Verbal Communication; A Lost Art

A friend of mine was expressing her exhasperation over the lack of employment opportunities in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her intention was to become an event planner with a major hotel chain, but after looking for several months, she was making little headway.

At this point, I feel obligated to inform you that my friend is 29, and I am 56. You will understand my reason for divulging this shortly.

I asked my friend how she was going about getting her name out to those who mattered. She immediately began to rattle off the numerous online job and social network sites that she utilized. I asked her how many times she had met, face-to-face, with a potential employer, other than during an interview.

"I never have", she said.

I then suggested that she dress professionally, go to hotels in San Francisco, ask for the sales and catering manager, and personally hand her resume to each one.

Her response?

She laughed, and said that it was no longer done that way; that her generation utilizes the latest technology to secure employment.

Thus, the previous admission of the age gap! I am graciously giving all you real estate agents who agree with my friend an excuse to blow off what I'm about to tell you. Blame your lack of success on something other than the fact that you're too lazy and embarrassed to get out and build actual, personal, relationships. Claim that I'm an old fart, whose out of touch if it makes you feel better.

The fact is; our business is now, and forever, about personal relationships, and the slow building of professional bonds. What we accomplish down the road will always be directly related to the way we communicate with our peers today.

One evening, while waiting for a client, I noticed a man, and a woman who I assumed to be his agent, standing in the driveway of a listing. They were in the middle of a heated discussion, and were quite animated. After a short time, the agent jumped in her car, and sped away. The man, seeing me, started across the street toward my car.

He asked me, point blank, what I would suggest my client offer on that particular listing. I asked if the person who had driven away was his agent, to which he replied that she was. Handing him my card, I assured him that I would lend my opinion, but not while he was working with another agent.

A couple of weeks later we met at my office. He had dropped his realtor, and wanted my advise. I told him that I would be glad to help, but I explained the difficulties of the market, and stated that it was possible his previous agent had worked hard on his behalf, and was simply handcuffed by the market restraints. I asked him what it was that he wanted but felt his previous agent had failed to do.

He leaned forward and said, "I asked her to personally call the listing agents when we submitted an offer. She never did."

I was shocked! That's it? All he wants is a little personal touch added to each offer? Wow...how easy is that?

The poor guy was an FHA buyer who had spent the previous eight months looking at properties, submitting offers, and receiving rejections. During that time his agent had never once contacted the listing agent to discuss his offers. Not once!

On our first weekend out we found a fixer that met his requirements. We wrote an offer, and submitted that evening. The next morning I contacted the agent, and spend about 15 minutes discussing my client, and simply chewin' the fat with another realtor. To be honest, I realized then that I could have done a much better job of communicating with fellow agents, prior to this deal. I felt embarrassed. The conversation ended with the listing agent saying that she would go look for my clients offer, and would review it.

The following Monday my client received a counter on his offer, entered escrow, and closed on the home. Last we spoke, he was absolutely thrilled.

It doesn't always happen this way. Sometimes you can talk until you're blue in the face, but a cash deal is always going to trump an FHA offer. What you can do is improve your odds; building relationships that will allow you to jump to the top of the list because the listing agent knows you and respects the way you handle business. Emails will never replace the subtle qualities of the human voice, a good laugh, or the warmth of a friendly handshake.