By Carole Hawkins, [email protected]
When a homebuyer gets a new house, usually a Realtor and builder both work the deal.
Sometimes the partnership feels like a bad marriage, though.
“Why do we drive each other crazy?” said Kimberly Mackey, a real estate sales and marketing consultant. “It’s because we’re coming from different perspectives.”
Mackey spoke about the relationship between Realtors and builders –– or sometimes, the lack thereof - during the NEFBA Sales and Marketing Council’s October breakfast meeting.
It was timely topic to kick off the annual Realtor-Builder Trade Show, where scores of builders passed out treats, brochures and business cards to Realtors, inviting them to bring buyers into their freshly-built communities.
Do Realtors and builders struggle when thrown together on a deal? Mackey had a ready example.
She recently pitched in when an onsite agent was momentarily called away from her post. Mackey welcomed a couple into the model, offered them a cup of coffee, and asked about their home search.
The Realtor who came with them ripped the visitor registration form out of Mackey’s hand. The rudeness pushed the buyer to tears.
“Do you think that Realtor sold them that home?” Mackey said. “Oh, no. When you make your prospects cry, that is not a good thing.”
Here’s what’s going on, Mackey said.
Realtors earn an average income of $39,070. They may do only six transactions per year.
“If you have one of their buyers –– one out of those six –– do you think they might be a little controlling of that?” Mackey said.
What onsite agents tell Realtors is – Bring your buyers over and we’ll make it easy for you. We’ll handle everything, Mackey said.
What Realtors hear is – I’m going to suck that buyer away from you, be their BFF and they’re going to be my referral.
So, builders need to reassure agents they are there to partner with the Realtors, not compete with them.
Do builders need Realtors? Yes, Mackey said. Realtors do a better job of getting actual buyers. They do it through relocation programs within their company, their sphere of influence, cold calling, door knocking, Internet leads and IDX feeds.
“Builders can spend a ton of money on advertising. And it’s been said, they waste about 50 of their advertising dollars,” Mackey said. In Florida, Realtors, not marketing campaigns, bring about 70 percent of the buyers to new homes, she said.
But where builders shine is converting a lead into a sale, because they understand their product.
Here, Realtors need to give onsite agents a chance to get to know the buyer a little, and time to show them how the house may work for them.
And when a buyer is sold on a house, let them buy it. Don’t push them down the road to the three other home showings scheduled for the day, Mackey said.