Mastering seller value propositions in a highly competitive market

We sit in a pretty low inventory environment , which we've sat in for the better part of four to five years , and we have those opportunities to go out and speak to a seller about listing their home and what has to happen today , different than perhaps yesterday , and cannot think of two better guests than Katrina and Joanie .

First thing I'm going to do is welcome them to Reality Podcast . Hello there .

Love it every day and energized every single day that I come to work .

One of the things we're going to talk about today is how some basic fundamentals from yesterday worked today . We'll talk about that . Joni , it is great having you with us today . Tell our listeners a little bit about you .

But I was in the hotel industry for about 30 years in the capacity of sales and marketing and catering and again in the sales end of it , and a local hotel at the time brought me to Charlotte and then I left that . I'm married and my husband used to work for Microsoft . He's just retired a year ago . I have two daughters .

One's an architect out in Seattle , the other one just graduated from ECU and she's starting nursing in May . So excellent , and I love what I do . I'll benedalinate . I'll be starting my seventh year in April and I absolutely love it .

So I'm going to jump right into some questions for Joni . So we're in a pretty competitive environment Lots of real estate agents in the marketplace . When you think about going out on listing appointments , how often do you find yourself in a competitive environment where Joni's out broker A , b , c ? How often are you in a competitive environment ?

So making sure that your bio is updated and that any social media posts things that you're doing online , professional and clean .

They know a lot about you and you're really going in for the second time because they've already handled the first time , and so I'm going to switch . I'm going to ask Katrina .

I think what's interesting , joni , is , you've been in the business seven years , yet Katrina's worked with agents in our company 30 , 35 , 40 years , and so Joni says majority of times she's in a competitive environment . Two or three , what would you say across the enterprise , katrina ? That we find ourselves in a competitive environment ?

So I would probably say eight or nine times out of 10 , we're going up against somebody else and we're really going to have to provide value and go above and beyond to win them back , even though they know like and trust us from a previous transaction .

And I think , particularly for some new folks that might be listening , who maybe don't have the experience that the three of us have that was one of the early lessons I learned is you just have to assume , even if you're going to list your brother or sister's house , just assume it , and that will make sure you are best prepared , which is something that both you

guys have talked about the importance of preparation ,

joni . Let me talk about today's seller . You know , I think sellers evolve based on market conditions and we've already talked about a low listing inventory .

When you are competing for these listings , what seems to be the most important things to the seller , like what are those key items that you really focus on , either before you go out there , while you're out there , or we'll talk about a one or two step in a little bit . What are the most important things to sellers ?

Gary , you're not just working for them , you're working with them , building that partnership and the trust evolves out of that . Your communication skills I always like to ask how do they prefer to communicate ? Some people younger ones maybe just texting , older ones maybe , but they want the phone , whatever it is .

I want to communicate in the style that they're accustomed to Following through . If I say I'm going to drop something off or do something , make sure that I do . It are my strategies that I'm putting together for them . Are they going to meet their goals ? Am I going to get them from A to B ?

My skills talking about my skills market knowledge is there something specific going on locally that would affect the style of their home ? I need to know that and make sure that they're aware of it as well and how it would affect them . My negotiation skills you just can't play there and be a yes man . That's just not the way to do it .

Making sure they understand that I do try and build strong relationships with the other agents Make it a good working scenario .

We compete like crazy for that listing or that buyer , but then we've got to cooperate because we're going to be doing transactions together . It's a very unique business where , for the first half , you're trying to beat the heck out of them . For the second , half you need to collaborate with them in order to achieve a successful transaction .

I think all of those , and then the thing that really I think is important for our listeners and we don't talk about it enough , certainly not on our podcast that's the importance of effective negotiation .

And last week , or the week before , I had read a book about how you leverage emotions to effectively negotiate , and it was the first time in two and a half years that I put anything out on negotiation and that is such an important piece of this equation .

And I think sometimes we think about marketing the house and where we're going to do an open house and we're going to do this Like . Really , our ultimate success is our ability to effectively negotiate to help them achieve their goals and objectives . Love , love , love your answer . I'm going to shift to Katrina .

What types of suggestions are being made to our agents in today's low inventory market to earn the business of our potential sellers ? At these listing consultations We've already established the opportunities are not as great as they have been in the past , so we must make the most of the fewer opportunities . What are some of the keys , katrina ?

Every agent needs to go in prepared with at a minimum and I can talk a little bit about it down along the lines of the podcast and details but you have to have a marketing plan .

