Ask HomeGain – March/April 2011 Issue

As featured in the March/April 2011 issue of the HomeGain Agent Success Newsletter under “Agent Question of the Month”:

QUESTION:

“I have been using your AgentEvaluator program for several months and the buyers and sellers who receive my proposals are not responding to me. Can you give me any hints on what will make them respond?”

ANSWER:

Many agents have asked us the same question over the last 11 years. The first thing to remember is that we are dealing with online consumers and they have expectations when searching for an agent to work with. It is important to address those expectations in your proposals.

The most important element of a successful proposal is that it is personalized to each individual consumer and their situation. It may seem like a lot of work, but it is really simple to accomplish. The answers are in the lead itself.

The lead contains information which will allow you to determine how to write your Personal Response, the first section of your proposal. The consumer provides the basic information like price, location, time frame, etc.

From this information, you can tell if the buyer or seller is familiar with the current situation in real estate and is being realistic or not. If they are, speak to them about this. Congratulate them. If they are not being realistic, try to state a few facts which will shed some light on their situation. You may as well be up front with them sooner than later.

The consumer is also given two text boxes in which they can describe the home, any special features they require or anything else which is important to them. The second text box allows the consumer to describe the type of agent they are looking to work with.

The information in these text boxes is pure gold. The consumer has voluntarily provided this information because they feel it is important for the agent to know. As such, it is absolutely essential to address this information in your proposal.

For instance, if a buyer indicates that they need a 3 car garage and they must be close to schools and shopping, do not ignore this information. Attach a couple listings to your proposal which fulfill the buyer’s needs.

If a seller says that they want an agent who is familiar with short sales, indicate what you can do to help them. If dealing with short sales is not addressed in your proposal, the consumer will not choose you to work with.

It’s common to think that the most important expectation of an online consumer would be the speed with which you submit your proposal. Not so. The most important aspect is the personalization of the proposal.

However, speed of response is a close second. If you can submit your proposal within minutes or hours, you stand a much better chance of being chosen. Some agents respond very quickly, but they do not personalize their proposals. Speed alone is not sufficient.

When a consumer views the proposals in their account, the first proposal submitted is at the top of the list. Most online consumers will not read all the proposals submitted. So, don’t waste your efforts and end up at the bottom of the list.

One thing which makes it easier to produce a winning proposal is to look at your proposal as if you are the consumer and it was just submitted to you. Would you be interested in working with this person? Does the proposal provide answers to your questions and does it make you want to pick up the phone and call or email the agent?

If this is not the case, then sit down and rework the proposal until it sounds like it will prompt the consumer to contact you.

Remember, it’s all about the consumer, not the agent.