Hi everyone,
This is my first post!!!
Firstly, I must tell you that I live in Australia. Will be entering the industry end OCT after doing my course.

Some of the US info will not apply to me , however all the sales techniques and tips on this site are SO good for me to read - SO inspiring!

One scenario that is boggling me is:

I am out there doing an appraisal of a house or promoting myself and the person I am speaking to says:

I havn't noticed your name/pix etc around....are you new and how many houses have you sold? (my answer cannot be anything but the truth ) - will they trust me to sell their house or pick the other person who has sold many houses in that area?

My inital response that I am considering is to say:
Yes I am the new kid on the block.
and full of energy to do everything I can to WORK FOR YOU.
I have 35 yrs of experience in the corporate industry(travel agent/corp sales airlines) and I have all the neccesary qualifictions required. My company The .............,may I add , were the TOP selling company in for 2005/2006. I have the support and everything I need from The....to sell your house for the highest possible amount!
and I am honoured that your house will be my first!


Does the above sound ok? Or can you tell me what you think could be amended or please give me any sug gestions that have worked for you when you started?

Thanks for your time!
Cheers
Katie Koo

Welcome to the forum Katie. I think what you have suggested saying here will work.

Emphasize the team your on with the office you work for. Maybe mention the experience of an agent you work with who is willing to be a resource for you - your broker perhaps (if there are "brokers" in Australia).

I realize your probably hungry for that first deal. Just don't let that turn into desperation. I think what has often hurt new agents is that the desperation gets in their eyes and that is what ends up putting people off.

Good Luck,
R

Robert - Thanks so much for your reply, across the world from England :-)

and I had not thought about the "desperation look"!!! - I will now be very aware to not fall into that trap.

Do you have any suggestions to other internet sites that you think could be beneficial(sales/strategy/time management, etc) for me to have a look at?

Yesterday I went in on your site www.soldbyrobert.com, did you get the email that I wrote to you via the contact me area on your site?

Cheers,
KK

I agree with the idea of highlighting the support you get from your team, that you're not alone. Also, tell your prospect that while you may be new, that does not equate to unprofessional. For me, it was good to be able to say, I've seen good and bad agents, and it is my standard to be professional, and to trea my client as I would want to be treated.

All the best in your new profession.

KK too.

thanks - KK too!!!

i will add that line re professional/to treat others....in my response to people as i can relate to that.

it is a gr8 pleasure to have stumbled upon this site....i can't find anything similar in australia.


thanks again - kk, for your feedback.

good luck with your real estate business too!

cheers
kk

I think I would emphasize...

1. As a new agent, my broker will be watching over me like a hawk, which is safer than an agent that has been at it for a year and no longer under the close scrutiny of the broker.

2. As a new agent, your listing will get my full attention. Unlike agents that have a high volume of listings, who are not necessarily worried if a few do not sell, I will do everything in my power to make sure your house sells at the right price because I need your future referrals.

thank you , uniquename!
i am grateful fo your advice - i am taking all the suggestions on board and i SO cherish this forum.

i have decided that when i am in real estate(16oct) i am going to schedule in 1 - 2 hour pr week to read this forum. at the momnet i am spending a lot more! :-)))))))

does anyone know when this site was started and by whom? - maybe i should post this separately.

cheers to all 'up north'in the northern hemisphere - we are going towards summer and you guys are preparing for winter!

kk

Katie, you are so enthusiastic and centered, it will be hard for experienced agents to keep up with you.

Uniquename's point that your broker will be watching over your first deal is a good one--your clients are getting two professionals for the price of one. That's a good selling point.

You will find the answer to your question about our site in "Forum Announcements". To get there, go to the top of this page where you see:

Agents Online Real Estate Idea Center (the smaller type).

Click on that to go to the Forum List by category. The first category is Forum Announcements. Click on that, then click on "Forum FAQ", then click on the third thread about "History of this Forum" or something like that. Doug is our administrator and peacekeeper. His post will explain the history of Agents Online, I think. We all owe him a lot of thank you's for all his hard work. Hope my directions are okay.

Good luck. BTW, what's Christmas like in the summertime? That would totally confuse me.

Darlene Bitner
Agent, Houston Realty

thanks Darlene for yr lovely compliment and feedback.

re Christmas in summer - it IS hard especially since I lived in the states and europe until i was 34 and associate xmas with winter, snowflakes, logfire ,chestnuts roasting on an open.....
i will never 4get our 1st xmas in australia. it was 42 degrees c about 110 f i think. i wanted a bit of 'cozy' atmosphere and lit the candlelights....well they blew out of course due to the ceiling fan having to be turned on as otherwise we would have fainted of heat exhaustion :-)))))

so every year i hope that the weather at xmas is a bit cooler, or raining at least a bit of clouds in the sky - just so i can get a little bit into the 'mood'

but it's funny because so many here have never seen snow and the only weather that they associate with xmas is hot and sunny.

thanks again and i'm sure we'll "chat" again one day!

cheers
kk

Katie,

You seem very confident and enthused to get out there and do business. You will get far with this attitude.

