Moving Is an Emotional Experience, Part 2

This is part two of a three-part series by Jose Perez of PCMS Consulting. Read part one here.

I am very lucky to have spent so many years in the real estate business. I have made lifelong friends, bought and sold many homes, and lived in some pretty cool places. Due to the intersection of my professional career and personal experiences as a real estate consumer, I feel that I can speak pretty credibly on what it takes to create a positive experience as a real estate agent and brokerage.

As you read in my previous post, the experience I just had moving from Atlanta to Miami was uneven, at best, in spite of my contacts and visibility in the industry. If I, Jose Perez, industry veteran is saying this, what is Everyday Joe Real Estate Consumer saying? Instead of writing what I hope is a constructive narrative to highlight this issue, Everyday Joe Real Estate Consumer might very well be posting a negative review about his experience — with agent and broker names included.

How many times have you heard the saying about negative impressions impacting your business more than positive ones? I had my share of both on both sides of my move.

Lesson #3

Find ways to create a consistent and positive consumer experience online and offline every time they interact with anyone in your company, regardless of whether they are a "hot" buyer or seller.

Many people have approached me since my last blog to find out what I ended up doing after my less than positive consumer experience trying to list my house and purchase a new one. Here is what happened in Atlanta (I'll talk about Miami next time).

One day I was venting to a friend of mine who happens to be a developer in suburban Atlanta. He could not believe what was going on so he, as a good friend, offered to list my house, but told me he could not possibly provide the exposure and effort of a traditional full service brokerage. I reasoned that a desirable house like mine, in a desirable neighborhood like mine, in a low inventory market like mine could probably sell without all the extra bells and whistles, so I took a chance.

I only signed a three month listing agreement, thinking if it did not sell, I would quickly resume my search for a full service broker. Thankfully, my gamble paid off as my house sold in two months!

My decision was completely opportunistic in nature, due to my knowledge and contacts in the market. I am not the typical consumer.

As I mentioned earlier, the typical real estate consumer would probably have continued struggling to find someone to list their house and been frustrated by the process.

Maybe they would have considered a discount broker; maybe they would have considered a FSBO. In any case, this sort of experience is one of the big reasons why, as an industry, we just don't have that good a reputation—especially with younger consumers.

It doesn't have to be that way!

To view the original article, visit the PCMS Consulting blog.