Using the Web and social media to sell real estate

In the last few weeks I have been in touch with all kinds of people, some quite remarkable and positive and a few troublemakers. I think it is statistically impossible to crunch your marketing numbers and never meet any bad apple in the bunch.

What I realized in analyzing this, is that the troublemakers consume much more time than any other person and actually subtract energy and time from many other customers that are just ready to do business with you. So it has become important for me to develop a system that will screen good customers before I engage with them. I don’t want to lose opportunities just because of some complaint, but I want multiply the effectiveness of my efforts avoiding those that are just out there to create chaos.

It is not a perfect system yet, but it has already worked for me, saving many hours of useless concern and aggravation, so I want to share it with you.

1. The very first step is a fairly easy one and will save you most of the trouble. It consists of gathering some information through the Web. You will be amazed how much information is available out there,. You can also ask some questions and notice not only the answer but also the delay before you get an answer (that is usually not a good sign).
2. Second comes a meeting in person, if the type of business requires it. Here you should always believe what you perceive in front on you. Some after seeing or talking with a person for the first time I have the immediate feeling that I don’t want to do business with her. And it usually proves out right. Many difficult relationships could be ended at the very beginning if you just believed your own perceptions.
3. As soon as you see evidence of real trouble, cut the line and move on. I am not talking about complaints or general difficulties that can be part of any business. I am talking about some weird and odd behavior that has no explanation and that looks somewhat crazy or unwarranted. Real troublemakers do very crazy things that they will try to explain or justify to you, but that don’t belong there at all. When they do it, is the cue that tells you it is time to go.
4. In a nutshell don’t go “reasonable” with the many red flags that will inevitably pop up when you deal with these type of people. Recognize for what they are, red flags, and then act accordingly. No business opportunity is worth the aggravation that a real troublemaker can bring you. Screen your key customers like you would screen a tenant or a contractor and you will be happy and will be surrounded by happy and loyal people, always.

Whenever you try to take a client for the money against your better judgment it will never work. Choose the right project don’t go for what looks to be easy money, and by the way, the best way to deal with poor clients is to raise your price. And if the client shows signs of abusiveness, imbalance leave her alone.

With this we touch the golden rule 11 of “The Art of Money Getting” by P.T. Barnum that states: “Be systematic” and that goes more in detail by stating. “A person who does business by rule, having a time and place for everything, doing his work promptly, will accomplish twice as much and with half the trouble of him who does it carelessly and slipshod”.

Hope this will helps you sail through your business day more easily.

Roberto Mazzoni