Loreena Yeo wrote a blog from her hospital bed today that, as her writing often does, inspired me to put my own two pennies on paper. 
A few weeks ago, my partner and I put a Charming Denver Bungalow on the market. Our seller is one smart cookie and he's sold several homes on his own. We didn't want to insult his intelligence by boring him with all the details of having a home on the market; we figured if he had a question about the process, he'd ask. Oops.
Well, now he's asking. In a rather annoyed tone of voice, as if he feels blind-sided by what is happening to him.
And I realize that no matter how smart, how experienced, how cooperative a seller may be, we can never assume that he has a clue what is about to happen to him. And more importantly, what his role will be in the home selling process.
It's our job to make sure that our sellers understand...
1. What it means to their lifestyles be On the Market (basically, it sucks)
2. What they should expect from us (particularly the frequency of communication)
3. What we are expecting from them (see below)
4. How showings and feedback work
5. Why I won't be attending most showings (the buyer has his own agent)
If your seller has to call you to ask these questions after the fact, he'll likely have that annoyed-tone-of-voice with you, too!
It's also our job to be upfront with our sellers, no matter how unpleasant what we have to say may be for either of us.
Topics such as:
1. Why they need to SCRAM for showings
2. Why they need to accept short-notice showings and allow a lockbox
3. Why the market will not overlook toothpaste spit in the sink or eau d'Chef Boyardee in the air
4. Why they need to be pleasant to buyer agents who show up early or late
5. Why it's not okay to have barking dogs locked up in the laundry room
When your home is on the market, you talk about the experience with everyone you know. Especially if you're confused by the process which will translate into dissatisfaction with your agent. But yet... aren't listing appointments long enough without adding in all of the above??? How do you handle this issue?
Copyright Jennifer Allan 2007
BB - Yeah... that's good... real good. I love it. So you're saying that you don't do a lot of BB-Promotion - you take that time educating on the market and the process... yeah...
Michael - I know that I shut down after about half an hour, so it's hard for me to push people to listen to me any longer than that... My listing presentation itself is rather short, partly to give me time to talk about "what's next". Good point that it's the same in lending!
L&R - I wonder about asking our sellers if they would like to continue to chat about the process or if they would prefer a follow-up email...? Cause you're right - people "hear" in different ways. Might be nice to figure out the best way for each particular client to absorb the information.
Jennifer,
You can never assume anything in this business. Including if they "hear" what your saying. Excellent post!
This blog serves a good wake up call for me not to assume anything. It is always better to present more information than not enough. I completely agree to bring everything upfront and when the clients want to stop us and fast forward, that would be fine too.
Sometimes, it's us that has taken many things for granted because we do this too often. We just assume they would know.
Stephen - great point. In fact, I'm working on an article about that very thing. When things go wrong, BLAME YOURSELF first!
Loreena - I was really surprised at the questions my client was asking. I just assumed that everyone understood this stuff. But, no, they don't...
Monika - I'd love to hear from a communication expert on how to communicate these things to different types of people! Wouldn't that be fun?
Cool - waiting anxiously.
I love this post. I always try not to assume. I even was like that when I was a waitress. If someone gave me three dollars more than the total, I ALWAYS brought the change back and set it on the table. I never wanted to assume that the change was for me.
I had someone ask me recently about why I had explained something that seemed so elementary. I replied with "You know what assuming does..."
He grinned and said "Yep. It makes an ass out of you and me."
Not that you are an ass, of course, but I do love that saying!
When my seller started asking me the questions, it was a big aha moment. Crap! This was all stuff I usually tell people, but didn't with him because I figured he already knew. But of course he didn't! I could feel his frustration level building with every email and I'm sure he was also grousing about the whole thing with his co-workers. Ouch.
Paula - your CD is in the mail!
Jennifer - another lesson learned. of course, you are assuming that the agent has clue to begin with. : )
Jennifer, you are so correct, we cannot assume even an "experience" seller knows the best protocol to follow. Some of them even go so far as to say: "I just need it in the MLS and that's all that is necessary" and fail to value the very essential details necessary for a successful sale!
John