Leigh Brown
Consumers want information on the real estate market and they are looking for REALTORS® who really connect with them and can offer them the personal touch and community expertise they won’t find scrolling through online sites, says REALTOR® and trainer Leigh Brown, the opening session speaker at the Illinois REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Collinsville.
Many consumers may not be aware of the level of professional expertise REALTORS® bring to the home buying and selling process. Successful agents are those who are consumer centric and focus their energy on providing the information and service that today’s clients want, said Brown in her session, “How to Defeat External Threats.”
Brown shared a few tips to help REALTORS® put consumers first:
- Contact clients from your five most recent closings and ask them for real feedback on the transaction. Finding out what they liked and disliked can help REALTORS® fine-tune their efforts.
- Be quick to respond when prospective clients contact you. Don’t let phone or email inquiries languish. Consumers will move on to a more responsive agent.
- If you pay for an email drip campaign program, don’t rely on the stock outgoing message. Edit it to reflect your own “voice.”
- Present a professional image whether it is in the way you dress (always slightly above your marketplace) or the way you answer your phone (always mentioning your name, your company and the fact that you are a REALTOR®.)
- Professional listing photos are a must. Don’t skimp and think you can get by snapping photos with your phone.
- Remember that REALTORS® offer something that online listing sites can’t – personal knowledge and expertise about the local market, community and everything both have to offer.
Leigh Brown is a partner at RE/MAX Executive Realty in North Carolina and the broker-manager of its Concord office. She is the owner of Leigh Brown Instruction and is a sought after industry speaker.
