I opened Professional Home
Sales in March of this year with my partner Margaret Carnes, and
purchased 10 Talking Houses. This has been a phenomenal 9 months
for our new company.
The Talking Houses . . .
we now own 28 machines . . . are wonderful. I never expected these
first 9 months to be so very successful. My income for 9 months has
been more than any of my previous YEARS.
We started a new company
with no listings, and 9 months later I have sold and closed 19 of my own
listings. It's wonderful. Together, my partner and I have had
33 sales, and 23 have been our own listings.
People love the Talking
House . . . many tell us they keep their AM dial set to 1610 to hear about
our houses . . . and we make all of our listings Talking Houses.
They are commercials for us, and Houses that Talk are Houses that Sell.
All of our newspaper ads advertise that our houses Talk, too.
On my message I tell everything
about the houses, including the price. I finish with "Buying . .
Selling . . . Relocating . . . Call 763-HOME, that's Professional Home
Sales, and ask for Judy."
The quality of our showings
really improves with Talking House, and the time on the market is much
shorter than for the average listing without it.
We have sold 2 homes that
had been on the market for one & two years, and sold them in each case
because the buyer stopped to listen, and found features he wanted in a
home. They both became Sold Talking Houses!
One client had a builder
lined up to start the next day. He listened to a Talking House, told
the builder to wait one more day, "there is something I need to see first,"
and bought the Talking House instead.
By the way, my partner recently
sold one of her listings (which had been on the market for 6 months with
another firm) the second day it was a Talking House with her. The
buyer said he "tuned in," and was amazed because he had no idea the house
had so many wonderful features by just looking at the outside. Many
Thanks, Talking House.
(And Many Thanks to you,
Judy, for sharing your experience. I hope others will take the time to
share their experiences with The Newsletter. Your comments are always
valued, whether just a quick idea, or a whole detailed story. Please
contribute!)
Tech Tip
Ground Fault Detector (GFI)
outlets just don't work. The FCC makes us operate only in grounded outlets,
and the GFI is "confused" by the circuits we put in the Broadcaster to
see if the outlet is grounded. You may find these in bathrooms, kitchens
and garages. The Broadcaster will "trip" them, but no damage
will occur. Just use another outlet.
*Remember...
our Broadcaster is a perfect
"grounded outlet detector." If the unit does not "light up," the
outlet is not grounded, even if it has a 3-hole socket. Try another
outlet, or check your instruction sheet to see how to make an ungrounded
outlet grounded.
Persistence:
You
miss 100 percent of the shots you never take
Wayne Gretzky
Paying Sponsors for your Talking
Houses
Mary Cain found that H &
R Block was happy to pay to have a short message on her Broadcasters.
On the tail end of her message,
she might say something like "Now's the time of year to consider how buying
or selling your home can save you money on your income taxes. H &
R Block is a sponsor of the Talking House Broadcasts, and their associates
are available to discuss with you the impact a purchase or sale may have
on your taxes."
Mortgage Brokers, Title
Companies, Appraisers, Movers, all want access to your clients, and you
hold the key.
As a new service we are
now offering, we'll help you get sponsors. If you'll fill out our
Talking House Sponsor form, we'll try to arrange local sponsors to purchase
additional Talking House units for you, or supplement the units you already
own. Call today for a fax copy.
Listing Presentation Idea
Do your homework.
Before you make the presentation, learn all you can about the home, the
neighborhood, schools, shopping, etc. Then record a flattering message
about the property on one of your Talking House Broadcasters.
Carry the unit with you
in it's little carrying bag. During your presentation, stress that
you'd like to be at their home 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a week until their
home gets sold. Then pull out your Broadcaster, plug it in, and play
the message for them.
When it's played once or
twice through, turn it off, pull out a pen and paper, and ask their input
on what else should be part of your message -- what do they think is most
special. After they've coached you on the message, and you've listened
to their ideas closely, you're a shoe in.
(If you don't have a nice carrying bag, call -- they're just $5.
Better yet, contribute to the Newsletter and get one free!)
Thanks, Talking House
Recently, 6 houses went
on the market in my own neighborhood, virtually all at the same time.
So I place a Talking House in my own home.
