Well, at least the seller was in pajamas. Whether or not I was is my secret. Up until now I have always been fully committed to getting in front of ALL parties to a listing appointment in full, living, REAL LIFE color. (If I hadn't put words to this before I knew I felt strongly when I read J Philip Faranda's excellent post on why this matters.) I want to see their facial expressions, feel the vibe in the room and let them look me in the eye when I speak. I want to know that we all heard the same things being said and are all on the same page when we make a decision that matters deeply to the owners of a home about to go on the market. If we are going to work together, we need to build a trust based relationship. That’s one tough job on a faceless phone call.
So this past week when I got a call to discuss listing a Chapel Hill property with some out of town sellers who had been badly burned by their previous listing agent, they were ready to jump in their car and drive to Chapel Hill to do this face to face. They clearly wanted to assess my worthiness for their business as much as I want to prove it.
As we talked it became clear that they are very busy medical professionals and that a run to Chapel Hill was not something they really wanted to do. It was simply that the situation was dire. They have vacated the home here and it has languished on the market since last July. They really need to get it sold. “You don’t need to come here,” I told them. “Since you’ve told me where the key is hidden I can get inside the house and really get a feel for what we may need to do to get it market ready. Do you use SKYPE?” “Why, yes, we do!”
Sunday morning, bright and early, we met for coffee…virtually. I was able to share all the information they needed to make an informed decision and catch the vibe when one of them looked confused or questioning. It worked beautifully. Before we hung up they had decided to work with me and I had committed to meeting the contractors at their Chapel Hill home on Tuesday.
We will meet again this Sunday morning and go over the NC Listing Agreement then sign it….virtually. Between SKYPE and DOCUSIGN I am able to make their difficult situation much easier and still get the trust building value of Face-to-Face contact that I need. I can truly say that there are many more days when technology has made my business easier than not…and it rocks!
It's Simple...When You Have A Great Agent!
SarahGray Lamm is a licensed, full time, residential real estate professional in the Raleigh Durham area of North Carolina with over 60,000 hours of experience. She specializes in serving the real estate needs of home sellers, home buyers and investors in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham and Northern Chatham County and is proudly associated with Allen Tate Realtors, the Carolinas #1 independent realty company.
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