Let’s Be as Good as We Can Be
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As a real estate professional we are always questioning results and asking why. Why doesn’t a Seller do this? Why is this property priced at this value? Why do certain Brokers market a property in this manner?
For the untrained practitioner, emerging from the time honored traditions of the MLS system; misperception and innocent misrepresentation may be excusable. For the seasoned practitioner, one who is an S.E.C. counselor and especially those acting in a principal capacity; such misdirection is unacceptable in any venue or marketplace.
Most successful brokers hold their clients accountable via counseling, or the sheer economic necessity of refusing to waste time, energy, and resources pursuing a property owner’s fantasies. In the absence of a reasonable probability of success, (i.e. fee) most brokers will choose not to participate when the Seller’s expectations are inconsistent with reality. Usually, in the brokerage world, reality has a way of forcing the players to adapt fairly quickly to the realities of the marketplace. Let’s face it, the only thing any of us in the Brokerage world have to offer is time and knowledge.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, one could reasonably argue that in order to truly understand the realities of real estate, one must have experienced the thrills of ownership. A different perspective of reality emerges from the trenches, the victories, and most of all from those “expensive seminars.” Hopefully, after having been through the process a few times, one develops a sense of what constitutes a good opportunity — a real transaction worthy of serious consideration. For the most part, successful real estate investors understand the realty of ownership and have knowledge of the benefits being offered.
In the most dynamic marketplace with the most capital we have ever experienced, the marketplace will chase down and gobble up a “real” opportunity. Likewise, if a transaction isn’t absorbed by this marketplace (where even the turkeys fly), one must begin to suspect either the quality of the marketing efforts, the illusion of perceived value, and/or the level of the Seller’s motivation.
As experts in our field, and knowledgeable in our respective markets, we are perceived to understand and make the correct decisions. When a principal emerges from this marketplace failing to have successfully marketed his/her product one or more of the following is usually true:
1. He/She is emotionally attached;
2. There is an unrealistic valuation;
3. The benefits have not been clearly transmitted.
In any event, we should ask ourselves the following questions. Have we done the marketplace and those participating in it a disservice? Have we done the Seller a disservice by not explaining the benefits of the offer or the reality or their property?
We must ask ourselves…Are the benefits real? Would I buy this at my price? Am I being real?
In the S.E.C. world, we rely on one another to be the local experts. When asked to be geographically receptive to a situation, one has the right to expect the presenter to have a clear discernment of the reality of the situation and to represent that reality with some degree of accuracy. Anything less demeans the presenter, degrades the marketing session and at best, fails to present the Society as the ultimate equity marketing “experience.” The goal is for everyone to be as professional as possible.
If you have participated in an equity marketing meeting and you have felt the dynamics between the participants and the properties, you know the search is for excellence. In as much as the efforts of the various organizations are to provide a positive and productive experience that generates the desire of the participants to go beyond mediocre and to be the best they can be. This means an increase in education, knowledge of the importance of counseling, and a desire to be the best that you can be.
All of the formulas in the world will never compensate for unsound fundamentals, lack of discernment of reality, or the accurate representation of yourself and the marketplace.