If people think you are confident, then they will think you have been doing this for years. I think that is the key. Just know what you are talking about when you speak. Good luck.

Keep in mind, seller dont care about services because everyone offers the same. As far as your first listing goes, no prospect will know its your first listing unless you tell them. When I first started listing homes, I only had a small percentage of prospects ask the number of listing I have had. Truth be known, the number of listings an agent has, has no baring on the sale of their home. And I would tell them that. Followed by "I list under 12 homes a year". I told the truth, zero is a number, right!

Katie,

I recently met a friend whom I havent contacted with in a long time. We finally met up and started talking about what's been keeping us busy. He talked about starting his new business - an education consultant..... It wasnt the content that caught my attention, but it was his passion in his voice, his body language and hand gestures. You can tell he really believes in his product/ service. His voice spoke confidence and how he believes that his service is out there to help the school districts make better 3rd party education selections, in turn help children get better with school.....

I have also seen some people who "over-do" it. But my friend did it just right. And he's out there to start a company not too many people are out there venturing.....

You can tell that he got me sold. So, after that experience, I learnt that I must first believe in myself, believe in my abilities and believe in the product/ service I sell..... Then everything comes naturally. I'm not a talker and I definitely dont speak English fluently (English is my 2nd language) but I want to get better at it. I know the more I practise, the better I will become.

Fatmaxxv-
I agree with you that you it's about confidence, but it's kind of difficult to confident in the service that you provide, when you're new to this field. Experienced agents and brokers who have been in this field for a long time, still don't everything, but if you're new, it's extremely difficult to be confident, if you're not exactly sure what you're doing.

I'm new to real estate and from what I've seen so far, people respond better to a person who understands the marketing techniques than to an agent who's using all kinds of sales techniques (I will sell your house in no time, I'll sell your house for top $, etc.).

I trully believe that as an agent, you have to concentrate more on your client's goals than on your sales scripts and they'll see it and feel it.

Just my opinion.

Good luck.

wow the response to my message i fantastic!!!

thanks for the most recent feedbacks from reguy, fatmaxx and russell yolk - i will take all into consideration.

reguy:

"Followed by "I list under 12 homes a year". I told the truth, zero is a number, right! "
sorry i didn't quite understand the zero bit? - can u pls explain that a bit 4 me?


fatmaxxv :

- yes i agree at this stage and i think it is a matter that - if one is passionate about what one is doing and have an inner confidence(self esteem) then all will follow naturally.

russell volk:

- but i also agree with you and honestly i won't be able to really know until i am in the middle of the situation. at the moment i am theoretically getting my mind "ready" and i just pray that i will be alright!
can i just also ask you russell, in my beginning question i wrote

"were the TOP selling company in for 2005/2006. I have the support and everything I need from The....to sell your house for the highest possible amount!
and I am honoured that your house will be my first!"

and u mention that marketing is better than using sales techniques...don't u believe that i should use that line?


thx again for all your gr8 feedbak!!!

cheers
katie koo

Katie-
don't get me wrong, I totally agree with that line. It's one of the best I've heard in a long time. All I'm saying, it's important to have a solid marketing plan. When a seller asks you, "How are you going to market my house?", if you have a unique marketing plan, that is something that can make you stand out from the crowd. It will give you an edge, regardless of how many transactions you've closed.

I honestly believe that sales skills are extremely important, but it's also important to have good marketing skills.

thanks russell,

i also believe that all the sales - marketing - best internet site etc etc...isn't going to help unless i can back it up with KNOWLEDGE. so i will start getting that knowledge on monday!

it is so amazing that the internet can connect us this way from the other end of the world!
i was in awe when i saw that u had replied so quickly...

"good on ya'" as we say down under :-)

katie koo

You got it. I believe that knowledge and confidence, go hand in hand. The more you know, the more confident you are. Also, these days, Internet is extremely important. It opens up all kinds of opportunities, not only to agents, but to sellers and buyers as well. I believe that the statistics say that 74% of home buyers start their search on the Internet.

I wish you best of luck.

Take care.

umm, i think i was the one that originally stated about the confidence thing. it's cool. you're welcome. :rolleyes:

hi agent 007!!!i am SO sorry, in my mind i thought i had already thanked u and responded to yr message!!!'cause that is what i have done(and will do) to everybody else
EXCEPT U........:-((((

"so pls 4give me agent 00seven
as i have been in 7th heaven

all this week due to my resignation
my mind was caught up in all the celebration"

my last day was wed and am taking 2 days off to be able to just reeeeeelax before i start the hard study on monday for 3 weeks.

i also realize that my 2nd response to russell
also applies to yr comment re advice as to KNOW what i am talking about.:-)

thanks again 007

katie koo
ps- which agent 007 is your favourite(besides yourself!) ??? - mine is Sean Connery annd 2nd place roger moore