09 Feb Local Property Expert – Says Who?
Local Property Expert - Says Who?
If it's easy to call yourself an expert, there doesn't seem to be much point.
It's fast become a ubiquitous stamp of self-approval - which is why an old idea is needed.
Old, as in the sense of it's always been around. Just not widely recognised.
Full credit to Trevor Mealham for introducing me, a good few years ago, to a book by Marina Krakovsky.
Middlemen, she says, are the connectors in every walk of life - from banks to real estate, from sport to endorsement, from arms manufacture to defence. They are the connective tissue that bridges the gap between a product/service and the consumer.
That's your role as a realtor, estate agent. But it's more than just being the competent facilitator of transactions. It's how you facilitate that transaction.
Expert advice is the current all-encompassing buzzword, but if everyone is the expert, it kind of loses credibility.
The information available to an expert is available to everyone. Having information doesn't make you an expert. Interpretation of that information is important but still subjective opinion. Having the experience isn't enough, either, if your experience has been to immerse yourself in how things have always been done.
Perhaps it's time to consider being something other than an expert?
The Bridge.
The Bridge promotes trade by reducing physical, social or temporal distance. Introducing people that don't know each other, but should.
The Bridge helps both sides but has allegiance to the side paying the bills. That's a tough call but making it a win-win situation results in it being win-win-win.
The key to being a Bridge is to build relationships. So that when the time comes to be that bridge, you're not simply introducing a stranger to your client.
For every person you know, there's another you don't.
The Certifier
The Certifier sorts the wheat from the chaff and gives buyers reassuring information about the seller's underlying quality. Most agents do this but some just can't be bothered. Instead, they believe that the more buyers that express interest, the more likely they achieve asking price.
Sellers often know more about what they're selling than the buyer - so being a Certifier can assure the buyer that their investment of time and money will bring rewards. Integrity, of course, has to be in place. Essentially, what you are providing is a seal of approval.
The Enforcer
The Enforcer makes sure buyers and sellers put forth full effort, cooperate and stay honest. You've brought together both parties but that doesn't mean one side won't take advantage, simply because they can. Whether it's gazumping or gazundering, it's not conducive to a great deal. The Enforcer can limit such behaviour when they truly understand motives and personalities.
The Risk Bearer
Reducing uncertainty.
The Risk Bearer reduces fluctuations and other forms of uncertainty, especially for risk-averse trading partners. The vendor that imagines they are selling too cheap; the buyer afraid they have offered too much.
Since the agent is taking the biggest risk by agreeing to a No-Sale, No-Fee agreement with the seller, they have 'skin in the game' and a desire to find the finish line. Their reputation smooths the process - bad advice damages everyone involved.
The Concierge
The Concierge reduces hassles and helps clients make good decisions in the face of information overload. Simply put, they make life easier. Particularly when it comes to the old chestnut of market information.
There's more information on property available today than ever before. Essentially changing the need of the vendor/buyer from not knowing anything and needing someone to provide it, to knowing too much and needing someone to make sense of it. Local Property Expert by any other name.
The Insulator.
Insulation.
The Insulator helps clients get what they want without the stigma of being thought too greedy, self-promotional, or confrontational.
It's a reality that sellers and buyers can negotiate the deal themselves, just as sportspeople can negotiate their contract with the club - they don't need Jerry Maguire. If they have any sense, though, they will involve someone that does it for a living. Someone that knows when to press and when to pause. You don't need to conflate the role of Top Negotiator with Property Expert.
One is clearly defined - one is at best vague and at worst, misleading.
In reality, of course, all these roles overlap and interact.
The issue with many vendors/landlords is that they don't appreciate all that an agent does for the fee. All they see is the time spent on viewings, a few phone calls and photos, upload to a portal and an invoice on completion. The bulk of the work and the skills brought to the transaction are unseen.
So maybe it's time to ditch the Local Property Expert Badge and put on the cape of The Enforcer? The Super-Hero Certifier?
So much easier to wrap memorable story (fact or fiction) around a Super-Hero character than well-informed, but commoditised expert opinion.
Don't homeowners need protecting from the slimy, salesy, over-competitive realtor? The type that won't take No for an answer and that is incentivised to do "whatever it takes to win the instruction"?
There's your opportunity - there's your angle. Pick a character, or combine them all. Just don't call yourself a Local Property Expert.
Nothing new, just a different perspective on what is required to differentiate yourself from the rest.
Thanks, as always, for reading this far.
chris@andsothestorybegan.co.uk
Mob: (44) 07369251435
Chris.
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