Continuum of Service Levels
There exists in my company several different levels of service I offer to my customers so they can decide exactly what they want. After all, our motto is “Don’t buy what you don’t need.” It’s been that for years.
We have always offered the traditional, full-service type listing where we do all of the work involved marketing, showing, negotiating and selling people’s home. It is self-contained and it is fairly expensive.
Standard
We also offer a Minimum service listing where we work as a team with the seller. We put the house in the MLS and we help the seller with the process to get the house ready, answer the phone calls, show the house and negotiate the sale. The seller does the work, we just teach them how. And answer questions when they come up. We review offers if they want us to and help with negotiation if they want us to. We are a bit like training wheels, but the seller does the pedaling.
Premium
There is another level of service that is like that last one except gold-plated. It has professional photography, weekly phone calls from me, and three groups of emails, each a flyer to about 7000 Realtors, and a lot more.
On-line MLS entry-only
Then we also have an on-line level of MLS-entry only. It includes fewer pictures, a shorter term of service, very little involvement on my part as far as advice, tips, or negotiating help.
The different levels of service, of course, cost different amounts. If our standard level is a steak, and our Premium is like a prime rib, then probably our MLS-entry-only level is our hamburger. Many of the people who order and pay for the hamburger get disgruntled and upset when they don’t receive a steak. That is very awkward to explain to customers, and from time to time I wonder how people think the way they do.
The worst part is when one of my customers who didn’t know any better and never asked makes a mistake on his contract . I’ve had a customer tell me “I didn’t know I could do that. Nobody told me. Can I go back and change that?” And, of course, they can’t. I know I shouldn’t worry, but it does bother me. I can’t save them all, and I am not the pushy type, but sometimes people don’t realize they don’t know what they don’t know.
I had one customer ask me one time, “OK, I’ve got it in the MLS, now what can I do to actually go ahead and sell it?” That bothered me because I didn’t want to say to him that he should have sprung for the level with more help. So I am writing a book just for him. I will send it to him. He probably wanted a quick answer to his question, but it’s not that simple. I have spent three decades answering that question. But that topic will have to wait until our next session.
Thanks,
Don Martin, Martin Properties (615) 973-8970
www.MLS-TODAY.com/store