I explained to drive-bys
who "tuned in" to my message that the listing agent must act as the agent
of the sellers. I then asked everyone who tuned to let me represent
them in buying a house in this neighborhood as the buyer's broker.
And I explained how that would benefit them.
It worked great. I
sold 3 out of the 6 houses, and I took on 2 other clients. I received
commissions all these deals. Thanks Talking House!
Dennis DiTinno,
Dennis F. DiTinno Realty
Just Getting Started
One good way to get some
attention, and develop contacts for listings presentations, is to hold
an open house in another agent's listing. Remind the agent that she
can't be everywhere, and if you hold one of her listings open on Sunday,
you'll let the seller know you are doing it at her request -- make her
look good to her seller.
And the open house may lead
to a sale that gets her a listing commission. Not every agent will
go along with this approach, but they'd be crazy not to. The seller
will appreciate it.
Then you make that listing
a Talking House for a day. Everyone who stops by the house will tune
in. You can invite prospects in to the home right on your message.
And you should let them know that you would make their home Talk too, if
they have a home to sell.
As they walk through the
home, you have a chance to tell them all about Talking House, give them
a Blue Brochure, and develop lots of people who would like their home "on
the air" too. If you need listings, and have a free Sunday,
this works
Message Idea
If you want to have fun,
try this: Part way through your Talking House message, just
stop for about 2 seconds, and then say "Hey you, parked out front -- I'm
watching You!"
Then pause for another
2 seconds to let it sink in, before saying "No, no, I'm just kidding
-- this is a recording! I sure had you going, though. Say,
while I've got you, let me tell you about the..."
If you do it in a
playful spirit, you'll really get some big laughs. People will
call and tell you how you had them looking out their car window to see
who was watching them!
Remember, Talking
House is a way to let people feel they know you. Don't just be a
name in the phone book -- or a timid voice on the radio. Have FUN!
What Else should we do to make Talking
House work even better for you?
Over the 18 months, we have
made many changes because of the great feedback we've gotten from Talking
House Agents.
It was Diana Hooper with
Coldwell Banker who suggested the little Stickers. And many agents
asked for the message extra time we just added, as well as the elimination
of the "battery back-up".
The nice new carrying bags
are also a result of your feedback, as are the little "STOP" signs we added
to the yard signs. So please keep that feedback coming. We're
listening!
Recent Free Press coverage for Talking
House Agents:
Congratulations to the following Talking House Agents on their recent
free publicity:
Jim Shoultz with Coldwell Banker Heritage in Durango, CO was
in both the Four Corners Weekly and the Durango Herald.
Donna Marion of Marion Realty Talking House in Roland, OK
had a nice spot on KFSM-TV.
Don Kanne of Kanne Realty in Carroll, IA was in Carroll Today
Adam Halstead of Century 21 Halstead in Flint, MI was in the
Flint Journal
Dorothy Brown with J.D. Reece in Belton, MO was in the Belton
Star Herald
Judy Weising with Century 21 Bucher in Findlay, OH was in
The Courier
Glenn Parrish with Parrish Properties Talking House in Sherman,
TX was in Howe Enterprises
Len Knitter with E.R.A. Kraus in Sun Prairie, WI was in The
Star Newspaper
We work very hard to get
free press coverage for our Talking House agents, and we have good luck
at it. If you've forgotten to send in your press information sheet,
please do so today, or call for a copy by fax if you've lost yours.
We'd love to get you coverage.
More "Talking House" Firms
These fine firms have recently
added Talking House to their "Doing Business As" name, to gain greater
exposure for themselves and the extra service they provide:
Century 21 Preferred Talking House, in Milpitas CA
Parrish Properties Talking House Realty, in Sherman TX
Marion Realty Talking House, in Roland OK
Premier Realty Talking House, in Essex Junction VT
Five Star Talking House Real Estate, in Saginaw MI
(This option is available
free to any firm serious about promoting their Talking House edge.
Call for a copy of the simple Company Name Agreement, or check your Marketing
Handbook.)
Small Ads that Work
Under Listings Wanted:
"List With Us On Friday, Your House will TALK By Monday" Thomas Stackhouse,
PA, says this really makes the phone ring.
The
harder I work, the luckier I get.
Sam Goldwyn |
