Pivot your team’s value proposition and stay out in front.
Now more than ever, you have the tools, technology, time and confidence to really take your team’s value proposition to a whole new level—virtually and beyond! This is exciting! We are all seeing more of each other online and “virtually” during this uncertain and fast-changing environment than we did a month ago.
Whether or not we knew what Zoom, GoToMeeting, FaceTime or Google Hangouts were a month ago, one thing is certain: Video conferencing is keeping us all connected personally and professionally. For years, I have coached agents to use these types of communication to help increase the level of their service and manage expectations better. Showing properties, reviewing a purchase agreement and the terms or reviewing the home’s inspection report together on a video conference call allows you to read and respond to the client’s body language more effectively, as well as listen to the tone in their voice while you are talking.
Digital contracts and virtual home tours have been around for years (20-plus), and our industry has adapted and shifted to new technologies that have increased our efficiencies and helped us deliver better service. In some cases, I feel these technologies have hurt us from an emotional intelligence standpoint because we stopped physically “seeing people in-person.” When we send agreements digitally or by text/email, we aren’t seeing people in-person as much and, in my opinion, are delivering less value and less service. During this time when we are being “forced” to use video technology, I believe we are going to be better positioned to provide even greater value to our homebuyers and sellers.
Here are some ways to maximize video conferencing and up your team’s service game:
1. Conduct a home-buying or -selling webinar. Now is an excellent time to offer your community a home-buying or -selling webinar. Offer to host an informational seminar with a loan officer or other professionals to help answer questions or talk about how you are conducting business safely, responsibly and virtually. Teach those who need to move about the steps in the home-buying or -selling process, how to obtain a free market analysis or how to get a free mortgage pre-approval. You can email your sphere, post on social media and even boost an ad to area communities to generate interest and registrations. Offer your FREE Exclusive Homebuyer Guide and a copy of your marketing proposal and strategy. These are prospects that will be moving within the next 3 – 12 months, and they go in your GoldMine Pipeline™ for business now or in the future.
2. Show homes virtually. We now have the ability to “show” our buyers the homes and talk about each one repeatedly. Remember, we used to pick the homes they would see, and they would literally see them for the first time when we physically showed them the house. For the last 20-plus years, the internet has allowed us to “virtually show” homes to buyers right from the palm of their hands using their smartphones and tablets. There is great upside to this technology, as our clients can see the homes before physically visiting. They can shop for a new home on their timeline and even while in their pajamas from their living room couch.
The downside is that our buyers can and may virtually eliminate some homes on their own without even discussing the pros and cons with their agent based on the quality (good/bad) of the photos or just how it showed online. The truth is that many of our clients buy homes that they hated online. It’s true.
Now you can control and navigate the dialogue and process better, having a conversation about each home and its pros and cons—you can even address your buyer’s objection by saying, “This house doesn’t show well online. I have been in it and the photos are not doing it justice. Let’s not judge a book by its cover.” You can also say, “Many of my clients buy homes they didn’t like online…you shouldn’t rule this one out.” You can also try, “You need to see this one before ruling it out. It’s got a fantastic yard and floor plan.”
These value-driven statements will help your buyers navigate the process better, especially when you are face to face with them on your Zoom call, literally showing them homes online and being able to listen to their emotions. This allows you to respond more effectively than when they were looking at listings online by themselves. You are driving the effort and leading them to their next fantastic new home.
3. Focus on online staging and marketing presentations. Now more than ever, you can offer your value-added services to help your seller clients save time and money, keeping the ball rolling to list their home—especially if they are thinking of doing some improvements to their home to get it ready to sell. They need you now, and you can offer all the expert services you are known for, virtually—just as you would in-person. The script strategy is: “I know we were planning to meet now, and I can book our in-person meeting out 4 – 6 weeks so it’s on the calendar. What’s better for you, May 8 or May 10?” Get it on the calendar. Then say, “In the meantime, let’s meet on a video conference call and you can give me a tour of your home and show me the improvements you plan on making. I work with sellers for months before we actually put their home on the market, and I can save you time and money now before you call your contractor. I can even show you my creative and proven marketing strategy that gets amazing results, as well as review a pricing strategy all before we put your house on the market.”
This script strategy will get you online listing and staging appointments every time. You should also add, “We aren’t listing your home this week, but rather, we can go over all the marketing and preliminary steps, and I can see your home now.”
4. Get yourself on video this week. That’s right—post on social or email your sphere and client list a video of yourself today. You can discuss positive news about your market and your community, as well as how much you love seeing people enjoying the homes you helped them find—and how awesome that makes you feel.
Go on Facebook Live and add value to people’s lives. You don’t ever have to sell your services when you are infused into people’s lives—namely your clients, family, friends and neighbors. Create a virtual open house and boost the ad to the four or five move-up neighborhoods, then use a CTA with a value proposition like your Exclusive Homebuyer Guide to get them to keep working with you or hire you.
You can shoot your video naturally as you are—no studio required. Take one shot and post it or send it to your sphere as an email message. You will be so happy, and you can really begin to connect with people like never before. I promise it’s easy, and you will have fun, too!
5. Keep your pipeline of buyer and listing leads FULL, especially now. It is paramount that you keep your GoldMine Pipeline™ full, now more than ever. You will be so happy that you have 40 – 60 people on the list instead of 4 – 10. When we begin to see people again and the demand for housing is high, you will be the agent that maximizes those opportunities because you kept in touch with all these potential buyer and seller leads. Remember, opportunities aren’t lost, they go to someone else. I want you and your team members to maximize every lead and convert it into a new client relationship that ends up listing, selling and buying exclusively with you!
You can request my FREE on-demand webinars here, where you can learn “How to Build a GoldMine Pipeline™ Strategy,” “How to Leverage Social Media” and “How to Make $50K in the Next Week!”
Sherri Johnson is CEO and founder of Sherri Johnson Coaching & Consulting. With 20 years of experience in real estate, Johnson offers coaching, consulting and keynotes, and is a national speaker for the Homes.com Secrets of Top Selling Agents tour and the Official Real Estate Coach for McKissock Learning and Real Estate Express. She is also an RISMedia 2020 Real Estate Newsmaker as an industry Influencer. Sign up for a free 30-minute coaching strategy session or visit www.sherrijohnson.com for more information.
