- Computers in our office belong to Buy the Beach Realty Group and are not your personal property.You are not to alter any settings, menus, themes, desktop appearance, taskbar properties or any other settings without specific authorization from David deForrest. it is not possible to support these machines if they are set to a variety of properties, colors, taksbar placements, settings etc. Management must be able to know what the visual appearance of these machines is at all times to give effective support. You may not:
- Alter any properties of desktop, menus, themes, icon size, graphic resolution etc., without specific authorization from management.
- Download any software of any kind for any purpose, including drivers, updates, upgrades etc., without specific authorization.
- Salaried Employees may not browse entertainment sites, personal email sites, or any other web site except those needed for the specific performance of their work. A salaried employee is here to perform services for the company and they do not include passing time in this manner. If we find any salaried staff misusing computers for personal entertainment while on duty they will be disciplined including termination for cause.
- Under no circumstances (none!) is any person except an agent currently licensed to Buy the Beach Realty Group, or a current employee of this company to be permitted to operate, “sit at”, “look at” or in any way make use of the computers in our office. None. Under no circumstances. This includes “personal assistants” who work for you, your accountant, friend, customers, clients etc. No one! Penalty for first violation is $50.00. No warnings.
- The computer is not to be used as a substitute for knowing your inventory. When someone comes to the office without previous appointment, you are to attempt to sell our inventory first. If nothing we have in house will do, you are to make an appointment to view other property and do your research in private.
- Sabotage: Our listings belong to people who have entrusted us with the responsibility of selling their property as fast as we can for as much as they can obtain. Do not sabotage their chances by immediately offering to look up other stuff as in, “We have this, this and this but if you don’t like them, I can look in the computer for something else.” Offer to work with them, that they don’t need anyone else, only after you have exhausted our inventory.
- The computer’s function is for you to use in private to organize appointments and to have access to proprietary information. Your job description is “salesperson” not computer clerk or “address-giver”. At no point have we ever suggested that any customer whatever should be permitted to sit, look over your shoulder and browse the MLS. This is not a sales tool, this is sales-killing tool:
- Because they will see something they can’t have (sold, unavailable, uncooperative agent) and will decide that that, and only that, property will do. They will not make a decision on anything else until they’ve seen that one and if they never do, it will be the fictitious yardstick by which all of your offerings will fall short.
- Because they won’t buy a property from a printout or screen display…they will buy what they buy when they see it and like, no matter what they claim they “must” have.
- Because you will not be able to sell up with a printout. In order to sell effectively you must search properties well above their so-called price cutoff. If you ask would they buy something for 120% of that price they’ll say no. If you take them to it, they’ll buy it (maybe).
- You’re at the mercy of the other agent’s competence or lack of it in filling out the MLS entry.
The way to sell property is to tell them you have a few good properties you are going to present to them, make an appointment and get them to go with you. Reading an MLS printout verbatim to a prospect won’t get you a sale– build enthusiasm to go look at property and make the appointment. That’s all you have to do. The MLS printouts are for you to study prior to a showing so that you can answer questions intelligently. The object of a showing is to convince the buyer that he better make an offer quick, not invite him back to the office for a CMA session, hunting for other items in real-time etc. If he doesn’t like what you showed him, make another appointment.
The computer is a tool for you to know about, not something to parade in front of the customer. They should think that you know everything, not sit there with you watching while you fool around with the computer.
If for some reason you can’t get on line or can’t find what you need you look like an idiot or the company looks unprofessional.
No one is capable of doing proper searches instantaneously while the customer sits at your side.