If you are like most other real estate agents, you probably get a little charge when the phone rings and the caller wants you to list his or her home for sale. In fact, if you are not a regular closer, you may already be calculating how you’ll use your commission check before the seller has even signed on the dotted line. But, as we all know, there’s a lot that goes on between the listing and the closing. And, the only way that a commission can be earned is if you deliver.
But, can you (deliver, that is)? Will you be able to locate a ready, willing, and able buyer to bring the closing table? Or, did you take a listing that you cannot sell because it is overpriced or because you just don’t have the specified knowledge required in order to get the job done? It is highly unlikely that a single agent can have experience selling land, commercial buildings, apartment houses, new construction, residential properties, ranches, and mobile homes among other things.
And, the same applies to the paperwork. It’s improbable that you can be a master of all things and know your way around every possible form in ZIPforms®6.
That’s where a good California Transaction Coordinator comes in. Not only can a transaction coordinator save you time, but the transaction coordinator is also up to date on the paperwork. You don’t have to worry about whether CAR® has recently changed a disclosure document or other form. Using a transaction coordinator allows you to focus on what you do best—and that’s when you can make the money.
Establishing Trust Means Telling the Truth
In Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch’s book APE, Kawasaki writes about trustworthiness. He states, “Trustworthiness means that people can depend on you because you are honest, forthright, and effective.” He continues by saying, “Tell people what you don’t know. No one knows everything. There’s nothing wrong with this. You can build trust explaining what you don’t know. Then people will believe you when you say you do know something.”
If a real estate agent’s job is to provide excellent service and get a deal closed, then he or she needs to be trustworthy. Part of trustworthiness involves not taking a listing on a property which you have no experience in selling. You need to admit what you don’t know. Since you would not want them to be disappointed if you could not deliver, it might be better to refer your prospective client to an excellent specialist that can assist them.
It’s always good practice to alert your client that you don’t handle all aspects of the transaction. To protect your client, you use an escrow company, a compliance officer (TC), as well as other individuals in order to best represent your clients. When you admit what you do and don’t do (that you are not a generalist), your prospective clients will trust you more and refer you to others. In doing so, you won’t burn any bridges to future business. Instead, by being honest, you create trust. From trust, you gain referrals. From referrals, you get more and more business! Trust and truth are the secrets to success.
