HomeGain hosted its third “Ask The Experts” live real estate forum last week. With a new format that allowed more question time for participants, HomeGain.com received dozens of questions directed at the experts before the session began, and many more during the call.

The panel of experts were:

• Barry Karch of Prudential BKB Realtors in El Paso, Texas, who answered questions about ”Generating New Business From The Internet”
• Mitch Ribakof eHomes Realty Network in Melbourne, Florida, who covered “Converting Leads Into Clients”
• Carl Medford of Windermere Properties of the East Bay, in San Francisco Bay Area in California, who spoke about the ”Essentials of Being A Virtual Agent”

Listen to this valuable 40-minute real estate call:

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I am frequently asked, “Where is your office?” It’s like the location of my office means something. And to many people, it actually means a lot. It represents, in their minds, the not-so-subtle idea that you are limited to working only a short distance out from the geographical location of your desk.

And so, when asked the “magic” question, my response is always the same: “Where do you WANT it to be?”

Truth is, as a virtual agent, I do have an “office.” After all, our license has to hang somewhere for us to be legit. Although I have a great office in which to work, I’m not interested in “impressing” my clients with the size of the building or the fountain in the foyer. Instead … I meet them where THEY are.

In fact, I’ve discovered that “bringing them home to meet the parents” can raise questions you DON’T want them asking. Such as:

• “How much money does it take to run an operation like this?”
  • “Dang … this Realtor must be bankin’ BIG bucks … wonder if I can hit them up for part of their commission…?”
  • “If they have a building like this in this economy, are they in touch with reality…?”
  • “Why do I have to drive all the way over here when I live in ________?”

Virtual agents have virtual offices. In my “real” office I don’t even have a desk. Don’t want one. My “actual” desk, when meeting with clients, is any available table at the Starbucks closest to where my clients live. Or the table in their existing digs.

Here is why this is critical: Continue reading this post