The Informational Slaesman

Volume 4 Number 26 November 14, 2006

The Informational Salesman

I have been shopping for a car lately. What an education! And I don’t man about cars, I mean about car salesmen. It certainly is not easy finding a knowledgeable salesman; a salesman that knows his product as well as the competition. I want my job of shopping for a car to be easy, not hard. Most car sales people make it hard.

I did go to the Fort Myers boat show last week. I went for a half day on Thursday and a half day on Friday. Unlike car salesman most of the sales people I met at the boat show knew their stuff. They knew boating, fishing, cruising, and they knew their competition. I learned a great deal and saw some great boats. Heck, I enjoy boat shopping! Most of the sale people were enthusiastic about their boats.

So what does this have to do with real estate? I believe a good informational sales person is needed now more than ever in our market. The soft Lee County, Florida market with 12,000 homes, 8000 condos, and wide variety of commercial opportunities on the open market requires an expert’s advice and guidance. My shopping for a car and boat made me think about all the real estate people that have recently dropped out of the business. These were normally not the top performers. In most cases they were the ones that were not contributing to the transaction as much as they could.

In order to be a successful sales person today you have to be an informational salesman (I measure success by income, happiness with the job, and repeat business). My value as a salesman in a sales transaction is directly related to how much I can contribute to the transaction. In real estate this means I have to master many things – from trustworthiness, to negotiating skills, to product and community knowledge. I need to offer my customer an informational advantage; I must make no promises I cannot keep; and offer more than is asked. But it all comes down to how much information I can impart to the customer; how much value I can add to the deal.

I was on a listing presentation last week for a new office park we will be handling the marketing for. Eric, one of our commercial specialists, was well prepared for the meeting. He not only did all the comparables in the area, he had visited them, knew the similarities and differences, and did a thorough presentation for our client. Based on the information we supplied, our client was able to make an informed decision about his product design, pricing and timing.

In residential buying now, information is absolutely critical. On www.realtor.com most shoppers can get the specific information that they need about a particular house – as long as it is listed on the MLS. What they cannot get is a feel for pricing trends. They cannot get the big picture feel; where the deals are or who is making the best deals.

I have perceived a general feeling that real estate agents will be needed less and less and the more and more information is available on the internet. I strongly disagree. Yes, of course there is more information available and the client can get it without the help of an agent, but it is my position that a knowledgeable agent can help sort this information and put it into perspective: financial perspective, market perspective, and personal perspective.

I participate in real estate forums on the internet. There is a general distrust of real estate agents in some of these forums, that agents are greedy, lazy, and un-needed. While this may be true of some agents, it is also true that a good one is worth much more than a seller will have to pay him.

When you look for an agent, look for one that can add value to your transaction. Don’t use your best friend’s cousin, just because you know him. Interview agents and interview some of their current and past clients if possible. Look for an expert in your particular area. – be it a product type, a geographical location, or a price range.

There are many sellers now that need to unload properties that are superfluous to their needs. These may be the investors that bought hoping to flip before they closed and now they are carrying two or three mortgages. These sellers need to get realistic with their prices. I have sellers tell me that they will be happy to get their original money out of the deal. In many cases they need to accept severe loses – and have no hope of getting their original investments back. They don’t want to hear this and I sure as heck don’t like telling them this, but some real estate agents are getting listings for these properties at prices that will never sell – at least not for the next few years.

If you have a residential property that you want to sell, email deb@ma-realty.com with all the details. She will give you an honest CMA and review your chances of selling your property.

If you are looking to buy, this is a SUPERB time to talk to Debbie. Let us negotiate your next deal. I in fact am a buyer in this market. Rates are low, sellers are negotiable, and there is a very large inventory to pick from.


The commercial real estate business is very strong. We have good investment opportunities from $600,000 and up. We are still very high on new construction commercial office space and this is indeed our specialty. The older properties are more of a burden with high insurance rates and high upkeep. Apartment investing is strong now and we have a few large multi-family parcels. High leverage income property is no longer as attractive as it once was. Look for 25% to 40% down strokes. Contact me at Gregg@ma-realty.com with questions.