Technology Consulting

I certainly don’t know everything about everything, but after 38 years in the industry I know a little about a lot of things, and lot about some things. My forte is CRM of course, but I have been following and teaching technology in general since 1992 when first asked to organize technology and CRM round tables for my local board. Since then I have been the roving technology consultant for the RE/MAX region of SEPA & DE, created technology courses for RECS and my local real estate school and worked with many hundreds of agents from all over the world on a daily basis. If I don’t know something I will tell you and I will point you to the best person I know who specializes in that niche. There are a lot of topics out there where a relatively short conversation can get you on the right path to a lot of future decisions. Let me help!

Below is a list of some of the topics with which I can help.

If you’re a new agent you stand to benefit the most. If you haven’t already, you will find that there are many agents who are very willing to share their advice. The question is, are you getting good advice? Since 1987 I have seen a great many agents fall into the same traps, set by well meaning advisers. Beware the agent who seems to know it all because they have been in the business so long. If they have been in the business for a long time, they should be doing a lot of business. If they are not, be very wary of their advice. The people to listen to are the ones that are successful. That said, many successful agents are doing well despite doing some things wrong. So what makes me right and them wrong? Nothing. Use me as a sounding board and you decide.

There are so many general topics to touch on. Here are a few things that very few agents do any more that are integral to building long term sturdy foundations for future business.

1) Become a student of the industry. If you do this one thing you will set yourself apart from the mooing herd and develop insights into ideas that will enable you to differentiate yourself and make more sales. An example:

Because I always kept up with what was going on in the industry nationally I learned in the late 80’s that California had just made seller disclosures mandatory. They were the first state to do so. I decided to create a seller disclosure for my market and then started presenting it to sellers as a benefit. If they showed their warts before the contract was signed, it was far less likely that they would be involved in litigation after closing. Before you get excited about the legality of it, it was presented as a non-binding tool that was authorized by in-house counsel. Please don’t miss the point. It was a differentiator.

I also created a pre-closing walk-through checklist, buyer and seller handbooks, and other innovative approaches as well as spearheading buyer agency in the region.

Learn the law! The reason all the attorneys are telling you to do less and less is because the majority of agents are breaking the law on a regular basis because they don’t know the law. They’re telling you not to attend home inspections! That’s ridiculous. Being there you can see exactly what is going on and prevent over-reactions to issues. You also learn a great deal.

Buy a book on home construction. A thick one! Learn it and learn the terminology of the construction of a house.

2) Don’t work with buyers if they won’t come to your office to meet you first. This one is wildly controversial and it’s all because agents are not trained how to make it work. They’re afraid they will lose business. It’s a great conversation to have.

3) Know mortgages and qualifying. Know the approval process. Don’t just hand the buyer to the mortgage broker and become entirely dependent upon that person who is selling only the products that they have to tell you if your buyer qualifies or not.

4) Role play! Learn closing techniques and objection handling techniques from the best.

5) Learn agency law. It’s positively scary how few agents have a good understanding of agency law, dual agency, designated agency, transaction licensee, etc. I taught it for years and know for a fact that most of the few agents who think they understand, really do not.

6) Should you have a geographic farm? Without a doubt it is one of the most overlooked sources of regular income because it takes so long to cultivate.

7) NEVER trust all the other parties to the transaction to do their job. I closed a 147 transactions in five years with only one not closing on time. This is one of the reasons. How do you make sure they’re doing their jobs without making them angry? Another great conversation.

8) Learn condo docs and title policies. Why? Another great conversation.

The bottom line is that the quality of the vast majority of agents in the industry is not very good. You can become an exceptional agent who will be viewed as such if you simply become a student of the industry. It takes time, but it will yield more business, less litigation, more competence, respect of other agents and pride in yourself as a true professional.

I won sales in competing offers because the agent would tell their clients that they have worked with me before and they knew the odds of the transaction going smoothly and closing on time was greater when I was on the other end of the transaction. Would you like that reputation? Let me help you develop it!