Responding to cries for attention

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Few children fail to master the skill of gaining attention from their parents and caregivers. Some have multiple ways to get attention, with noise or actions or facial expressions. And we all probably know plenty of adults that still use their bag of tricks to get attention for whatever selfish reason they possess. Sometimes making a small mistake is a way to generate attention; the person that notices your mistake might say something to you when otherwise they might not know you exist. Thats a bit like self-deprecating humor in that you expose your faults or weaknesses so others can gawk and stare. And laugh. My belief is that people recognize faults in others quickly that they have themselves. Other faults may take time to recognize if they do not have first hand experience. I can see faults in a home for sale if I know what I am looking at. The novice may not notice water stains on wood beams, for example.

Advertising is an obvious example of a cry for attention. Some people are offended by a sales pitch while a salesperson recognizes that sales pitch as a highly refined skill. Do you respond to advertising? Do you buy a product or select a service provider because you see their name in print all the time, or hear their jingle on radio or TV? Why does Crest cost more than Colgate? Is it because Crest spends millions in advertising and to recoup that cost they charge more per tube of toothpaste? I suspect so.

What about the Realtor that promotes themselves (their expertise or good looks) and their listings of property for sale. Certainly they are hoping someone will pay attention. Preferably someone will see the promotional material and want more information, possibly leading to action. Advertising and promotional efforts take lots of forms these days. There is still the often effective for sale sign in the yard. And print advertising is not dead yet, though it has fallen way behind electronic marketing in both spending and results. Many pundits have an opinion, but most believe that some 80 to 90% of home buyers first look online before looking in person using the assistance of a licensed salesperson. Some already know the professional they plan to work with, but have already started going through the most interesting inventory of homes. When they are ready to look, they have already shortened their list.

An interesting phenomena is the out-of-town buyer that shops at length online, comes to Santa Fe to look in person and decides to buy their first choice of homes from their time online no matter what else they see in person. They had made up their minds yet wanted confirmation.

A property is not the same in person as it is online. It can never exactly match due to limitations of images, the different light and the lack of touch or smell when you are sitting at a keyboard. Some say the energy is palatable in person while not discoverable online. It is instrumental to look first before you spend all day getting in and out of a car and walking through numerous homes that all start to look alike. Sometimes the second visit to a home is surprising in that it’s not what you remember seeing the first time.

So how does one differentiate the cries for attention from the facts when choosing between Realtors or choosing a home to buy? And are there any facts contained in that act of crying out for attention? Sometimes there are, sometimes not so much. Possibly the most important attribute of an excellent Realtor is knowledge about the market and the process of buying and selling. Newly licensed people can do just fine for their customers; I used to hire and train new Realtors for a living and many went on to become top producers. They may very well have been successful without my help, but the point is everyone has to have knowledge and be able to use it in their career. If you need lots of help, choose someone with patience and knowledge. Maybe life experience is worth more than real estate intelligence on occasion. Both is often the best.

Those print and online property ads are all begging for attention. Don’t you find you have to read the text carefully to determine what is really being said? Code words are used frequently and certain positive aspects are touted even if they seem like minor players. If a property is walking distance to the Plaza, does that tell you that people who are unable to walk are being discriminated against by that claim? Does that tell you its close to music on the bandstand, holiday lights and the fiesta celebrants? Are some statements subject to interpretation or should you take everything at face value? If a home has a unique design, is that good or bad? Maybe a buyer wants traditional and conventional design, not unique. Architecturally stunning is a nice phrase. Is that something you must have in your next home? Are you paying extra for the design that does not add to function?

Take me! Take me! like the kid at the playground not wanting to be left off of either team as the captains choose sides. That’s what our listings are saying, they are crying for attention. They are not wall flowers or shy types standing there in the shadows. If a home is for sale, you everyone should know about it.

Hear Ye Hear Ye !! This home is for sale. Inquire at www.123mainSTREETdotCOM. And while you are on my site, register for a free trip to another part of the world. Drawings hourly!

I try not to respond quickly to advertising. If I am going to spend money, I want to research a little bit first, time permitting. Maybe the heavily advertised product is the one I end up getting, but not because George Clooney told me it was a good thing to have. A yogurt is a yogurt while a teepee is not a yurt. Look it up!

Good luck with your fact checking and your decision-making. Call me for quality assistance.

Posted in Posts & Updates, Real estate career, Santa Fe area real estate and tagged , , , .

The writer is a 68 year-old young man engaged as an active REALTOR (associate broker) with Keller Williams, in real estate sales and management in the Santa Fe NM market area. My career has been in and around the real estate industry for more than 35 years, ranging from mortgage lending (interim, commercial, residential); residential property management and leasing; shopping center development and leasing; real estate sales; sales training; title insurance as an executive and an escrow officer; various management positions; consulting and other related activities. That plus a bunch of banking experience including our family-owned Bank of Santa Fe in the 1980s. Where has the time gone?
My background means you have my working knowledge of the entire transaction process at your disposal. That comes with honesty and no bullshit.