Are Successful Realtors a Pain?
I have listened to a lot of webinars where successful realtors are interviewed. I am always looking to understand what makes them successful, so I can apply it to my own business.
One constant theme I have noticed from all the Webinars is successful Realtors do a lot of prospecting / cold calling.
Cold calling to me is a pain. I don’t particularly like to get calls from sales people interrupting my work or family time, trying to sell me something I really did not plan on buying today. I prefer to go online or call a company to get more information at a time that works for me.
When I think about other careers, for example, doctors, lawyers, contractors, etc., I don’t see them cold calling using tools like the Mojo Dialer or Vulcan 7. Mojo Dialer allows you to make up to 5 cold calls per minute, so you can really bother a lot of prospects fast.
If I go to the doctor and my treatment is not successful, I don’t get a call from several doctors asking to meet with me, but if I list with a Realtor and the listing becomes expired, you can bet I will get calls right away.
When I go to medical Websites, I am not forced to give my contact information in order to view their important content. Yet many successful Real Estate sites do just that, and you can bet within minutes of giving my contact information I will get a call from an agent. Many people will give bogus contact information, because they don’t want that immediate call from an agent.
One successful agent has a Virtual Assistant that calls thousands of people each month and makes contact with around 2,000. Out of those 2,000 people she reaches, 1,960 of them don’t want to hear from the Realtor, and probably did not want to hear from her either. When asked when he stops calling people, his response was “when they request a restraining order”. Is that what it takes to be successful, bothering thousands of people each month who don’t want to hear from us to find the few that do?
Another successful agent promoted a program called the Ten Days of Pain. It is an intensive follow-up program using the phone, email, text messaging, video, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. There was nowhere a prospect could hide from this intense follow-up. At least in this case the agent acknowledged it is a pain, probably for both the prospect and the agent doing the follow-up, and named it appropriately.
The NAR President just wrote an opinion piece where he mentioned many see the term “Realtor” to be a “low ranking career choice”. As I think about why the public has this view, one thing that comes to mind is the constant prospecting we do. There could be other reasons too, perhaps lack of education to get a license, or the perception that we are overpaid for what we do, but I can’t help but think the relentless prospecting plays into this opinion of our career.
So what do you think, are successful Realtors a pain?
Drew Meyers
Posted at 11:09h, 07 August“makes contact with around 2,000. Out of those 2,000 people she reaches, 1,960 of them don’t want to hear from the Realtor, and probably did not want to hear from her either.”
Exactly. This is my problem with so many businesses’ sales strategies. Is making YOUR business succeed, worth annoying 99% of people you contact?
A post I wrote recently is somewhat related (purpose driven vs mercenary): http://www.horizonapp.co/blog/upside-partnership/
I could vent more on this. But I won’t.
Bryn Kaufman
Posted at 11:33h, 08 August“Is making YOUR business succeed, worth annoying 99% of people you contact?”
For the successful agents that employ these techniques the answer is it is worth annoying the 99%. It does not make Realtors very popular, but it is making those agents a lot of money.
Sam DeBord
Posted at 11:53h, 08 AugustExactly. It’s the same as the “raise the bar” vs. “hire everyone I can” mentality. Business people will do what’s profitable for them personally.
Maureen Harmonay
Posted at 06:00h, 08 AugustThank you for saying what so many of us are thinking. I prefer to focus on cultivating existing relationships, offering information on my blogs and website, in an effort to attract people who want what I’m offering. I wouldn’t want to be called or hounded, and I’m not going to do that to someone else, either, to generate business.
Bryn Kaufman
Posted at 11:53h, 08 AugustThanks Maureen. Glad to know I am not the only agent feeling this way!
I agree with you 100%, I don’t like getting called and hounded, and thereby would not want to do that to others.
the truth hurts
Posted at 15:09h, 03 Aprilthis is coming from an agent who according to realtor.com has only 5 on the market and 2 sold recently. do you pay the bills? i hope they are not that much
http://www.realtor.com/realestateagents/Maureen-Harmonay_Bolton_MA_19496_486899345
Maureen Harmonay
Posted at 15:32h, 03 AprilI wonder why someone who won’t even use his/her real name would feel the need to make such a nasty comment, 8 months after the original discussion?
