 
In addition to questioning certain real estate agents as to just what they do that justifies the commission that they charge, we also have wondered aloud if the real estate market is in the state that it is because there are “no buyers”or is the real estate market in the state that it’s in because most real estate agents don’t know how to work in this market.
How many Realtors are properly trained to respond to the challenges that are readily found in today’s real estate climate? How many Realtors simply have thrown in the proverbial towel and are merely hanging out in the barber shop telling war stories of the good old days?
This market requires specialized training and even more…it requires a lot of enthusiastic ambition. If you are content to self-prophecize about there being no buyers, then there will be no buyers. What are you truly doing to generate revenue on a daily basis? If the fish aren’t buying then you have basically one or two problems, and only one of two problems.
First, you may be using the wrong bait, second you are not fishing where the hungry fish are. That’s it. Really simple, now you’re problems are solved.
Active Rain, with it’s 80,000+ members seems to be more the barbershop than the bastion of capitalism that it could be. We assumed, that with such a high contingent of Realtors hanging out in one locale that it would be simple to get in touch with some Realtors who have property to sell.
One would think that by reading some of the posts that most of the agents there actually had listings and that the purpose of those listings was to actually seek buyers for them. Shame on me for assuming.
We made a post on Active Rain declaring in the fashion of Billy Ray Valentine and Louis Winthorpe that we are actually buying.
In addition to that, we have a growing network of buyers across the USA that are aggressively looking to buy. You would have thought that the bell would be sounded on the trading floor and it would have been a veritable selling frenzy.
Alas, it was business as usual on Active Rain. “Great Post”, “good job”, “spot on”, “you tell it like it is”, “I will flag this for feature”…and on and on and on throughout the comment jungle upon post after post about nothing having to do with actually making any money or selling any real estate.
I’m sorry, I did not realize the market has gotten that bad. I did not realize that not only are most agents not selling, it appears most agents ignore buyers. Great business model!
Okay, I understand, our post was one probably just one among the thousands(?) of posts that must be uploaded daily to Active Rain, so it is highly possible that many, many, many of it’s members did not see it. However isn’t that a problem in and of itself?
Should there not be a way to cut through the clutter of stories about knitting mittens and cake baking to actually deliver news to the members that there are buyers looking to purchase property.
Seriously, even in donut shops the cops carry a radio. I subscribe to various blogs and when there is something to say there is an RSS feed that one can subscribe to on a categorical basis.
Wouldn’t you think there would be some kind of “Bat-Signal” that gets beamed out when there is an open call to buy properties? 
Like a membership press release?
How about a membership-wide form that Buyers can fill out to alert the Realtors who actually want to do something that there is a Buyer looking for a property.
What could possibly be easier than finding property for cash buyers who tell you what you are looking for? Is there an easier way to make 3-6%? Is order taking too hard? It must be.
Fortunately there are Realtors out there that want to do more than try out the Flip Video Camera or the Mixpo editing program and be lemmings for a veiled product placement marketing campaign…oh, you didn’t even realize you were being marketed to did you?
Thankfully, there are agents who actually respond to a call to action. They just aren’t on Active Rain. They must be too busy actually selling!
Take Denny Grimes in Cape Coral, here’s an agent who has not gotten the memo that it’s a down market and there aren’t any buyers. He missed it because he was out there selling 100 houses last week.
You won’t find Kurt Kinsey, a real estate agent in Oceanside, California making inane comments about the market being down, he listed a home and priced it right and received 31 offers on that one listing. he’s got buyers galore.
Greg Swann from Bloodhound Realty sold a house in under a week from listing to close. and had responses from readers who had done the same, some in less time.
With 80,000 plus members, where are the agents who actually have something to sell and want to actively and aggressively want to put deals together?
Fortunes are made in real estate markets such as that which we are in. However you have to hustle. You have to differentiate yourself from the pack. Why is it that so many agents resist the challenge of working with investors?
We’re buying, we have a growing network of cash buyers and I am sure that there are many like us in your own respective communities.It does not make any sense that real estate agents are not courting buyers.
I read posts from agents on Active Rain about their listings that won’t move. Their listings that expire. I even read about a tactic to withdraw before expiration so it does not show as an expired listing on the agent’s history.
Why all the games? Why not just hit the pavement and start selling! After all that’s why you got into the business isn’t it? Are you a blogger or a real estate agent?
I would think that your seller clients think you are actually selling don’t they? I doubt they care that you received 50 comments on your post on Active Rain or that your point total is increasing. They expect you to be “SELLING“!.
Do they know that as far as you are concerned once you had the listing you were done?
Here’s a hint, a real simple hint. A three step process any agent can do to make money in today’s real estate market right away, if not immediately. Ready?
1. Find a buyer
2. Give them what they want
3. Close
4. EARN your commission
5. Repeat as often as necessary
Whew..that’s tough. Must be, otherwise more would be actually doing it. This is not brain surgery folks. Consumer products have been using this as the staple for doing business for what seems like forever. I know it’s a novel concept in real estate but actually giving the customer what they want actually does work. If you’re selling something nobody wants why not simply begin selling things (houses) that people do want?
