Reynolds Bickerstaff 
What to do on Memorial Day in Columbus, GA
Posted on May 20, 2013 Leave a Comment
Are you leaving the office early on Thursday to head out of town this year? It’s not too late to change your plans and reserve your seat along the banks of the Chattahoochee River and watch the festivities surrounding Opening Weekend of the Longest Whitewater Course in the World!! If you want to jump in a boat contact White Water Express. Fireworks, Music, Rafting, a Dragon Boat Race and so much more to experience in Uptown Columbus.
This year we are staying right here at home.
How Do You Define Great Service?
Posted on May 9, 2013 Leave a Comment
I drove my daughter to school on Tuesday this week and almost failed as a parent. Her lunch box was left sitting on the kitchen counter and I was half way downtown when I realized my blunder. Where could I pick up a lunch item during breakfast time? Sending her to school with a box of Munchins from Dunkin Donuts was not an option.
So I pulled into a parking spot in front of Iron Bank Coffee, on the corner of Broadway and 11th Street. The employee saved the day! Where else could I find a grilled cheese sandwich at 9:00 am? Also, they sliced the apple into small pieces and placed it in a cup with a lid, so it would stay fresh until lunchtime.
Customers do not evaluate your service in rational or logical ways. Service is highly charged and emotional. Great Service: Providing consumers with a positive buying or selling experience in which the client feels that you have earned every dollar of your commission.
Thank you Iron Bank Coffee for providing great service!
Buying a Luxury Home at Auction
Posted on April 26, 2013 Leave a Comment
I attended my first Luxury Home Auction with a client last week, which was very interesting. This auction advertised Absolute, No Minimum, No Reserve. After preparing our strategy for 2 weeks, I still left the auction with an uneasy feeling. Not about the results, but about the Auction Company. I reminded myself that the Auction Company’s primary objective is to generate the Highest Return for……..you guessed it, the Auction Company.
I do believe that all parties involved achieved their objective, so the auction was a success.
Buyer
- purchased their dream home at a reasonable price, well below replacement cost and market value
Waddell Realty
- successfully represented their client
Auction Company
- generated a commission
Sellers
- sold their property and drastically reduce the amount of days on market and monthly expenses to maintain a large luxury home
Tips for attending a Luxury Home Auction
- Don’t trust the Auction Company
- Read all documents 3-4 times
- Bring your REALTOR
- Don’t trust the Auction Company
Advantages of Small Town Life
Posted on February 24, 2013 Leave a Comment
We often travel 90 miles North to Atlanta for live performances, but this past Friday Night we stayed right at home. The Black Jacket Orchestra performed Dark Side of The Moon in its entirety, as well as other hits from Pink Floyd, at the Bill Heard Theatre inside River Center. We met friends at The Loft, ran 1/2 block in the rain to the show, and were home by 10:30 pm. Having a world class performing arts center in Uptown Columbus, is just one of the Advantages of Small Town Life.
The Unexpected Valentine
Posted on February 14, 2013 Leave a Comment
Does an Unexpected Valentine get your attention? Will it keep your attention? We use Gimmickry to get attention, but this is not a good strategy for holding someone’s interest.
Do you agree, if your clients listened to you during your presentations, they would agree with your recommend sales price or only want to view homes they would love living in?
The first problem of communication is getting peoples’ attention. Do you feel sometimes that your clients aren’t listening and you really don’t have their attention? The most basic way to get someone’s attention is this: break a pattern
Would you agree that most agents approach the Listing Presentation the same way? And Would you agree that most agents promote/execute the Open House the same way?
Surprise gets our attention and Interest keeps it. You need to violate our schema for “listing presentations”, “buyer presentations” and “open houses”. You can accomplish this with the “Gap Theory” of Curiosity.
The Gap Theory relies on our ability to point out things that people don’t know, but want to know. Battling their overconfidence is tough because people now know ……………. Everything.
- First, they must realize they need these facts. They want to know the answers. However, one complication is that people tend think they know a lot and we can’t just tell them the facts. They need to feel a gap in their knowledge by getting them to ask themselves What will happen next? Was I right?
- What they don’t know is what someone like themselves should do in a situation like this. It’s our job to break through, in an UNEXPECTED WAY, to open a gap in their knowledge and then close that gap.