year.

ME: I call this "how to lie with statistics".  Comparing it to last year makes for interesting newspaper fodder, but the trend in Austin is still strong.  2007 was a relatively good sales year, so the fact that it has dropped off doesn't really surprise me.  Prices actually went up a little during the same period.

TED: I have hemorrhoids.

ME: What?  Why are you telling me this?

TED: I ran out of negative things to say, and it was the first thing to come to mind.

ME: You have made me feel tired, Ted.  See you later.

Ted is the kind of guy who can make you feel awkward and sad for having a newborn baby, or getting a big commission, or winning a gold medal.  He drains you, and you likely want to avoid him with every ounce of your being.

I try really hard not to be like Ted, even when things seem to be a struggle.  I can assure you that you probably won't gain any new clients by focusing on the "cons" of the current market.  There are always plenty of arguments in favor of making a move now, especially for buyers (low interest rates, more inventory, etc.).  For sellers, the key is to be honest with them about their prospects and pricing.  If they need to sell, take the listing.  If they are just seeing what will happen, run like the wind.

I was taught to always say, "Great!" when someone asks how business is going.  This strikes me as disingenuous, and I can't bring myself to do that if it isn't true all the time.  However, I do talk about which things are going well, rather than burdening them with my problems or concerns.  If sales are slow one month, I might say, "Business is slower than it was a couple of years ago, but we're having a pretty good year overall.  The market in Austin has held up remarkably well.  If things improve nationally, we are positioned for some great years ahead."

I am not advocating that you present sunshine and rainbows to every client, but don't focus on the lemons if you can avoid it.  No one likes hearing about Ted's hemorrhoids. 

I have intended to write about this topic for several months, and today I stumbled across it on my "blog topics" list.  There's no time like the present, right?

As the broker and owner of my company, I have seen a number of agents leave over the years.  Sometimes, the feeling is mutual and I think they are really saving me the trouble of doing it for them.  Other times, I am sad to see them go.  Either way, I often wonder why some agents feel the need to sneak out rather than calling me or speaking to me face-to-face. 

I have never once exploded in anger at the office for ANY reason - I just don't find it to be productive.  I have never made anyone feel uncomfortable for leaving when they speak with me directly about it.  Additionally, I haven't ever tried to talk anyone out of leaving, because I figure by the time they speak to me, the decision has already been made.

So, I am left to wonder why certain agents have felt the need to leave without a word, note, or phone call.  Recently, we had a small issue with our corporate license that required a trip to the TREC (Texas Real Estate Commission) to fix.  During the visit, we realized that one of "our" agents was no longer our agent at all.  He had moved his license without notifying us in any way.  I had another girl who left me a note on my desk, and one who sent me an email.  On another occasion, I had a lady who left with no notice or notification whatsoever.  To this day, I haven't heard from her, although I know she is still actively practicing real estate here in Austin. 

I have coined my own term for this over time.  When agents leave in this manner, they are not just burning the bridge.  They are "blowing up the bridge" entirely, much like in this video. 

For those who have left on good terms, I always tell them that the door is open should they wish to return, simply because they took the time to speak with me.  Because of this policy, I have had two of them return, one in the past week. 

When I left my previous broker, who is much like a surrogate father to me, I had a tough time telling him, but I did it in person.  We had eight years of history together, and it never crossed my mind to do it any other way. 

I realize that we are all self-employed independent contractors, but it seems as though simple respect and courtesy should come into play.  I am more than fair with the agents who work with me, and I truly care about all of them as people.  I am also not driven strictly by money, and this is reflected in the way that I train, support and befriend my agents.  You can ask anyone about this, even those who have left. 

Am I wrong to expect agents to leave in a halfway dignified manner?

For any agents who may be reading this, if you are considering leaving your current company, I would beseech you to be upfront when you go, rather than skulking away into the night.  You will feel better for it.  Sometimes, this may require you to take a "big boy" or "big girl" pill, but it is simply the right thing to do. 

However, I must also admit that if an agent is willing to leave on these terms, I am almost certainly better off without them, because they are likely to treat their clients even worse.

Thanks for letting me vent a little bit on this topic.

In marketing, as you have probably heard many times, perception is reality.  In real estate, this is certainly no different.  I have always tried to view this career as a service business, rather than strictly as a sales job.  To be sure, I use my sales skills every day.  I even have to use sales skills on my kids sometimes.  However, if you treat your real estate clients strictly as potential sales, you will probably struggle to build a successful business.  Instead, take some extra time to show your empathy.  Please allow me to explain.

When I am training new agents (and experienced agents, for that matter), I often reference a book that I read a couple of years ago called "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell (he is also the author of "The Tipping Point" - I would highly recommend reading both of them if you have a chance).  In this book, Gladwell explores the way that people make decisions, usually based on small things.  I enjoy books that make me think and sometimes there is a point that sticks with me, as in this case.

One of the most interesting applications of this book to our business comes from his analysis of doctor-patient relationships, and whom people choose to sue when something goes wrong in malpractice cases.  They found that patients almost never sue a doctor that took time to show that they cared about them.  In fact, the surgeons in one study who were never sued spent an average of only 3.3 minutes longer with their patients than their colleagues who were sued.  Also, patients would usually choose to go after the doctors they like the least, as opposed to those who might actually have been at fault.

A quote from this section says, "When a patient has a bad medical result, the doctor has to take the time to explain what happened, and to answer the patient's questions.  The doctors who don't [take time for their patients] are the ones who get sued."

The upshot for this in real estate is: TAKE THE TIME TO SHOW YOUR CLIENTS THAT YOU CARE ABOUT THEM.  

I have been in full-time real estate sales in the Austin area for eleven years (the last three years as the owner of my own company), and I have never been involved in a lawsuit, mediation, or a complaint to our real estate commission, nor have any of the agents who work for me.  Why?  Because I make an effort to show our clients that I care about their issues, rather than simply denying responsibility and becoming defensive at the first hint of a problem. 

Sometimes, I have had to admit that one of our agents made a mistake.  Is this easy for me?  Absolutely not.  However, it is the best course of action sometimes, rather than shifting the blame or arguing, neither of which does anything to defuse the situation. 

I feel that this is the essence of having integrity and part of succeeding in any business.  Also, I can sleep at night because I don't have anything extra weighing on my mind.  Do I make mistakes in the course of day-to-day business?  Of course.  Do I admit it when I do?  Absolutely.  If you want to have staying power and a stream of happy client referrals, show them that you care and accept responsibility when you mess up.  It is my humble opinion that most people think they have integrity, but a precious few practice this daily. 

So, do your clients know that you care (or at least perceive that you do)?  If so, you will likely have buyers and sellers beating a path to your door. 

I welcome your comments.  Thanks for taking time to read this entire post. 

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