Jon Purcell

Here's a link to a great article I found on Realtor.com if you are thinking of purchasing a home in Levittown.

10 Steps to home ownership

Enjoy!

Jon

When I first moved to Austin from Philadelphia, I did my best to get out and see what the city had to offer and to meet new people. One of the things I was desperate to find was a decent cheesesteak! Well, I stumbled on to a place down here that makes the best cheesesteak Austin has to offer. I decided to introuduce myself to the owner, and he enabled me to meet a group he was a member of. That group was the Philadelphia Eagles fan club here in Austin! My life seemed complete (for that moment anyway!) cheesesteaks and Eagles fans, two of the best Philly has to offer!

This brings me to the point of my story, to get out there and meet new people! And when you meet someone new, ask them questions and listen to what they have to say. it may just lead you to a group of 50 (or so) people who happen to have the same interstes as you. As for me, I am now working on adding all of the Austin area Eagles fans to my database! One cheesesteak + 50 new contacts = a happy Jon!

P.S.- If you are in Austin and happen to be a Philadlephia Eagles fan, contact me and I will let you know where we watch the games!

Just a quick one today!

I had an interesting experience while attending a NetParty.com networking event last night in Downtown Austin. There was a good amount of people there, I made a few connections and had a martini (or 2!). Overall, I enjoyed myself and I will attend more of their events in the futre, however there is one thing that drove me nuts last night! PEOPLE WHO DON'T BRING BUSINESS CARDS TO A NETWORKING EVENT! Next time you go to a networking event, bring plenty of business cards! Even if you aren't a big business card person, just bring them, it makes your business look good when you show up prepared!

'Till next time,

Jon

I wanted to touch on the importance of following up with people who wander in to your open houses. I generally hold 2-3 open houses a week, sometimes getting great turn outs, some times not. I am generally happy with the way I conduct my open houses, although it is a constant learning process. I like to evaluate each weekend, and see how I can tweak things to make it more productive. The most common issue I face is the lack of follow ups after the open house, and I don't just mean one note or phone call. By follow up, I mean several weeks (some say 6, some say 8) of notes, phone calls, emails, etc... I don't want to bombard and pester people if they aren't interested, but you will generally know if they do not want you to contact them again by the second or third attempt. I have two quick stories that show both sides of the coin.

Story One: In the beginning of June, I held an open house and had a couple come through who were considering buying in the neighborhood I was in. I don't remember the specifics of the conversation, however I do know that my follow up efforts were inadequate. I recently received a reply to a weekly newsletter that I send out stating that the couple had just purchased a lot in that neighborhood and were promptly starting construction on their new home. Oh, and they had found another agent to list their current home. Ok, I obviously didn't do enough to earn their business.

Story Two: Having just been dealt the blow of losing a $300k listing and a lot purchase (see above), I decided that is not going to happen again, if I can help it. So I got out my "Purcell Group Sign In" sheets and started calling. Well, sure enough, someone I had met 3 weeks ago is going to sell there home ($450K) and purchase a bit of a smaller home ($350k). They were "happy that I called" because they have been looking at homes in their desired neighborhood and have narrowed it down to a select few that they are ready to pursue. I have two showings scheduled for this weekend, and hopefully no more (get it?)!!

So, to wrap things up: As bad as Story One was, and as much as it kicked me in the gut, it actually was the main cause of Story Two. So actually it took me losing substantial business to realize my mistake and I will most likely earn a substantial amount more business in the future because of that mistake! The moral of the story is: Don't ever give up on a lead and work it to it's fullest potential!!!

Until next time.

Jon

Good News: I have recently come across a potential client who is looking to purchase a commercial lot and build a convenience store on the grounds. As a direct result of wearing my name badge in public (see my previous blog)!!

Bad News: I have never done a commercial deal before!

Do I refer the client to a commercial "specialist"? Do I keep the client and do my best to learn as much as I can?

I have spoken with seval agents in my office, and each and every one of them have given me a different opinion. I would certainly like to do the deal, but the main question I have to ask myself is: "Is it worth the potential unhappy client and liability for me to do the deal myself?" But if I don't do the deal, and refer it to a "specialist" then how do I learn?

I have recently come up with an idea that I think may be my best option, as long as I'm able to find someone who would be willing to help. I think that I will find an agent with commercial experience and pay them a fee for his/her knowledge and willingness to answer the phone when I have a question. That way, I get to do the deal, learn the process and the agent who helps me also gets paid! I think that will be a win-win for all parties involved, which just happens to be a big part of the KW philosophy!

Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Have a great week!