You've got to go in and show exactly what you're going to do and if you are not going to do it , don't say you're going to do it right , kind of along the lines of what Joni says they're looking for . If you're going to do it and put it in paper and talk through it , you better darn well follow through with it and have a plan to do it .

If our agents don't have a formal marketing plan , we've got templates they can choose from , which is great because they can add and take away what is going to be customized to the word you used earlier for that specific seller , because one size doesn't fit all .

So I think it's really key that in our low inventory market , we understand what is most important and crucial to the sellers and then develop a customized plan for them and lay it out and set expectations for them to get there . We can't ever make assumptions that sellers know what they're doing because they've read it online .

Contracts are different in different states . It's different from when they sold before and I just think you can't be detailed enough and taking the time to explain it and know that you are competing and show . I mean , if you just show alone , you've got contract knowledge . You're leading into your negotiation skills from the get go on day one .

So just tailor all of your services that we provide for what they need in their situation .

realtor or your parent who did a deal 39 years ago and what their experience was . So I do think that people in our industry tend to talk to people that they know , they like and they trust , but these people don't know the real estate business and , like I think , people always search for whatever information they want , and so I think Katrina says it perfectly .

Number one know the numbers . You got to know the numbers and you got to set crystal clear expectations and don't assume anything . I love that . Don't assume anybody knows anything .

So I would encourage our agents listen , ask really good , open ended questions and just listen more and talk less , because you have , it is all about them at the end of the day , it is not all about us . You talk to people who are not in the field and some of that stuff doesn't matter to them .

Do you have their best interests in mind and do they feel that when you walk out the door , in comparison to who you might be up against ?

And just when you think you've asked enough questions to the seller , ask one more . Just ask one more . They're going to want to tell you about the house they're going to want to tell you and a book I refer to often . A guy named Harry S Cohen wrote this book Be the Sun , Not the Salt .

I think chapter 27 is being an Olympic listener and I share that with our listeners because I do think listening , asking great questions and seeking to understand is going to separate you . I think Katrina said it very well .

A lot of people come in and just simply espouse all the things , the virtues , how much I sold this and that , and it's more about the agent coming in than it is about the seller selling so excellent stuff . I'm going to shift back to Joni for a minute . You talked about what was important to the sellers and you were very articulate and clear .

Tell our listeners how you determine that . What is your ? There's one thing to understand you need to determine it . What does Joni do to create that trusting relationship ? You talked about trust early on , which I think is really critical .

I really try , like Katrina said , and I try hard and hard every day because I am a bit of a talker , so I do try to listen more effectively and talk less . So I'm trying to ask more questions and kind of get to the meat of them , if it would kind of dig into them . I love to ask them about their past experiences .

If they're first time buyers it's a little bit different , obviously , but I love to find out their past experiences with their realtor If they're coming from a different state , especially because we do have different policies and procedures here than other states , and that helps me gauge what I need to say , how I need to say it , and also it gives me how much

knowledge they have about the process and if they understand some of the terminology . So then that develops another part of the plan to how to speak to them and deliver the best service .

So I'm going to ask you and then I'm going to come to Katrina . I know there's every agent can walk you down why one is better than the other . What does Joni prefer as it relates to one or two step listing and why ?

So I like the two part process for that .

I also would think it's more of a one step versus a two step if it was a past client and if our listing agents stayed in touch with them and they were called for our remodeling and you know renovations and all that , so they kind of have kept up with what the seller has done to the property .

I would expect it to be more of a one step if there's familiarity with the home , with the neighborhood , and that the agent is more seasoned . I would think for more of our New agents it is a two-step process and should be .

I think you gotta buy yourself a little time . I think you've got to bring some stuff the numbers maybe on the first day as far as your day is on market and you know month supply , inventory and those things that aren't tied so much to the pricing of the home but rather the positioning of the home and give the words to the sellers .

Look , we don't want to value your largest asset site unseen . That's really unfair to you if they've truly never seen it before . So I do think we get a big mix based on experience past customer , new customer , if that makes sense .

So I do think that that's really important . And then the other thing and I know , with low inventory , this is probably not as relevant today as it was back in the day is , you know , go , look , go , preview every competitive listing .

Like I know and I'm going back in time , right , but I would go in on a listing and all my comparables that I chose right , or my relevant market listings , is I would say I previewed these six houses , I walked through them . I'm not just reading the now low inventory , I know sometimes there's one or two .