Otherwise why don’t we see if they can change the name of the website to “Inactive Rain”.
Selling, you say? What a novel approach. However, me thinks that this post is going to ruffle some feathers. My take is this: Good Realtors will always survive and thrive even in tough times or especially in tough times. People that sit around complaining about the market are the ones that were probably not that good when the market was right side up.
Hey REBlogirl!
Sometimes we all need a little tree shaking to see the forest in front of us. I don’t mean to insult but rather like the coach on a good team, that tries to challenge you to make you better.
Sometimes he makes you run, sometimes he yells, but he has yours, and the team’s best interest at heart.
I like to think of myself like the Bobby Knight of real estate. (lol)…I just don’t have any chairs to throw around.
If one takes offense or insult at the truth and rejects advice, then they should not be on the team. Maybe it’s more insulting to the others that work hard that they are even allowed to be on the team.
Hopefully there will be some cuts real soon and only the best will get the honor of playing.
I think you’re correct and the ones whose feathers get ruffled are in DENIAL!
Ha!
Great post title!
I happened to come up with similar good play on words in a blog post comment I wrote somewhere out in the real estate blogosphere (which I can’t seem to track down now).
It was something along the lines of real estate agents and “American Idle”.
I often wonder how Greg Swann can sell properties and still have time to crank out the blog, do his meetup thingy, and all the rest. We’re pretty damn busy juggling a half dozen contracts and a dozen or more listings. I just don’t understand how he does it.
inActiveRain is the word! But what’s happening there is happening everywhere. In Central Florida, for example, over 50% of real estate agents are not actively working their listings. (That’s an approximation based on the number of agents who never return my calls and/or are know to now have full-time jobs doing something else.) Seems to me that there is something inherently unethical about REALTORS who don’t disclose to their customers that they aren’t working full-time to sell their properties.
Darhlene..that’s a real interesting question. Might be the basis for a new article. Everything else gets disclosed I wonder if that is something else that needs to be written about.
Mind if I use your comment in an article?
It seems to me that there are some areas of the country where real estate sales and marketing is very much a commodity based business, and where the expectation from sellers is that agents don’t do much for their 5-6% anyway. That’s one reason why there is downward pressure on commissions. Failure to sell is blamed on “the market”, not the marketer.
These agents will eventually let their licenses lapse when they get tired of paying MLS dues, desk fees, association dues, etc without any income to offset them. I’d also bet some agents wash out of the business without even telling their clients.
The smart and the strong will survive, and even thrive.
Dave,
I believe you are right. Just wondering if the clients know what’s going ona nd if it is reasonable to think that one should disclose that they are in fact…looking for other work or indeed working somewhere else?
5-6% seems a lot for a “side job” doesn’t it?
Interesting conversation. . .I recently had a listing appointment that was cancelled because “I didn’t realize my brother-in-law still had his license active and I need to keep it in the family”. . .I checked out said brother-in-law and he has never closed a transaction. It made me start to think about the part-timers and what impact they are having upon the industry as a whole.
The adage 20% of the Realtors in a typical office do 80% of the business is so true. It is a time where you sink or swim. Paying attention to details is important.
Keeping your customers updated on new listings and showing appts results is crucial. Repeat business is a must in this business.
Being a Realtor for 29 years this year I am dealing with challenging younger buyers who are weak on loyalty. No matter how patient and accomodating I am, they want what they want when they want it . Appointments on short notice, no decisions,etc. I don’t feel that they truly appreciate our services and easily buy from other agents on a whim or thru owners which happens sometimes. They lack the courtesy to return Realtor calls or emails if their real estate decisions have turned elsewhere.
Realtors do put a lot of hours into their business. We not only have our day hours but work many hours in the evenings and weekends with sellers and buyers when they are available.
Northwest Ohio areas of Defiance & Bryan do have a great selection of available homes For Sale. There are buyers. They are taking their time with decisions. If properties are priced correctly and Sellers have their homes sparkling clean then they usually sell within a reasonable time frame. National news does try to put a damper on our business painting doom and gloom. It is great that NAR is putting out the message that each local communities economy and real estate market is unique.
Susan Hale/ReMax Realty of Defiance
We have lost a few agents, but not many, since the beginning of the year. The good ones are hanging on and the great ones are still listing. Things are picking up, but not like before. Most people just have to clean up their credit first!
PS. Remember most commissions get split 4 ways, so that one agent isn’t making 5-6%, more like 1.5% on a 6% fee.
Jeez, I just finished commenting about the “water-cooler” problem on AR, and I find this post from you guys! Amen, get the listings sold, plain and simple. I’m amazed that people are still complaining about the market; if the market sucks, change your tactics! Buyers DO Exist!
Most of the Realtors in my region b**** about the slow market. A select few are referring out buyer leads because they’re closing 4 deals a week on their own! What are others doing so wrong that they can’t tap into this market as well??