I recently had a conversation with an agent who will close $20 million this year. Her attitude about presenting offers face-to-face on luxury properties was pretty surprising:“I’m not a go-for.”Granted that she's busy, but her luxury clients typically pay $20,000 or more in commissions on every deal she does. When someone is paying this much, don't they deserve more than just an email or fax to present their offer or counter offer?
Face-to-Face Makes a Comeback
With the advent of Skype and Google Hangout, being face-to-face (either in person or digitally) has never been easier. One of the best ways to stand out from the competition is to present all of your offers in person. While some clients may not appreciate having to face a tough agent who is a strong advocate for their clients' offer, this is exactly what your clients hired you to do. You need to be as forceful as possible about helping them to achieve the best possible price for the property they are buying or selling.
The reason this is so important is that no one is better qualified to represent your clients' position than you. When you represent the buyer, the listing agent has a fiduciary duty to help the sellers get the highest possible price. When the listing agent presents your offer, your buyers are the ones who suffer.
Even if you can't be physically present with the clients, there's virtually no reason you cannot meet with them face-to-face virtually by using Skype or Google Hangout.
Missing Communication
When you present your offer via fax or email, you only have about 10 percent of the feedback that you would have if you were face-to-face. Spoken speech carries about 7-10 percent of our communication. Another 25 to 30 percent is contained in your inflection, intonation, and rate of speech. In addition, your body language carries a whopping 60 percent of the data that your brain interprets in order to determine what the other person means.
If you present your offers with email or fax, you are losing over 90 percent of the information that could help you close the deal. For example, if there is a block in accepting your buyers' offer, is it coming from the listing agent or the sellers? The sellers' body language will generally alert you to what points are negotiable vs. which ones are not negotiable. Are the sellers highly motivated because they are being transferred and need to move now? If you rely on fax or email, you will be unable to answer these questions. In contrast, being face-to-face greatly increases your probability of identifying the road blocks and then overcoming them.
Luxury Agents Go the Extra Mile
The best luxury agents treat their clients as would a concierge at a five start resort. Some people refer to this approach as "white glove" service. Be as forceful as possible with the listing agent about presenting your offer in person or digitally via Skype or Google Hangout. If the listing agent objects, have your buyers draft a letter to the seller requesting that you (their agent) personaly present your offer. Remember, if you rely on the listing agent, he or she is looking out for the seller's interest--not those of your buyer.
If you really want to raise the bar, present your counteroffers to the buyers. Here's why: First, a huge proportion of real estate agents have poor negotiation skills. In fact, over half of all agents haven't even done one deal this year. Second, when you meet with the buyers you are the advocate for your sellers' position--not the buyers' agent. Finally, your extra level of service provides a top drawer quality approach that well-heeled clients expect.
If you want to stand out not only from the run-of-the mill regular agents as well as other luxury agents, what better way to do it than by presenting your offers and your counteroffers face-to-face?
Posted by Bernice Ross
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