Realtors: Why your vendor sphere is important.
We know the adage “You are the company you keep”, and this couldn’t be truer in Real Estate. Much of our focus in our job is about what we are doing, how our clients are doing, and the nuances of the deals we are involved in. All of this while hundreds of vendors are asking for our business. Mortgage lenders, title companies, home warranty companies, insurance brokers, roofers, inspectors, the list goes on. We need these vendors; they are a crucial part of our business and can make or sometimes break the client’s experience. You want to be discerning in selecting who to work with. Here are some strategies on putting together a successful vendor team:
First impressions: Your clients will experience the same first impressions as you do. Trust your gut in the way you feel when talking with a vendor. Are they client focused? Do they communicate well? Do they present themselves professionally? If my client were to look that person up on social media, would they be impressed or at least not offended? The vendors you align your business with are an extension of you, your business, and your brand.
Offerings: There will be times where a vendor that offers a very specialized service is important. In general though, and because we are typically under tight deadlines, vendors that offer a wide range of offerings can be preferable. For example, mortgage companies that offer many different programs and options for your buyers is ideal because it makes the experience easier for your client.
Experience: Usually it’s best if your vendor sphere has adequate experience. Not to say you shouldn’t ever offer a chance to a newer vendor, but vendors with experience in their field will often be able to approach the variety of real estate pitfalls confidently and faster than someone new to the job.
Communication: Your preferred vendor should be easy to get a hold of, period. It shouldn’t matter if you text, call, or email, that vendor should respond to your communication in an appropriate amount of time. Nothing is worse than when you are on a deadline, and you are chasing people down to respond to you (especially when they have asked for your business in the first place). If they don’t respond to you quickly, they also won’t respond to your client quickly.
Look beyond the marketing rep: Most of your first interactions with vendors will be through their marketing reps, who are easy to love. Your relationship with the marketing rep is key because they can help facilitate your connection with a specific service provider at their company, and can many times assist in any issues that come up (their job is very valuable). However, it is important to give the same amount of attention to the actual service provider and their support staff. For example, when choosing a preferred title company, you need to pay equal attention the escrow officer, their assistants, and their office attorney.
Ask your broker and other Realtors: You can streamline how long it takes to put together a great vendor team by asking other experienced agents. They can provide you first-hand experience and put you in the right direction with some vendors. Furthermore, if a client asks you “Have you used them before?” you can confidently tell them that you haven’t, but an experienced colleague has.
Options: For vendors like inspectors and mortgage lenders, providing options is best. I like to have a short list of 3 or 4 for my clients to choose from.
BONUS TIP:
Don’t get distracted: You are not required to accept meeting requests with anyone you don’t want to, including vendors. I typically suggest that newer agents take a few meetings with vendors to help build their relationships and to plug into some of the vendor offerings like classes. But feeling pressured to accept vendor meetings when you have other focuses should be avoided. When my schedule doesn’t allow for meet ups, I simply say “I’m not able to schedule vendor meetings at this time due to my current workload, but how about a call in January?” -something like that.
Your vendor relationships should enhance your business, not take away from your business. You’ll become a better agent through witnessing these vendors do their job. It will create great synergy and flow to your business, and most importantly provide an exemplary experience to your clients.