You got the truth in your face
Posted at 09:46h, 28 Septemberhe got a point.
Maureen Harmonay
Posted at 15:32h, 03 AprilI wonder why someone who won’t even use his/her real name would feel the need to make such a nasty comment, 8 months after the original discussion?
Sam DeBord
Posted at 07:58h, 08 AugustBryn, it’s a good thing some of us are generating business through information online, so we don’t have to cold call. I’d agree with most of your points. I think it’s the nature of the single transaction, years between occurrences, sizable commission, and consumers’ willingness to switch providers on a whim that makes it a constant churn. Agents keep calling everyone because it works often enough.
Bryn Kaufman
Posted at 11:32h, 08 AugustGood points Sam, I agree with you. I guess picking up the phone and dialing is a lot easier than putting good content online and getting people to view it.
Jeff Manson
Posted at 13:31h, 08 AugustI would have to disagree!
Most top agents don’t Cold Call… They proactively call leads that have expressed interest in either buying or selling real estate. Some of those lead sources include: Expired Listings, FSBO’s, and online leads from website searches and property valuation tools. They cold call as a last resort!
A good agent that believes they are one of the best agents and offers exceptional services owes it to the consumer. If they didn’t reach out to them… the consumer could get stuck with some agent that doesn’t look out for them and doesn’t offer great service.
Example: Most expired listings don’t sell because some weak agent either lied to them about what it would sell for or even worse didn’t know the market conditions. This can actually cost the consumer big time!! That is because they put their interest first and was going to take the listing at all costs instead of telling the truth.
If an agent doesn’t feel comfortable calling a person that sign up on their site to offer their services… How strong could they actually be when it comes to negotiating a contract for them? Just a thought 😉
I know this probably will ruffle a few feathers, but just trying to Keep it Real!
Bryn Kaufman
Posted at 10:31h, 11 AugustJeff, a Cold Call is when a person receives a call that they are not expecting. When you call an Expired Listing or FSBO it is a Cold Call.
Most people including myself don’t like to get cold calls. We don’t want to be bothered by people calling us to sell us something we did not inquire about. I would assume you feel the same.
I am sure every person selling knives, vacuums, pots, business opportunities, etc. believes they owe it to everyone they cold call to sell them something. That rational does not make it any less of a pain to receive these cold calls.
Just because a seller reaches out to their Realtor of choice vs. working with someone who cold called, them does not mean the agent they choose will not look out for them nor offer great service. There is no evidence that would lead anyone to conclude that only the agents who cold call offer great service.
Also, there is no evidence that says the reason an expired listing did not sell is because the agent was “weak” or “lied” to the seller or did “not understand market conditions”. It could have been the seller had a price in mind that was unrealistic, and despite the agents best efforts to convince them to bring the price down, they decided not to.
Lastly, negotiating a contract has nothing to do with cold calling. I work with attorneys who are very skilled at negotiating contracts, yet they don’t cold call. Cold calling and being able to negotiate contracts are just not connected.
I am all for “keeping it real”, and changing the definition of cold calling and suggesting an agent who does not cold call can’t negotiate a contract is not based on any facts, so it is not really “keeping it real”.
Jeff Manson
Posted at 16:15h, 11 AugustLOL… I guess you have your own definition of a cold call 🙂 The great sales people call people who have expressed interest in buying or selling a home. Real estate is a sales business and requires personal communication. I guess agents that don’t feel comfortable calling people that have expressed interest in buying or selling a home should probably find another profession or find someone that can make those calls for them.
I have called thousands of expired listings and the biggest reason their home didn’t sell is because the original agent didn’t price it correctly. In most cases they knew it should have been lower and took it anyway. That is not serving the clients best interests.
