Skip to main content

Are You Getting Through?


Every few weeks or so, I take a look at my email “junk” folder out of morbid curiosity.  It’s borne of a few things I’m thinking at the time: (1) how good is the filter I have in place; (2) is there anything in there that should have come to me in my regular folder but didn’t; and (3) how many millions of dollars have I missed out on because I didn’t respond to the Nigerian prince with my banking information in time – that one’s always a kick in shins. I think I’m smart enough to determine what’s junk and what’s not without the help of a filter/folder (but it is nice to have something do it for me).  We as humans are equipped with an internal “junk mail” filter in our heads – some are better than others – that we use every day. 

In the real estate world, this could not be more true for both agents and customers.  Before I go on, though, let me explain that just because something is viewed as junk mail doesn’t mean there’s no intrinsic value to it – but there IS NO VALUE to it if it doesn’t get opened.  Can we agree on that? 

Don’t kill the messenger, my agent friends, but the following items/practices have become or are quickly becoming “junk mail” in the eyes of a potential customer:

•  Facebook posts for listings/open houses
•  Facebook Live videos/Instagram Stories
•  Offers of a free market analysis
•  A YouTube video about a certain program/initiative

There are a lot more things that fit into the this category, but I think you get my drift.  (Let me say once again: these items aren’t worthless – there’s some great information contained in them – but if they’re not being opened, then they’re not bringing much value to the table.)  The reason they’re seen this way is there’s NOTHING that makes them stand out – ESPECIALLY at first glance.  You can sit there and say, “That doesn’t apply to me.  I’ve had a number of people call me off my Facebook posts/offers of a free market analysis.”  I’m not going to argue that, but I will say this: if your posts looked like all the others, then the fact you got someone to call was either down to luck, plain and simple, or you’ve done something to find favor with the Internet gods.  (I’m leaning more toward the former but won’t rule out the latter – wouldn’t want to jinx myself.)  With that said, though, I’ve seen some very effective methods that agents have employed to make themselves and/or their messages stand out.  I’m not going to give away their secrets, but I can certainly help you come up with your own ways to avoid the “junk mail” filter in customers’ heads. 

The “junk mail” dilemma applies to customers, too, I assure you. If you want a top-notch real estate agent to represent you in the purchase of a home, you’re going to need to make yourself stand out, too.  Seriously, do you want someone who’s just going to put you in a car and drive you around or someone who’s going to have an arsenal of talent and experience fully at your disposal to take out the competition and clear the board FOR YOU? If you’re using phrases like “I’m not sure if . . .” and “I don’t know if it’s the right time . . .”, this won’t cause your potential agent to get up and walk away, but she/he is definitely going to start mentally sliding you over to her/his “junk mail” folder.  If you REALLY want their attention and make sure you land squarely in their “Inbox”, THIS is the very simple statement you should open with: “I’ve already been to a lender, and I’m qualified – not just prequalified – for $XXX,XXXX.  Let’s go look at some houses!”  But hurry before all those folks with money from the Nigerian prince go looking at the same houses!  It’ll be a kick in the shins if you don’t.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Naked Truth About Home Buying

It’s highly likely I’ve already written about this, but I’ll try to make it entertaining at least.   There’s a guy who works in ou r office who suffers from kidney stones – and from what he’s described, “suffers” might even be a little too tame a word for it.   As an aside, though, when you ask him how painful the experience is, he gets an odd smile and says, “It’s the most intense pain I’ve ever experienced, but it’s hard to describe.   I’ve heard a lot of people compare it to the pain a woman experiences while giving birth.   To that, I must say, those people are big, fat liars!   I’ve been in the presence of a woman giving birth, twice, and her pain has to be 100 times worse.   They’re passing the equivalent of a Buick.   I’m passing a pumpkin seed.”   He’s always been a colorful fellow. He’s had this wonderful condition for over a decade now, and the stones make their appearance about every 18 months or so.   Up until recently, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Time for a New York-Style Housing Fix

Previously, I’ve written about a man who works in our office who lived in New York City back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s – let me assure you that while that does seem like a very long time ago, it’s not nearly as far bac k as when the wheel was invented and humankind learned to harness the power of fire. If you’ve been to New York City recently and blissfully walked around Harlem to get chicken and waffles at Sylvia’s on Malcolm X Boulevard between 126 th and 127 th Streets or stopped in at Keybar on 13 th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A to wedge yourself into a cozy corner next to their notable fireplace, you wouldn’t get a sense that these areas were once . . . not as welcoming and glitzy as you now see them. Our office mate has told some fairly interesting stories of living in those and other areas of New York City that give a much different sense.   In the late ‘80s/early ‘90s, no matter how many great things you heard about Sylvia’s food, 127 th Str...
Post a Comment
Read more

An Indelible Lesson

This is a reprint from about nine months ago, but I thought the timing is right to revisit this subject.   Recently, I saw this gentleman at the gym whose upper body was almost entirely covered in tattoos.   I struck up a conversation with him and learned that it took well over 100 hours, and it cost $85/hour.   As we continued to chat, I was doing the math in my head: $85 X 100 hours = $8,500 !   Being the mortgage geek that I am, my next thought was, “I’m staring at a walking, talking down payment on a house!”   There’s a huge misconception floating out there that 20% is required as a down payment.   There are those products that do require such an amount, but there are so many others that don’t.   A very popular loan option only requires 3.5%.   In the case of my new gym acquaintance, $8,500 represents a 3.5% down payment on a $242,000 mortgage – that’s not a palace, but that amount of money could buy a modest home in a nice neighborho...
Post a Comment
Read more