September is National Association of REALTORS Safety Month.

I would like to share some safety techniques so that we all can do our jobs safely.

We have to feel safe in our job in order to perform effectively. There are three areas of our job that I will cover in three different blogs; Listing Appointments, Buyers Showings, and Open House Hosting. This first blog will cover Listing Appointments.

Try to make your appointments during daylight hours,

Check the deed and make sure that all sellers are present. Leave your appointment info with your broker, spouse, or friend. Drive to the appointment and be observant of the neighborhood. Don’t park where you could be locked in and not be able to leave. Lock your pocket book and valuables in your car, hidden from sight. Bring another sales associate with you. The buddy system works well to deter any threat to your safety.

Remember that in order to lessen your risk of becoming a victim be aware of your surroundings and trust your sixth sense. Getting a listing is not as important as your safety.

If you would like more information contact me. Like, share and subscribe to my blog.

I’m Ric Giumenta. You can have a good day or a bad day. It’s your choice. Make good choices.

See you next time!

We all know that a great source of business can be gotten from our past customers and our sphere of influence.

But what are you doing to make sure you’re getting that business?

In order to do this, you must be in front of your buyers and sellers when they are ready to do business. How do you know when they are ready? Well, most of the times we don’t. That means we have to be in front of the buyers and sellers all of the time.

So, how do we do this?

Marketing yourself is the answer. Are you visiting your past buyers with small gifts on a regular basis? Do you have a strong online presence? Are you active in all the social media outlets? Print media is not dead yet, snail mail and e-mail your information. Are you distributing your personal brochure and newsletter? Are you marketing your listings to other MLS associates? Don’t forget the local opportunities, like sponsoring athletic teams, church bulletins, school parent groups, volunteerism with your local agencies, I can go on and on with local opportunities. And some of the sources are free, but you’ll need your time and effort to do it.

Don’t be a secret agent! Make sure that you are out there, so that when buyers and sellers are thinking about real estate, you are the one they are thinking about!

I’m Ric Giumenta. You can have a good day or a bad day. It’s your choice. Make good

Closing for a signature is sometimes difficult.

I use the assumptive close and just expect the customer to sign! Sometimes that’s all I need, but sometimes it’s not enough!

Not all customers are ready the first time you ask. When this happens, wait for some response from the customer before you proceed. There are many reasons why they may not be ready. Most of the time the answer is in the information that you gathered in your warm up or in your presentation. Go back over the issue and ask again!

You can probably ask for a signature three times before you have to let the customer off the hook! Acknowledge that they are not ready and make an appointment for another time to discuss the issues preventing them from signing.

I’m Ric Giumenta. You can have a good day or a bad day. It’s your choice. Make good choices.

I have always said that God gave us two ears and one mouth.

We should use them in that proportion! Your presentations should be less talking and more listening! So how can you do this? Use the “answer a question with a question technique”.

For example, in responding to a phone inquiry about a home; “Does this home have three bedrooms? My answer will be “Do you need three bedrooms or would four be better? Now sometimes, when repeating this technique, it might get a little obnoxious! So, mix it up. You can answer the question, then ask a question! “Yes, this house has three bedrooms. If I can find one with four bedrooms in your price range, would you be interested in that?”

You will find yourself using this technique more often and your understanding of your customer will increase. This will result in more closings.

You can have a good day or a bad day. It’s your choice. Make good choices.

I believe in the Affirmation Principle.

Affirmations are positive statements that reinforce positive outcomes. In order for this to work, you must write them down every day. Some may be aspirational; something that you would like to happen. You can repeat them as often as you need. So how will this help you in real estate? It helps you to always remain positive.

Don't go on listing appointments. Go and get listings. By just saying that you are going on an appointment you're leaving not getting the listing on the table. Stop showing property. Start selling property. Features tell and benefits sell. During your presentation, always follow a feature with how that feature will benefit the customer. Customers buy benefits not features.

I always close with the assumptive close. I assume they'll sign the contract. Closing starts when you meet your customer. I assume that they will buy from the begging, do a proper presentation, and ask for the order!

I'm Ric Giumenta. You can have a good day or a bad day. It's your choice. Make good choices.