Friday, while sipping on his morning coffee, my dad asked me, “What are you doing today?”

Meaning, what do you have planned for work today?

“I have no appointments, so my day will be spent getting appointments!” I laughed.

Really, it’s all there is.

It’s the life of a real estate broker.

You’re either taking care of a current client, or trying to get a new client.

When it comes to real estate sales, it all comes down to getting the appointment.

Recently I heard an ad on the radio from a local real estate company who will offer to buy your house and close in 14 days.

This particular character has been in our market for quite a few years with his “guaranteed sale or I’ll buy it” program.

Why in the world would a real estate company want to buy your house or even go so far as to guarantee the sale?

Here’s what you need to know.

These real estate companies don’t want to buy your house and their guarantees are more difficult to qualify for than getting accepted into Harvard.

Really, they just want you to call them. They just want to get the appointment.

It’s the life of a real estate agent. Get the appointment.

Years ago, I studied all of the “techniques” in the real estate business.

As I dove in and tried to implement the strategies I realized how deceptive they were.

Call capture was one that I fell for and implemented into my business. Here’s how it worked: I put a phone number on top of the sign of a house I had listed, and when you called, I “captured” your cell phone number.

Once I had your number I would just keep calling you until you gave me the all important “appointment.”

Slick huh?

After a few interactions with customers who didn’t know they were giving up their cell phone with this call, I realized I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t deceive people into doing business with me.

Open houses have a similar goal. They aren’t done to market property, instead agents use them to meet new buyers.

“Sign in here, the homeowner wants to know who has come through the house for security reasons.”

At least that’s what they tell the visitor. Truth is they want their name, email, and phone number so they can follow up and “get the appointment.”

Other tactics:

Cold calls. Especially folks who’ve tried to sell their home in the last year and failed. In the industry they call them “expired listings”.

“For Sale by Owners” get this telemarketing treatment as well.

Then there’s Robo-dialing. (telemarketing only on steroids).

Do you know anyone who likes to be on the receiving end of a telemarketing call?

Me neither.

Now agents have turned to the internet to deploy their deception.

They’re called “Instant Offers”. Offered by giants like Zillow, or iHomebuyer, and national real estate brokerages.

Ask yourself, why would they want to buy your house?

There are two scenarios:

First, they want your equity. (where they can turn around and rent your home)

Second, they really don’t want your house, they just want your name and phone number. (where they will turn around and sell to local real estate agents for profit)

Now, do you understand why real estate agents have a lower reputation than a politician?

At Bastion, we believe that there is a better way.

We believe the homeowner should think like an investor. You know, instead of selling your house to an investor with an “Instant Offer”, why don’t you the homeowner become the investor and maximize your profit?

Most folks like this scenario, however, they are not investors and aren’t quite sure where to begin. Well, that’s where we come in. We are experts in this area.

To give you some guidance we’ve created – The Ten Commandments to Selling Your Home.

I know, I know, it’s a little corny, but we needed a way to make it memorable and wanted to ensure that clients know that they are not just suggestions.

If you know a friend or family member who would like a FREE copy of the 6 page “Ten Commandments”, just text me at 513–675–1777, or email me at Ron@BastionRealtors.com.

Oh, and one more thing, I’m available for appointments!