Has this ever happened to you? You're driving home after a full day's work feeling satisfied and fulfilled from serving clients, friends and family. You are about to turn into your driveway and what should you see in front of the neighbor's house but a For Sale By Owner sign.

What? Seriously? They're practically my next-door neighbor. How could they not know I'm in real estate?

This just happened to me, two doors away on my street this past week. I was surprised, and then I was miffed, and I don't even sell real estate anymore!

What's wrong with these people? Don't they know FSBO's net less on their own than if they hire a Realtor? Don't they know Realtors only get paid if they get results? Don't they know about security and safety concerns?

Then it hit me. Maybe I should go ask them what the heck they're thinking, and didn't they know that . . . And you know what? They didn't know.

Turns out the kids are selling the house for Mom and Dad, who are going into assisted living. Little brother is in charge of finding the buyer and getting the contract to closing, and he lives half an hour away. The house is vacant. They are trying to save money by doing it on their own.

Anyone else see potential problems here?

If only these folks had a trusted advisor. If only they had a close, personal relationship with a Realtor. Someone they would automatically turn to for answers to their real estate questions.

Then another home came up for sale around the corner. This one listed with a Realtor, but not the same company as  the four other listings we have seen in the past 6 months, all by different companies.

This month is our third -year ownership anniversary at this address. Guess how many times we have received a post card announcing a new listing or sale or open house in our neighborhood? Guess how many times we have received a phone call from a Realtor? Guess how many times a Realtor has come knocking on the door?

If you guessed ZERO, you have the correct answer. And isn't ZERO really as wrong an answer as it can be?

I'm not suggesting you start an old-fashioned geographic farm and hand out recipe cards and pumpkins and garage sale signs. After all, this is the 21st Century. We have Social Media. We have apps. We have click funnels.

But we can still do better than ZERO.

Floyd has told us over and over to build close personal relationships with clients AND prospects. Become the trusted advisor, the real estate information source for your sphere of influence. 

If you want to look like you own a given market, send Just Listed announcements. Send Just Sold announcements. Hold open house. Talk to the neighbors. Create an expectation that they will receive real estate information from you whenever something happens in their own back yard. 

The Floyd Wickman Team blog by Mike Pallin

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