Today is Throwback Thursday, and I’m going to share with you a real estate agent’s most valuable sales tool – then and now.
My fellow real estate agents and support staff on my team say that I have been in the business for a VERY LONG TIME. Given that I have been selling homes for longer than many of them have been alive, I guess they’re right.
I began my real estate career in 1976 in Vancouver, Canada. I sold homes for 19 years in Vancouver and Calgary before moving to Scottsdale in 1995.
As of next month, I have been a real estate agent in Scottsdale for 19 years. That’s a total of 38 years in the real estate business. Okay, I guess that IS a very long time.
So, just for fun, let’s compare the most important real estate sales tool today, to the most important real estate sales tool in 1976, at the start of my real estate career.
Let’s start with today:
Yes, you probably guessed it. The most important sales tool for Realtors today is a smart phone. Here are the many ways I use my smart phone while I’m “out in the field” selling property:
- communicating by phone, email and text
- checking and posting to social media – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, to name a few
- searching MLS for homes for sale
- mapping properties
- writing contracts
- sending contracts to clients to sign – our clients can sign their contracts on their cell phones, too, if they are so inclined
- finding a realtor in another city to refer a relocating client
- reading industry articles while I’m waiting for an appointment
- checking my weather app to make sure the weather will cooperate for tomorrow’s photo shoot of my new listing
- checking my compass app so that I can see the orientation of a backyard for a sun-seeking winter home buyer
- asking Siri for driving directions when I don’t know where I’m going (I hope my wife isn’t reading this)
You get the message.
In contrast, can you guess what was the most important sales tool for a real estate agent in 1976? I’ll give you a hint – like a smart phone, it also fits in your pocket.
Roll of dimes: #1 real estate sales tool in 1976In 1976, I always had a roll of dimes in my pocket and at least another roll in my car.
Why? Because there is a lot of communication that takes place in the average day of a salesperson, and in 1976 when I was “out in the field” showing homes, studying my market or looking for new business, I needed to stop frequently at pay phones to communicate with my office, my assistant and most importantly, my clients.
A lot has changed since then, but I guess this all reminds me that one thing hasn’t changed: communication.