MOST agents that don’t proactively call and follow up usually are not selling very many homes. Which is fine if they are good with barely getting by.
I still think if you offer great service you owe them a call to offer your services. Different mindset I guess. I am not the type that hides behind technology hoping someone will contact me.
BTW: If they are not strong enough to be honest about price.. how strong can they be negotiating a contract for them. Especially if they are not selling very many homes on their mortgage depends on the sale. NOT VERY!
Bryn Kaufman
Posted at 16:57h, 11 AugustI used Wikipedia’s definition of a cold call.
We agree that the agents who make these cold calls are successful, I never said otherwise.
The point of my blog post was that they are successful, and yet they are a pain too.
If you interview 100 consumers and ask them do they like to be cold called, most would say no.
If they have expressed interest in buying or selling to you and provided their phone number, that is NOT a cold call.
If you are saying agents that don’t cold call can’t be successful, I don’t have enough data to determine if this is true or not.
You say agents who don’t follow-up are not selling many homes. I agree with this, but doing good follow-up and cold calling are completely different.
For example, Maureen below stated she does not like cold calling. She works on cultivating existing relationships, her blog, and website. Her follow-up skills are probably excellent, yet she does not cold call.
Jeff, we need to keep it real. I understand cold calling works for many, that is my point. But I also understand it is a pain for many on the receiving end, and I don’t think many would say differently.
Jeff Manson
Posted at 17:49h, 11 AugustI still disagree on the definition… We can agree to disagree 😉 on that.
It is not a pain for the expired listing that really needs to sell their home and now have quality agents calling they can now interview! It is not for the buyer or seller that signed up on a website that really needs help 🙂 Or for the FSBO that is in over their head and really needs help from a professional.
mike
Posted at 14:58h, 03 AprilBryan, you wrote “If you interview 100 consumers and ask them do they like to be cold called, most would say no.”.
So my question to you is as follows. If you asked 100 people who chose their first agent by referral and failed to sell due to price but relisted with someone who called them, would they give the same no in regards to being called?
Bryn Kaufman
Posted at 11:15h, 04 AprilIf you interview the 1% that were helped of course they will be happy. However, as Drew said: ” Is making YOUR business succeed, worth annoying 99% of people you contact?”
Bryn Kaufman
Posted at 10:14h, 05 AprilMike, it works the same for anyone selling anything via telemarketing or door knocking.
Whether you are selling Real Estate, Religion, Vacuums, etc., the same would hold true.
Those that found a new Religion, well, you changed their lives and they are very happy, but those that like their current Religion/Realtor, well, for them your interruption is a pain.
So much so that now they made robo-calling cell phones illegal, although from what I hear a lot of Realtors still do it.
Let’s not forgot the Do Not Call List too, another attempt to stop annoying cold calls.
Adam Bailey
Posted at 21:04h, 11 AugustWe RANKED 10th in the Nation in transactions. No we called and live chatted with 100k plus targeted suspects in 2013. Selling 853 homes with only around 20ish Agents! We run a dream team CLIENT CARE CENTER, not just a outbound sales program. Suspects love it if value is added and they can get questions answered WITHOUT being sold anything from 8am-9pm. (Free) HMMM. The longterm relationship spawned from a single call that changed their whole buying / home selling experience with our team model… #SelectHomes FYI- Just to help you agents out that are still scratching your head, you must master the art and science of long term incubation data, tracking tags with content behavior phone call follow up’s with EXPERTS on the other end. Not some half ass prospecting agent! #BIG data, BIG business.
Bryn Kaufman
Posted at 21:22h, 11 August“Suspects love it if value is added and they can get questions answered WITHOUT being sold anything from 8am-9pm. (Free) HMMM”
Great idea, and I love the way you promote that on your Website. If you are calling people that gave you their phone number and giving them relevant info from an expert that is great service, and it shows in your sales.
Of those 100k plus sales calls any idea what percentage is Cold Calls to FSBO and Expired vs. Warm Calls to people that either called you or signed up with a phone number on your Website?
