When you are new, should you volunteer for floor duty? Floor duty, also called opportunity time, is where a real estate agent volunteers to sit in the lobby of the real estate office and answer the phone when prospects call or drop in. The shifts are usually 9 to 1 or 1 to 5. Is this a worthwhile endeavor?
The bad news is maaaaaaybe a prospect will not call or walk in. The good news is maaaaaybe an Arab shriek will walk in and buy a 2 million dollar house.
It would appear to the naked eye that it is just luck which of these happens. It is not luck. It is a learned skill that you solely need to learn. I call it verbal adroitness. It is knowing what to say. Shooting from the hip does not work. Let's try this.
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| You never know where the next real estate super star will come from |
Mr. New Guy is sitting on floor duty. Meanwhile, a happy young couple is riding around Hendersonville, North Carolina in their rental car. The couple sees a sign in a yard from XYZ Realty. They dial the number on the sign. The new floor agent answers the phone," Hello, XYZ Realty. This is Newby. How can I help you?"
Mr. Couple replies," We are sitting in front of a house at 123 Residential street. What is the price of that house?" Newby replies," Let me look that up." pause pause pause pause pause "That house is $459,000." Mr couple replies, "That is too much." CLICK
There goes another HOT prospect. Where did he go? He went to the next real estate company that he called. That call went like this:
Ring Ring
Hello, Well Trained Realty, This is Suzy Superstar, How can I help you?
Hello. I am sitting in front of a house at 456 Average street. It has your sign in the yard. What is the price of that house?"
Suzy replies, " Hold on while I look that up." pause
Suzy says," I am back. That house is $429,000. Is that a price range that is comfortable for you?"
Mr Couple replies, " No, I don't think that will work for us."
Suzy quickly responds," Oh what were you hoping the price would be?"
Mr Couple says, " I was hoping it would be closer to $229,000.".
Suzy responds, " We have an abundance of nice homes in the 230 range. Can I help you find one?
Mr. Couple says," We just got off the plane and rented a car. I am starting a new job here in Hendersonville the first of next month. We are here this weekend to find a house.
Suzy asks, " Could you come by my office and let's get started?".
"That would be great" Mr. Couple replies.
If you are doing floor duty with the skill level of Newby, you probably think floor duty is no good.
Once your skill level rivals Suzy's skill level, you think floor duty is a license to print money.
As you gain experience and skill (those two words are not synonyms), floor duty will become more valuable.
If you don't have phone skills, your income is limited in real estate. As your skill grows, your income will grow too. It does not happen by accident or osmosis. You have to take deliberate action to make it happen. Suzy did not dream up the idea to answer a question with a question. She learned that at a sales training session many years ago.
As you develop phone skills, your income will increase greatly? Volunteer for phone duty or floor duty or opportunity time or whatever your company calls it. You can not develop skill without practice. Learn and practice phone skills. Get good. Make a fortune.
If you are anywhere near Hendersonville, North Carolina, call me at 828 755 6996. I will get you started. www.firstrealestateschool.com If you are anywhere near Orlando, Florida, call my daughter, Karen at 407 493 3974. www.demetreerealestateschool.com She will get you started in a lucrative career in real estate.