I just think that preparation One of the things Katrina said early on in her comments is , you know , be very detail oriented , dot every I cross every T , be very specific and follow up and follow through to those things that you say you're going to do , katrina .

That way not only you are looking at it , you're taking them to it and I can guarantee you there won't be too many agents that will take the extra time to do that but that can give a real , a reality check to the sellers and where they need to position theirs accordingly .

Take the seller with you , like that's the extra step that separates the good and the great , and I think that's how we get that listing when we're competing with two or three people , because what we know is today's consumer wants value , follow up , fall through and at the end of the day , they want results , which is to get their home sold at the price that

achieves their goals and objectives . Go back to Joni a great conversation you are listening to reality podcast with Katrina Richards and Joni Walker . We're talking about listings in a low-wit listing inventory environment , ever more important to make sure that we are so focused when we get that opportunity . What are the essentials of a listing consultation ?

The basics , Like what do they all have to have ? That you find to be incredibly effective in your getting listings in the competitive landscape .

I like to ask them what they like and dislike about the property or what they would change if they were staying , because that helps set expectations if there's a challenge in one portion of the property or if there's some really fabulous accoutrements to it . So it helps set expectations and what we can highlight and what we need to maybe address .

Strong marketing plan it's got to be customized . Strong it has to speak to them in their language .

I love to talk about Amlin Tate's brand and dominance in the marketplace , as well as our partnership with Howard Hannah and Leading RE and how that's gonna benefit them . You know what does it mean to them ? How is that gonna benefit them ? Your market information like Katrina said , you've got to know your numbers .

You need to know how many days these houses are sitting on the market , how many showings are getting if they're at this price point . Versus this price point , what's the month of supply we're dealing with ? Is the market , appreciating or depreciating ? What are they getting ? Sales price versus listing price ?

Go over the actives that they're up against in the competition . How many closed in the area ? What are they closing out and why ? And , like you said , I have toured properties before listing appointments that when they were available . It's great because you can say , oh yeah , well , that's because blah , blah , blah .

And that really shows that you took the extra step . Talk about what the withdrawals and the expires , so that way you're giving a whole picture of what their market is . They're not just saying , okay , well , this Bob's house closed down the street , and this is what I think we should have . Well , here's Bob's house .

And then the potential timeline Are you able to get them to where they need to be and what do you need to do ? And then , if there is things that need to be addressed or enhanced or maybe we've on the stage of the property , how you can supply vendors .

So clearly that doesn't may not always happen , but when the numbers work to your advantage , leverage your performance against a market , because a lot of consumers will like that strategy . So , Kat , I'm gonna come to you kind of same question Do you have anything to add ? Confirm , as it relates to kind of the essentials .

So your marketing plan is pre-active , pre-coming soon , pre-firm , exclusive . What is it that the seller needs to look at doing and that you need to do prior to and then ? What does it look like ? I think sometimes we can be guilty of throwing everything out there all at once versus sprinkling things in over time .

So having a really detailed week one here is what we are going to do . Here is week two , and this will include whether we're gonna do interior brochures , whether we're gonna do exterior brochures . How often are you gonna be contacting the seller with feedback on showings ?

Because I'm one of those who prefers that you don't link a seller directly to the feedback , because you're lessening your value , in my opinion , and making it easier on yourself to just forward feedback versus have a conversation with them about it , and some things don't come through very professionally at times and you wanna be a buffer and a filter , depending on

your seller's personality , and help translate maybe what an agent said in a nicer fashion to a seller . I would also , in the marketing plan , make sure they have updates weekly on the activity . To what Joni said Don't just do the number of showings at the beginning . Continue that out and offer that up . What's the new competition when something comes on ?

Have yourself set up so that you know how are we now ? Are we aligned with that one that just came on the market ? I would talk a lot about our just listed cards that we provide . I talked about an open house plan . What are you gonna do ? How often are you gonna have open houses ?

And at that time I think it's really important you let them know it might not be you holding the open house , because I think sometimes we can blindside sellers if we are not the agent doing the open house . They need to understand it may not be me , the listing agent doing it . It may be another agent in my office or a different elitist office .

I think you have to have a neighborhood canvassing plan when time comes . I think you have to have a broker open plan in there somewhere where , if we're not getting traction or if sometimes , unfortunately , agents don't provide feedback , we have to get it from someone . So what's your broker open plan ? What's your pricing strategy ?

