The Profession of Real Estate . . . or is the word Profession an Overstatement? Part IV
·
Who am I attracting?
If
you are attracting clients who are not interested in an advisory/consultancy
relationship for the present or future transactions, but instead just want a
one-night stand, they will always ask you to take less money. The result is that you end up building a
business model full of transactions and not relationships and that will
ultimately fail. Businesses need
returning customers who value the services they provide to succeed. When you are not building a relationship
business fueled by referrals, but instead a transactional business built on
walk-ins and advertising, your business may live, but will ultimately die
because you are operating on very thin profit margins that are not sustainable
for growth or survival. Who are you
attracting?
·
Who am I professionally?
You
are devaluing your brand and putting yourself in a category you really don't
want to be in because you do not have a Brand Plan. Who are you?
Are you the Nordstrom of Real Estate or the Wal-Mart of Real Estate? If you want to be Wal-Mart then embrace the
business model that the brand requires and plan to do volume and make money on
low margins for a while before you quit.
Few businesses enjoy the economies of scale that Wal-Mart has to make
money on very thin margins. Wal-Mart is
a very successful business but you have to know who you are and how you want to
be perceived in the market place. Who
are the people who shop at Wal-Mart?
They are people who are interested in price only and do not value
quality or brand or relationships. They
just want the lowest price and something that will get them what they need in
the short run. Never mind that they will
be buying whatever they bought again. This
is because of the built-in function obsolescence in low end poor quality
merchandise. It's the same in financial
services, medicine, real estate and law.
You pay for what you get.
I
have never shopped for a Lawyer, CPA, Doctor or Architect - just to name a few
professions. I have never discussed
their rates with them but I did discuss my needs and how important it was to me
to address my situation. They all gave
me a plan and a bill and I paid it.
There was never a discussion about their rate of pay or cost. Why? Because they were referred to me by people I
trust and I did not and still do not have time to shop. They were highly regarded and very successful
and I just paid the bill because I want the best I could find in the limited
time I had to find someone anyway. They
are all still with me to this day.
Very
few people shop for Attorneys, Doctors, CPAs, Architects, Coaches, Engineers, Real
Estate Agents, or General Contractors who operate at the highest levels of their
professions because their value is not based on their price but on their
reputation, experience, and track record.
Nor do these professionals negotiate their fees because they do not need
your business. They are the value proposition
- their knowledge, track record of success and experience. Their fee represents the value they
bring. To negotiate the price is an
insult to their value and many will thank you for your time and wish you well
in your search for quality representation.
In addition, you don't choose them; they choose you because they have
more successful business relationships than they can handle. The very best professionals out there do not
have time for people who only value price.
You can't even get an appointment or time with them because they are
serving their clients who value them. Especially
great lawyers who only take cases they can win and great real estate agents who
are too busy to answer a cold call from a shopper. They will tell you to find another real
estate agent or attorney in a heartbeat. Who are you professionally?
Be the Brand you want to see in the
world. The Power Is Now!
Be the Industry Professional you
know you need to be in your business. Your Power Is Now!
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