Technology TransactionsThe Results Team Approach: The Buyer"s Representative
When you carry a large number of listings and have solid lead-generating systems in place, buyers are attracted by the dozens. Of course it"s impossible for one agent to work all those leads effectively. That"s why the buyer"s representative is one of the real pillars of the team concept for selling real estate. I have three buyer"s representatives at present who work exclusively with buyers. That"s their sole function.
I have several systems in place for generating buyer leads, including a toll-free call-capturing system, my web site, newspaper and magazine ads, custom flyers and I also get a lot of potential buyers from my weekly radio talk show, Real Estate Focus. The other major sources for leads are calls on listings, relocations and referrals, but that"s a topic for another time.
All leads are funneled to my buyer"s representatives. Once the reps get the information, their first contact is usually through a phone call or email to the potential client. The initial phone call is to gather basic information and get the lead signed up for our Preferred Customer Property Screening (PCPS) program, which I"ll talk about later. At this time the buyer rep will schedule a meeting with me and the potential buyer. No one is shown property without coming into the office and going though our orientation meeting with me. Why, for starters, it"s much too dangerous for my reps and also it can prove to be a huge waste of time to show property without explaining the entire process. With the amount of business that comes through our doors, that"s something we can"t afford to do. During our meeting, I explain to the buyers how we do business, how the team works and I talk about all our various programs and technologies. I also get them pre-approved for a mortgage through SAM, Simplified Automated Mortgage. (By the way, I believe that SAM is something every Realtor needs; it makes the Realtor"s business technologically advanced in the eyes of their clients.)
In South Carolina we must explain agency and have the client representation forms signed at our first significant meeting. After this session, the buyers are comfortable with the way we work and are less likely to be un-loyal; we are assured that they can afford to buy the homes they are looking at; and I have enough information on them to make my buyer"s reps feel safe going out in a vehicle alone with them.
The buyer"s representatives take it from that point until we"re ready to negotiate a contact. They basically keep in contact with the buyers and show them houses. I mentioned the PCPS program. This is a wonderful software program that lets us input all sorts of criteria desired by the buyer. If the buyer wants a three bedroom, two bath brick house with a wrap-around porch on a corner lot in a certain subdivision, costing between $150,000 and $200,000, we can program the computer to search only for properties meeting that description. The software will initiate a search of the Multiple Listing Service several times a day and will email both the buyer"s rep and the client when it gets a hit. That way the buyer knows about the hot properties many times even before most agents do. If the buyers want, they can drive by the properties before scheduling a showing, which saves them and us a lot of time. My buyer"s reps stay in daily contact either by phone or email, with the buyers to talk about new properties, discuss the ones they"ve seen, and to let the buyers know we care about them. At 8:00AM every week day morning we have a conference call to go over problems, situations, opportunities or special help the buyer"s reps may need. All the buyer representatives have computers, pagers, cell phones, email, voice mail and paging software. This makes getting in touch with each other as simple as touching a button.
In addition to staying in close contact with current buyers, my reps must also search the computers daily for new listings to preview. To be an excellent buyer"s representative, you must have an intimate knowledge of the market, which can only be accomplished by knowing what is available, what features the various sub-divisions offer and a handle on new sub-divisions developing. Once the buyers find a house they want to purchase, the buyer"s rep will have the client come into the office where I will sit down with them and write up the offer. I handle all contract negotiations so my reps can concentrate on finding and showing properties.
Once the buyers are under contract the file goes to our closing coordinator to follow through on the various items required to get the house closed. The buyer"s reps still checks in with the client often to make sure their needs are being met, and the reps will go to all the inspections to represent the buyers. While attending the home inspection the buyer"s representatives will measure the house to verify the accuracy of the listing agents information into the MLS computer.
Being a buyer"s representative is not a difficult job, but it does require a genuinely caring attitude towards people, a high degree of organization, and plenty of persistence and patience.
Next time we"ll talk about the closing process and how the closing coordinator works through the closing and how the Results Team consistently delivers a 99.9% closing rate on contracted properties.
Editor"s note:For details on how Jerry and his team set up compensation for the buyer"s representatives, e-mail him.
Also See:
How The Results Team Takes a Listing