Up front , it's a lot easier to say we're gonna price it here to start , but we made it to make an adjustment two weeks in and then 30 days in , and here's what I'm gonna provide you in order to do that .

And then I think , down the line , you also have to talk about whether you do a virtual plan or a staging plan , and I would highly encourage agents to bring examples of their marketing . And one thing I learned from one of our top agent summits is don't be afraid to bring an example of a bad marketing idea of the competition .

And it was example of an agent that had a brochure , took a Sharpie on a luxury listing on your $800 million range , cross through it and put the new price and made photo copies of it . That can help you in a competing situation If you have a nice classy on high quality paper or card stock brochure that you show on how you market to differentiate yourself .

So those are just a couple things . Maybe too many , but to spread out the life of a one week , two week , three week , four week and more marketing plan .

You know , I like to say that we had to dust off the glossary of terms price reduction , expired , withdrawn and today , even though we have low inventory , I always say there's three buckets . There's a bucket that's empty , which are the listings we need to get . There's a bucket of price-dright great location , great condition . They sell multiple offers .

It's just like it was . And there's a whole bunch where either the realtor did not go in prepared or the seller leaned in on what their neighbor got , and they're overpriced , they're not in the right condition because they think it's 2021 and it's 2024 . So I do think that it has never been more important time to go into these fundamentals .

Right , I wrote down here Katrina , have a checklist , and then I did a little contrast . A checklist provides consistency for me as the agent in my journey . Then I go back to Joni's earlier , but we also have to customize the journey . So what an interesting contrast .

Be consistent and be flexible enough to customize once we determine goals and objectives and motivations , and that's what makes our job number one so fun , but number two no . Two days , no two sellers , no two houses are the same . I'm going to go back to Joni , one of the things you mentioned , and I think it's really critical .

You talked about Howard Hannah and how that's a benefit . You talked about leading real estate companies the world , and if our listeners work for a different company every company's got this . They have some support mechanisms . I wrote down here a takeaway that I just came away with . We know what the benefit to all those are .

We really have to educate the seller as to why is this important . Why is it important ? It's all . We have a mortgage company , we have a title company , we have an insurance company , we have all that , but if we don't take the next step , joni , and explain to Gary Scott Seller why is that important to me ? So just share a couple of things .

We talk all the time about words matter . Phrases are important . What kind of things do you say to help me , as a seller , understand why your value proposition is important to me ?

So whether they're buying here locally and I'm helping them , or they come back and they want to talk about second home in the mountains or they're talking about something at the beach , you know that . You know I can easily , you know , relate or connect them to them with someone With the Howard Hannah .

I use that a lot because I can say how they are number one in the Northeast territory and how a lot of the migration into the Charlotte market is coming down from the Northeast . So we have this beautiful funnel of business that comes directly down here and that we get to capture .

I talk about the client relations and how we have live people answering the phone and that calls the mandatory . The standard is five minutes to return a call .

We do it in three a lot and how important that is to speak to an actual , you know , agent , a person on the phone , and they have mortgage available and they have things , they can address questions and we have policies where we get back to people , because one of the biggest compliances is that agents don't return calls or you can't get a hold of someone , and

I think that's huge for us . I think leading RE is so fantastic . I'm very proud to talk about .

You know Alan Taping , one of the founding members , and our position within that network and how we literally can find a house in Dubai to Iowa , and you know and how that all works and that's especially for the luxury market , the opportunities to have their listings , you know , in 70 countries and different languages , and the Wall Street Journal to you know town

and country in UK . You know it's just . I think it's such a great opportunity . And then you need to take that and boil it down to the specific , customize it to the client . So why does that matter to me ?

You know somebody's seeing , you know a house and whatever , but you have to show them that the power of this family and that it's family run and we can . You know I'm look , I'm showing up near the lake and I need to meet someone . I can meet them in that office , that we're all together . When I put something out .

It goes out to thousands of computers instantly on , you know , anything that we're searching for or for listing or needing . So it's . It just goes back to the power of having that network and that connection .

You know success always takes a village , and while we are the face of the transaction , as the listing agent , listing broker , you know we've got all kinds of resources , from people at the branch to our branch leader , to the regional vice president . You know from time to time I'll call a seller you know that needs a call just to help support the effort .

And so I do think you know we are in a hyper local environment and I think there's a benefit to being hyper local but expansive , to take advantage of opportunities along the way . So we are about to wrap up . I got a couple of final questions for each of our guests . This is Gary Scott on Reality Podcast , katrina Richards and Joanie Walker .

