What I suspected about Real Estate agents, I now KNOW for an absolute fact

Ok, I engaged other people to visit over 100 Open Houses and you know, the results are well documented and don’t need revisiting.

Even the dozen or so that I did personally I still only went face to face with about 4 of the 102 secret shops.

Well today, just out of curiousity, I visited seven myself. Wasn’t sure how many recognised me, but you’d think knowing I have a BIG mouth and whether they did a GREAT job or a CRAP job, I was gonna tell the world.

Well let me tell you about a few of them…..

Normally I’d apologise and cut some slack and be all ‘nice’ and say, well maybe they are normally great and I just happened to catch them on a bad day, but you know, that’s a cop out and you guys deserve better than that….so, if you happen to have been one that I visited, email me and you can come to my two day training for free, that’s my apology, an offer for you to get better…that’s it, if you’re mad at me and don’t want to improve…bad luck, and I hope your competitors are at my events.

I had my son on my shoulders for most of these, we had just been to the beach and we were on our way back, we own a house in the area, just bought there so one day we will sell, and you know, if any of these agents were stand outs, well of course, they would have instantly put themselves on my shopping list if even I were to sell.

Hey, I PAY my agents, and full comm if they are worth it….so this wasn’t a secret shop, so to speak, this was real, and if they stacked up, they certainly would have stood out like the proverbial….read on to see if they did….

First off, NO follow up whatsoever, although I admit, 5 of them couldn’t follow up if they tried because I think I was only asked for details twice….(I hear you cringe from here)

Open House #1

Arrive at house, agent (not obvious who the agent was because a neighbour was acting more like an agent than the agent. A few people there, agent says approximately three words to me (no request for name, number anything, I just say, ‘just head in?’ and he says for my boy to watch his head (he was on my shoulders) he kind of advises from the letterbox as we are heading through the front door, and he gets back to his conversation.

I poke around the house unattended, go out through the back door (could have stolen everything, complete lack of security), I head back out front, agent is there.

Neighbour is still by letterbox and I ask how big the block is. Agent says 607m2 or maybe neighbour did. I acknowledge answer then agent wanders off leaving me with neighbour. I ask neighbour, who has told me blocks over the road are a bit bigger, this row is 607 and the ones behind are a little smaller with an easement. Agent has gone somewhere by this stage (still no request for ID, phone, or name.)

I ask neighbour ‘what have they got on it?’

Neighbour replies, ‘oh 390 but it isn’t worth that in a million years. I own next door and the land is worth something but you know what I’d do, knock the house over, the land is worth something but they’ll never get anything like $390….’

‘Didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as I got into the car, my little boy on my shoulders and off to the next one….Hand out material…..

A Business card !!! A crap one at that, and by the way, here’s the kicker…..

It’s (xxx xxx) Real Estate as a brand right, and the sales person’s name…..YUP, it’s (xxx xxx). – The Principal !!……

 

Open House #2

An auction in 11 days. I identified myself on approach as someone who just bought through their agency

(True, and the agent i bought through is a really, really nice guy. Drink with him any day. Sell through him? Best of the bunch so far, but I’d role play some things to make sure. Look I’m being polite again….I’d grill him and make sure no one stole bought as well as I did when I sell. Like I said, one of the most like-able blokes I’ve met in the game, he could have used that against me more, but that’s another story. I’ve since referred people to him, so he’s definitely my pick up here)

Anyway, onto his colleague. Because I have a rapport owth the other guy, I kind of was ‘nice’ and for those who know me, I think I’m a pretty friendly guy. Well I go into this house, I think I gave a mobile number, pretty sure.

Go through house after meeting agent, and the tenant or owner is home, three kids playing out back, and you know, I just felt uncomfortable despite the resident being very very friendly. Just the kids being out back playing and the person living there being there in the kitchen, when my boy noticed he had dropped his shoe in the house somewhere and we had to go back in, I just didn’t want to go because it felt like I was invading this person’s home.

Left and felt like, ‘you know, who was trying to build rapport there?’ I felt like I was going out of my way to be nice, friendly etc to the agent, probably becuase of my admiration and rapport with the other guy from his office, but I drove off thinking, ‘you know, I think I’d rather fake, cheesy, annoying false real estate agent typical friendliness even though you know they’re not’ than this guy’s attitude.

I made a mental note to ask if this guy was doing any good, coz if he is, seriously, I want to open an office up here.

Hand out – DL card

 

Open House #3

Ok, this one was the pick of the bunch. I roll up, intro myself and she says ‘go have a look I’ll be right back’ and she goes out to her car for the next few minutes while I look around. No number ask, etc. I note the car had sign written magents of property home websites, maybe like Greg Vincent offers, or she deos her own, I didn’t look at any of them, but I noticed the magnets on the car. Thumbs up !!

So while I’m in the open, I notice a list, in fact I grab two lists, colour copied from the office, so not bad, but ‘office printer’ quality, lists of OTHER properties.

Seems this one was a brand new listing, listed only in the few days leading up to open.

Agent is a nice lady (Chris, one tick, she was nice) and asked me for a name, which I gave, and she recognised me from my marketing, but she was very nice and professional when she didn’t quite know who I was.

