The Shoe's On The Other Foot: Feeling the Sellers' Pain

Empathy is one thing.  But actually experiencing what my clients go through has been a total revelation.  I have new appreciation for my clients’ angst while placing a home on the market for sale and looking for a new one.  The process is making me a better agent, but --- OUCH!  It is really painful!

Making the decision

Our home of almost ten years has been comfortable and we’ve loved it, but the time was ripe for a change.  My wife and I explored a renovation; we worked with a designer to analyze our needs and taste, put the project out to bid, submitted plans to our coop’s managing agent and negotiated with the building’s architect/engineer.  After all that, we realized that the expense and annoyance might not be worth it.  Jeez – we were frustrated and annoyed at the tortoise pace and red tape of even these preliminary steps.  What would it be like for the four of us (and our dog and cat) to live in a construction site and to breathe dust and to share one bathroom for months?  Perhaps now was the right time to move.

Technology and Tools of the Trade

To remain relevant and avoid extinction, real estate professional must employ innovative technology.  Our clients use it; our clients expect us to use it. Top agents use technology to give themselves a competitive edge as they take their businesses to the next level. What are today’s “must have” technological tools?

 HARDWARE

Smart Phone

Remember how clever that TV gadget-loving G-man Maxwell Smart seemed, using his shoe phone for telephone calls? The idea of communicating with mobile telephones is not as ridiculous as we once thought.  Today’s smart phones are tiny and durable, like Max’s, but they have other features and tools that a creative real estate professional should use for maximum communication punch. Smaller than a small wallet, smart phones:

• Take great pictures
• Make movies
• Store and update calendars
• Send and receive email and text messages
• Connect to the internet, and
• Run the latest apps.

A sophisticated PDA is an absolute MUST HAVE for the successful real estate professional.

Still in love with your tried and true—perhaps a flip phone that has all the contacts of your nears and dears? Afraid of the cost of those contracts and data rates? Too busy or too tired to navigate yet another device? Get over it!  If you don’t have a mobile phone with the latest features--or if you do have one but don’t know how to use it--you’re in trouble. The world is digital, wireless, and internet connected at all times.  You must be, too, else you’ll be as dated as good old Maxwell Smart.

Breathe easy. The competition for mobile phone customers is fierce.  Packages are far more reasonably priced than ever.  Also, phone stores have trained professionals who can transfer your data and walk you through the features of your new gadget. 

 Notebook

A notebook, small laptop, iPad or the equivalent is quickly becoming a real estate necessity. You already have an smart phone you say?  That’s a good start.  But to show your clients’ available options and the latest opportunities, nothing sells as well as an image on a good-sized screen.  Smart phones are simply too small.

Furthermore, today’s notepads allow you to run extensive databases and records that the average smart phone cannot.  Your office is often on the go.  Make your computer on-the go, too.