Referrals

Imagine you are going to dinner with your spouse or significant other to celebrate something. You've selected a special restaurant based on an expectation that it will help you commemorate this occasion.

After waiting for a few minutes, even though you arrived on time for your reservation, you are seated at a table that is not in the best table in the house. Service continues to be less than anticipated and when the food arrives, it doesn't measure up to what you were expecting either.

Your last hope to redeem the evening is dessert. Instead of tempting you with a visual and verbal description of each of the offerings, the waiter asks "Have you saved any room for dessert" to which you immediately answer "No."

You and your spouse go home that evening with a recognized amount of disappointment because what should have been a memorable evening for another reason, will be remembered because it didn't live up to your expectations.

The waiter did not know what the specials were and of course, had not tasted them. You wanted a recommendation on a wine pairing but he didn't have a clue because he doesn't drink wine.

The food was okay but there were no garnishes on the plate and it wasn't presented attractively. The food came out together but your spouse's wasn't done properly; they agreed to take it back but left yours. You waited for the other entrée to return and by the time it got there, yours was cold.

Let's face it. You got the dinner but not the experience you wanted. When you get to work next week and your friends ask you about your weekend, you'll talk about it but not favorably. In all probability, you'll never go back to that restaurant again.

That experience was based on an evening and a meal that might have cost a hundred dollars.

Now, let's compare that with the purchase or sale of a home that in a dollar comparison is 15 to 20 thousand times greater. The memory of a meal, no matter how special the occasion, will fade quicker than the unpleasant experience that might be associated with the sale or purchase of a home.

NAR tells us that most people can't remember exactly what they paid for a home within 45 days of closing and some buyers can't remember their agent's name within 90 days. One of the things that are vivid in their mind long after the closing is whether they were able to close on time.

The daily grind of real estate sales is business as usual for most of us. It's understandable because buying and selling a home is common for REALTORS® but it is obviously an infrequent event for our customers. Most people have thought, dreamed, and planned for this purchase or sale for a long time.

Psychologists say that moving and obtaining a mortgage are two of the most stressful events a person can encounter with only loss of a spouse or loss of job as being greater. Simple understanding of this alone should help agents to show more compassion during the sale process.

On more of a strategic approach, we might make a decision to drop by our buyers' home once a week for at least six weeks after they buy it. Taking a small gift each time you go by that has little cost but is valuable nevertheless will make an impression. You'll also have the opportunity to ask if they need any help with anything.

This type of gesture will cement your relationship as a person who wants to genuinely help and it will give you the opportunity to find out if the buyers have any friends who might be moving.

The types of gifts that you can give each would include:

1) A ready to eat meal on moving day
2) A bucket of cleaning supplies
3) A page of return address labels
4) Postcards to notify their friends of their new address
5) Home Inventory to record their personal belongings
6) Homeowner's Tax Worksheet to track the basis in their home
7) Mortgage Accelerator to show what additional principal payments will do to save on interest and shorten the term
8)Labels to record when they changed the filter in the HVAC
9) Calendar with a picture of their home
10) Home Maintenance Checklist
11)Chart showing restaurants that deliver
12) Energy saving tips checklist
We must be sympathetic to the anxiety that is attached to these transactions. We must exercise every amount of care possible to insure that the sale goes smoothly and without difficulties. If problems do arise, and they usually do, we need to take care of them expeditiously.