"You Don't Need a Realtor if . . ."

"Would You Take . . .?"

In the spirit of Jeff Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck if . . ." string of jokes (sample: 'you've been married 3 times and still have the same in-law's'), I offer up the Realtor equivalent:

You don't need a Realtor if . . . you want to go around verbally offering Sellers 50% on the dollar -- or less -- for their homes.

I don't believe that that's common in the land of Minnesota Nice, but I am hearing about and running into it.

In my experience, such offers are non-starters (see, "The Mulligan Market"), and take as much time to reject as the would-be Buyer put into making them.

And if the Buyer really is serious -- a big "if" -- starting out with an insultingly low offer is almost always a mistake.

Client Capture & "Realtor Windows"

Why Realtors Are Never Too Busy for More Business

One of the reasons I think Detroit has such an uphill battle regaining (or even just maintaining) market share is that drivers' relationship with their auto company tends to be "sticky."

Put it this way: after disappointing experiences with a variety of brands (ask me about my "Saab story"), my wife and I switched to Honda's and Toyota's more than a decade ago. (Full disclosure: I drive the "starter LEXUS" -- leased -- which I consider to be a glorified Camry.)

(More than) satisfied customers, we've never looked back.

Call us "captured clients."

"Realtor Window"

Real estate is similar.

The average American buys or sells a home once every seven years (a little less frequently than they switch cars).

Ergo, if you're a Realtor, that means the window for capturing someone's real estate business opens . . . once every seven years.

In fact, if the would-be client goes with another Realtor who does everything they should (a good job, good communication, great follow-up, etc.) and isn't close to retirement age, it's safe to assume that their (need a) "Realtor window" will only be open once.

Even that potentially understates things: it's not unheard of for Realtors to have multi-generation relationships with clients, like the teacher who taught the parent . . . then teaches the parent's kids.

So, passing on a deal conceivably means passing on all that person's future deals -- and perhaps even their kids' deals.

So, no, I'm never too busy for new clients . . .