Tony & Darcy - The C Team's Blog

One of, if not the biggest thing we do with our clients is educate them.  We teach them the process of selling or buying a house clear through the escrow and closing phases of the transaction.  One area that we have dropped the ball with some clients is educating them that we are independent contractors.  We had this happen after a client that was supposed to come and look at properties one weekend.  It was a snowy miserable travel weekend so when they didn't call, even-though they had been asked to call, she assumed that they had decided not to come.  With the storm she got busy doing something else, and when she contacted them they had come up to the office and gone out with the floor agent.

They were surprised that Darcy would contact them.  Should Darcy have followed up on Saturday, yes, but at the same time we need to make sure that our clients realize that even-though we work at the same agency, they need to ask for us if we aren't right there.  Our office has a policy that if you are working the floor you are supposed to ask walk-in or call in clients if they have been working with an agent.  Our broker is pretty firm that if an agent is the procuring cause to a client coming to our company, they should be compensated for bringing them in.  I don't know whether the floor agents asked, I am sure they did.  The point is, we dropped the ball in two areas.

First we should have called the client on Saturday to verify if they were coming, and at what time.

Second we should have explained that in Utah, we are all Independent Contractors.  Our agency likes to have all the clients that it can get, it helps in our marketing efforts to maintain that we are the top producing agency in the area.  However unlike Walmart we do not get paid if the client buys from the sporting goods department instead of the garden shop.  Anyway enough of the frustration with ourselves, just hoping that other agents can learn from our mistakes!  More importantly, I am hoping that by writing it down, we can learn from our mistakes!  Have a great weekend!

As I was going over the Internet, looking for something insightful to write into a blog, I noticed that most of what I was finding had already been covered in other blogs.  I then set out to find a good thought for the day.  I found a good quote by Eleanor Roosevelt.  It says: "Someone once asked me what I regarded as the three most important requirements for happiness.  My answer was:  A feeling that you have been honest with yourself and those around you; a feeling that you have done the best you could both in your personal life and in your work; and the ability to love others."

I thought that was a great quote.  At the end of the day this is really the essence of what makes life go forward.  Being successful in any endeavor whether it is Real Estate or what ever requires these elements.  I especially like that she tied our personal lives with our professional lives, they are so intertwined.  And really we are in a people business, so if we can't love others what chance do we have to succeed?  It is a great quote and one that I thought that I would file into my memory so that I would be able to remember what is at the core of happiness in my career and life.  Have a Great rest of the week!

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, or if it is just in our market, but interest rates seem to be creeping up everyday.  At least the mortgage brokers that send us a daily email their rates have gone up everyday this week.  Those buyers that are still sitting on the fence waiting for prices to go down even more, are risking a higher payment due to higher interest rates, in effect wiping out any potential savings they think that they will realize by waiting to see if prices will drop any further.

Darcy was at a training this afternoon and the opinion in our office is that things are moving enough so that on average, prices should stop dropping and the near consensus was that over the next 12 months we should see prices rize 0 to 5%.  This is good for sellers, but it is also good for buyers.  This will allow buyers who are sitting on the fence the opportunity to get off and remove those splinters before they become infected.

Has anyone heard of TQ results training?  I received an email yesterday, it looked pretty interesting.  They offered a free download book, which I downloaded.  I havent' had the time to read it through yet, but it contains some interesting incite into success and how it is achieved.  Of course, it does ask for an enrollment to get the entire book with it's accompanying workbook as well as coaching etc. 

Like I said it appears interesting on the surface, I was just wondering if any of you Active Rainers had heard of it or used it.  To their credit, they have not been a pain, bugging with a million follow up emails or phone calls, which I like!  Anyway if anyone has additional info, good or bad, I would appreciate it.  Thanks in advance!

Hello again!  Well the sun is out and there is once again this week some great new listings on our Multiple Listing Service.  As I have mentioned before, we have some great starter homes and some wonderful brand new "move up" homes.  One thing that I haven't mentioned about many of our homes is that several come on half acre and larger lots.  Many areas allow for horses, thus giving one the option of a mini ranch.  There are several areas that have been built as mini ranches with 2 1/2 acre and larger lots. 

So if you are looking for a place for horses, or you just don't want neighbors right on top you, give us a look.  This week is an especially nice week to do so, we still have some snow on the ground, but the temperatures are climbing into the 50's.  The one drawback is that there are some dirt roads that are a little muddy this time of year.  If you do come this way, give us a shout, we would be happy to help with any of your needs or answer your questions!