Friday, October 10, 2008

Answer A Question, Get A Prize; Business!

I have been considering selling my home recently. Another similar model just sold down the street and I thought I would call the agent that represented the seller (don't get me started on the ethics and tactics of R/E Agents).

I had one question for him, "How much did the house sell for?"

He called me back quickly and I asked the question. He started into a spiel about how real estate is priced and he would have to see the house, blah blah. BUT, and this is the part that surprised me, he blurted the price it went for and explained in detail why it went for what it did.

I was shocked. Not at the price it went for (it went for exactly how much I predicted, I know the market). I was shocked that he answered my question.

Most agents I know will not do this. They figure they have a potential client on the phone and want to reel them in. But what most agents do not factor in is the sophistication of their clients.

For example, I know the real estate market in my city. It is my business to know. I know what RENTS, what Sells and why it Sold or didn't sell. In the case of this house, I merely wanted to know if my prediction was correct and base the sale of my own house on this. In other words, I just didn't have the data I required and he had it.

I didn't have an agent in mind (I don't have luck with many agents as my business is sort of anti-agent oriented). But I do have an agent in mind now. Why? The guy answered my question. He tried to figure out the sophistication of my real estate knowledge and didn't try to hard sell me on evaluation BS.

Lesson, answer your potential client's questions (even if you think you should not) and get their business. Honest, down-to-earth conversation always wins me over. How about you?

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