Bryn Kaufman
Posted at 21:32h, 11 AugustMy team is also number 1 for properties sold in the state of Hawaii, although we are probably a smaller market, so my 3 agents are able to get these results.
Our follow-up is good, even though we do not Cold Call FSBOs and Expired.
We do send out 300,000 Emails per month, which I believe is a good number for a team of 3.
Guest
Posted at 21:30h, 11 AugustBy the way, my team is also number 1 for properties sold in the state of Hawaii, although we are probably a smaller market, so my 3 agents are able to get these results.
We don’t call Expired or FSBOs, but our follow-up is good. We do send out 300,000 Emails per month, which I believe is a good number for a team of 3.
Brad Officer Real Estate
Posted at 10:33h, 12 AugustAdam, I’d also like to know Bryn’s question to you below:::::
“Of those 100k plus sales calls any idea what percentage is Cold Calls to FSBO and Expired vs. Warm Calls to people that either called you or signed up with a phone number on your Website?”
Adam Bailey
Posted at 21:20h, 11 AugustJeff, you made some really great points… But, what do I know,right! 🙂
Robin Santosuosso Martyn
Posted at 14:52h, 26 MarchI can’t agree more Jeff. I call both FSBO’s and Expired’s for that reason. To help these people get thier homes sold, as an experienced I have helped many people, I have picked up the phone and called, made an appointment to see thier home, listed it and got the home sold quickly and for the right price. They were very grateful and happy that I called them.
Adam Bailey
Posted at 21:05h, 11 AugustWe RANKED 10th in the Nation in transactions. Now, we called and live chatted with 100k plus targeted suspects in 2013. Selling 853 homes with only around 20ish Agents! We run a dream team CLIENT CARE CENTER, not just a outbound sales program. Suspects love it if value is added and they can get questions answered WITHOUT being sold anything from 8am-9pm. (Free) HMMM. The longterm relationship spawned from a single call that changed their whole buying / home selling experience with our team model… #SelectHomes FYI- Just to help you agents out that are still scratching your head, you must master the art and science of long term incubation data, tracking tags with content behavior phone call follow up’s with EXPERTS on the other end. Not some half ass prospecting agent! #BIG data, BIG business.
Adam Bailey
Posted at 21:06h, 11 AugustWe RANKED 10th in the Nation in transactions. Now, we called and live chatted with 100k plus targeted suspects in 2013. Selling 853 homes with only around 20ish Agents! We run a dream team CLIENT CARE CENTER, not just a outbound sales program. Suspects love it if value is added and they can get questions answered WITHOUT being sold anytime from 8am-9pm. (Free) HMMM. The longterm relationship spawned from a single call that changed their whole buying / home selling experience with our team model… #SelectHomes FYI- Just to help you agents out that are still scratching your head, you must master the art and science of long term incubation data, tracking tags with content behavior phone call follow up’s with EXPERTS on the other end. Not some half ass prospecting agent! #BIG data, BIG business, BIG REAL ESTATE PROFITS
Cold calling Realtor
Posted at 17:56h, 08 JanuaryI doubt the chicken wants to be eaten by the fox, yet the fox is hungry so he hunts and kills the chicken. Such is a successful Realtor like the fox. Why would the fox apologize for being a carnivore? Why should a salesman apologize for being a salesman?
Cold calling realtor
Posted at 17:58h, 08 Januaryoh I’m so sorry I did not want to widdle my profits down to nil by mailing you postcards for years on end while you threw them in the trash!! I am so sorry I asked to speak to you for 15 seconds and you were not expecting it, oh nooooo!!!!
Fresno Real Estate
Posted at 07:38h, 22 MarchI agree with Bryn. There’s a right way and a wrong way to do business. Just because you can make money selling your soul — does that mean you should? There’s more than enough lead generation strategies that work that provides value to our clients and enhances what we do as a profession. If anyone wants me to share mine, I’m happy to. Email me at: [email protected]