In fact, I don’t think she liked me very much, because while still very, very nice and friendly, I got the slight feeling that the rapport went down a bit (not noticably) but I don’t think she liked me prior to meeting me (just a gut feel)

Built rapport by showing me a book she was reading, on health, and we discussed my health goals. All in all, very nice, but….

Unfortuantely, I believe this open was a week premature if she wanted to use it as a lisitng tool, because she did print out the flyers for this property but forgot them, and when I asked the land size, she didn’t know.

Glad she didn’t lie, admitted she didn’t know, but that would have lost me as a potential seller, but all in all, she was nice, and probably wins the day based on that fact alone.

She knew who I was so the lack of follow up forgiven. Although, even if they know who I am, surely they know I live in the area, so don’t ignore me just because me job happens to be helping you, I’m a property owner who pays a real estate agent too !!! AND I refer others from time to time (2  or 3 to my guy already since I’ve been up here, plus countless in other areas to coaching clients !! Impressing me with skills, marketing prowess and service pays dividends people !!!)

Open House #4

A Go Gecko agent. You know, actually all in all, this guy, while not as ‘nice’ as the lady I mentioned, of everyone, he’d be the one I’d sell with (well no I wouldn’t, but if I had to choose, he would be the one. Funny huh, the $5995 guy is the pick of the ones to sell with.

Ok, nothing to write home about in any way, but he was nice enough, and he made it known that the property sold in the last few days, still conditional, under multiple offers conditions. And there were a few people still coming to the opens, so it seems as a marketer and negotiator, the half price guy had the best chops of the lot. If anyone wants to open an agency up here, seriously, if this is the bar, it ain’t high !!! But well done to this fellow.

Follow up – none
Handout – Colour one page printed in office

…ah, just noted, commission increase to $6950 noted.Good, he should be working for full fee, coz he’s as good as the others who are.

 

Open House #5

Chris Gilmour’s favourite….. (I had to ring him after this one…)

Walk up to driveway and am impressed. Directional signs and flags out front, not bad, best of bunch externally. Oh let’s not get hopes up yet…

I am distracted by the signs and impressed so I don’t notice something that I really should have as I walk up the driveway…..

Anyway, I get to the steps of the house, lady sitting out on patio having a smoke. I am confused, it’s 12.10pm and the OFI was advertised for 12. I ask if she’s the owner or …and she says renting and I ask if she’d stay and she isn’t sure, see who buys it, etc.

I ask politely, and I say, ‘sorry for asking, but is the agent there? have I got the right time?’ and she says, ‘yeah, he’s down in his CAR’ out on the road, yes the very car that had the flag under the wheel, I didn’t notice him in the car reading the paper !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’

(there’s not enough exclamation marks to do my shock justice)

So I ask him I don’t even know, I was so shocked, he rolls the window down 10 cms, maybe 20, about 1/4 to half way down. I mean seriously, get the fxxx out of your car you frigging poor excuse for an agent….sorry this one really took the cake.

He passes out a flyer though the crack in his window, says something about him thinking I was a friend of the tenant, I said, ‘no I own a house up the road, just checking out what things are worth, you know.’ He says something non descript and I leave.

Seriously guys, don’t think I’m making this up, because I promise, my imagination isn’t this good, and the reports would be better if I was making it up. I would never in a million years have credited this one.

Ok, Gilmour, stop laughing !!! Some poor bastard is paying this clown !!! Seriously, part of me wants to call this sleer who appointed this bloke, (all of them really) and just ask for their address, and go around to their house, say nothing, and just slap them and leave. (ok, getting emotional, calm down……go get a bourbon, and be back for next round….)

Open House #6

Turned up, didn’t get my name, couldn’t follow up if he wanted to, and for a brand I used to have a very high respect for. They’re all the crapping same…

Not going into detail, seriously I’ve had enough of this incompetence and I’m sick of re-living it. Folks, the judge jury and executioner is in. Get your arse to my event, or get the hell off my list, unfriend me on Facebook, unsubscribe from my email list and click ‘do not contact’ and you’ll never hear from me or my team again, and please pass on my details to your competitor who wants to get better.

I thank all 109 agents for the last 14 months in this open house research exercise. I mean honestly, it has given me more training material than any other single source.

If you’re ready to roast me in the comments section, go for it, last time I did this personally I got a law suit threat, so if you want to go dowmn that path, you know what, BRING IT ON, coz every word is true.

I love you guys and I love this industry, and the 10% who make this industry a pleasure to work for and around make it all worth while. And this today, should serve as fuel to the fire in those types of agents.

 

I might come back and tone down this last paragraph or two, but while it’s up, I hope you’ve enjoyed the read, been challenged by it, if you had opens like this today, well, it’s 8.30pm, and no one’s followed up. Embarrassing.

Two choices, get better, constantly improve, or you WILL be gone, it’s just a matter of when.

Get a free copy of 12 of my best trainings, and the system will offer you a copy (as an upsell) a copy of my $149 ‘Ultimate Open Home’ Training system, for an extra $45 as an OPTIONAL extra (or just get the free box set of training without the OFI training if you like)

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