Katrina , we try not to make these infomercials for the Allentate Company . However , I would be remiss from your perspective .

You're a student of the industry , you understand the competitive landscape and , boy , what we have learned over the past 15 years is every real estate company wants to come to Charlotte or Raleigh or Asheville Mountain because we find ourselves in the greatest real estate market in America , and so the competitive landscape looks this way one day and it changes next day

. So you've been here at the same company for 26 years . That's a testament .

I did a poll the other day . We have 53 agents that have been with us over 30 years , and I think that just speaks to the longevity of our brand and our culture . From your perspective , katrina , what makes Allentate stand out ?

So I mean I don't know that that's a huge differentiator . I mean we have tons of stuff that makes us stand out from the competition as far as tools and values , but I mean skill set . I mean that's something I think we can really brag about and be proud of .

There are two podcasts that have recently come out that talk about Ninja within a business planning , and then we also shared a tape talk live via podcast where we really spend the whole hour on the Ninja strategy .

So some of the from the key tenants of that would be mindset , skill set and action and I think that's really what Katrina is talking about and full-time , professional , highly productive , a culture of abundance , not scarcity . I think those are some of the things and the question is how do you get that out into the marketplace ?

And it's really just about the experience each consumer has with each of our people and we're proud to have been doing it pretty darn well since 1957 . Joni , yes , you go out , you do all the great things you've already shared and then you leave . What is the recommended follow-up ? If either one step , two step , you don't get the listing , like what ?

What do you do next ? How do you continue to nurture and mature that relationship ?

If there were any questions that came up during the presentation meeting that I was not able to address , I will get those answers as soon as quickly as I can and get that information back to them , normally with phone call and then just kind of depending on the scenario .

If there was something specific that came up in the presentation process , that might be a nice little touch . They love chocolates or something and they're all about chocolate or something . It might be nice to just drop by a little pop-by with a little chocolate box or something , but definitely putting them on if I wouldn't get the listing opportunity .

Definitely keeping follow-up as much as I can .

Of course , if they're listing they're maybe moving out of the area , but I definitely keep in touch with them and then afterwards I always say we don't go away , so I'd like to keep in touch , drop notes off , holiday cards , drop by little goodies at the holidays times , just reach out birthdays , things of that nature , and just what can I do to help ?

Do you need anything ? Did you start that renovation . Yeah , oh , you need a carpenter . Let me get you one and we keep our vendor list on our phone so we can have it with us if somebody's when we're on the go , somebody calls and needs something quick , they need a plumber we can boom send it right over to them .

I may have a buyer that I've shown and shown and shown and they buy a for sale by owner . I need to provide them a closing gift . I need to connect with them because my goal is to make sure that they're happy in their home finding search . I'm hoping it's with me .

But if they achieve their goal and objective in a for sale by owner because that's the way of the world , in that moment in time I don't disengage from them relationally . So I want everybody to think about it . It's even if I don't win the deal , have a closing , get the listing .

You've built and developed a relationship with somebody and what we know by statistics and I shared this yesterday at a meeting the average buyer and seller , 30 days after their closing says I will use the same realtor 91% of the time . It's actually 13% .

There's a big delta because of the distance in time between the time I close and the time I have another real estate transaction . And let's call it what it is Katrina agents .

In our industry , there's a whole bunch that come and go and then there's a whole bunch that have been in 15 , 27 , that are here and you said it earlier , it is their business , it is a profession . Alright , so I'm going to shift gears . There's no rapid fire today .

I got one final question , one final question , one piece of advice for every listener today to increase their probability of success in 2024 . Give one thing , kat , one thing what do you recommend ?

So I think , consistency and then making smart adjustments , and you will get where you want to go .

You need to just move forward and don't be afraid to try the things that you know are working , that are proven , and do them consistently .

So I want to say thank you to Katrina , thank you to Joni , we appreciate you being here today . I challenge our listeners each and every week . Take three things and I will tell you that there are about 29 for you all to choose from .

So , if you're walking and listening , or if you're driving and listening , I'm going to encourage you to sit down where you have a pad and paper and listen . Take down some notes , pick a couple of things that can change your business tomorrow . A ton of takeaways today . Always the goal of our podcast to provide value and give some nuggets for our listeners .

So , to our listeners , thank you for being here . Without you , there's no us . Joni , awesome , thank you so much . And Katrina , thank you guys .