The Power of a Phone Call

About a year and a half ago, I got a phone call from a nice lady in Michigan that was interested in helping her son start the house-buying process. He is a teacher in Eastern Loudoun and she thought it might be time for him to buy a place of his own. We had a very thorough conversation about the home buying process, the real estate market in Northern Virginia and the difficulties of being a first-time buyer (like her son). At the end of the conversation it was left that she would get back to me, but she never did. That is, not until last week.

It turns out she really liked our conversation but had misplaced my contact information and wasn’t able to call me directly. Remembering that I was a RE/MAX agent located in Ashburn, VA she went to work on the internet. A stop at REMAX.net allowed her to search for agents in Ashburn, VA. Perusing the list, her eyes stopped when she got to my name. A last name like ‘Thiewes’ has a way of standing out. Now with my name and phone number in hand, she gave me a call. Turns out, the time was now right for her son to buy his first house.

After our conversation, Mary wrote me the nicest email. I just have to share.

Dear Dan,

Thank you for your willingness to help Brad in making a decision about purchasing a condo and helping him to find the right one if he decides to go forward.

As you told me the other day, he’s normal in being apprehensive about taking such a big step and he needs to learn about the buying process and what it involves and I believe you’re the right person to give him the guidance and information he needs.

My conversation with you over a year ago made a huge impression on me for a number of reasons. You took the time to talk to me and you made me feel like our conversation was the most important thing you could be doing at the moment, even though I was calling from another state just to get a little information on a home purchase for my son. I never felt rushed or that I was taking your time away from something more important that you could be doing. You talked to me in the same way I imagine you talk to friends or long-term clients. What also impressed me was that only selling someone a property to make a sale was not your priority, but that you wanted it to be a “good” sale because you know that if it’s good for the client it will be good for you. I was impressed when you said you would advise against the purchase of a property that you believe may be difficult to resell in the future because that would be bad for your client and bad for you.

I’m happy Brad contacted you and I’m sure he’ll call tonight to fill us in. Sounds great about the lender and I’m sure if a purchase happens at some point, you’ll have good advice on insurance and other matters. And of course, as parents, Bill and I will be there to support Brad and to give our advice/opinions, too.

Thank you, Dan! Thank you for being so “nice” the first time we talked–it made me remember you!
Mary

This email really made my day.

If you’re a first-time buyer (or you know of someone that would like to buy their first house) give me a call so we can start the ball rolling. I promise your will feel the same way as Mary did.