Lee Iacocca once said, "If you want to be the best, you have to separate yourself from all the talk about quality. And put it in writing." What Mr. Iacocca was referring to was offering a guarantee.

Every retail operation guarantees their products. Every manufacture guarantees their products. Every mail order operator has to guarantee their product or they will quickly find themselves out of business. Every auto shop must guarantee their service. And if you really want to take your business to the next level… YOU must offer a guaranteed as well.

Guarantees make people feel comfortable. Guarantees remove the fear people naturally feel when committing a product or a service. Most important, a guarantee helps the customer retain some control and they are motivated and encouraged and feel comfortable to move forward knowing they can exercise that control if they somehow feel dissatisfied.

Brainstorm and do whatever you have to do to "guarantee" your services and make your guarantees known. Shout it from your pages! Weave it into ALL of your marketing campaigns. For example, you might want to offer sellers an "Easy Exit"guarantee:

• You can cancel your listing at any time
• You can relax, knowing you won't be locked into a lengthy contract
• You will enjoy the quality of service confident enough to make this offer

For buyers, offer a "Love It or Leave It"guarantee:

Buy a home from me and if your circumstances change or you don't absolutely adore it.. I'll sell your home for FREE! Guaranteed!!

Here are a number of other guarantees you might consider calling your own. (Of course, make sure you are able to fulfill on your promise. You certainly don't want to paint yourself in the career-killing corner of over promising and under delivering!)

For Sellers:

Sell your home for 3% more than the average sale -- guaranteed!

I will sell your home in 60 days or I'll pay you.

I will sell your home in 60 days or you own nothing.

Sell your home for 98% of asking pricing -- or I will pay you the difference.

For Buyers:

Save $2,000 to 5,000 on the purchase of your home -- guaranteed! (The idea here is look at your local statistics and determine the average difference between asking price and actually selling price. Then create your "guarantee" on a sliding scale depending upon the value of the home. Easy, not too risky, and very powerful!)

Guarantee your services and you will be greatly rewarded for your efforts - guaranteed!

Also See:

Published: December 7, 1999

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Editor's Note: This article reflects the opinions of Robert Fore only and not necessarily the views of this or any other publication, organization or Website owner.

Robert Fore is the president and CEO for Realty Profit Systems. He is a nationally recognized marketing trainer and strategist who specializes in combining the proven principles of direct response marketing with the cost-effective, worldwide penetration of the internet. Realty Profit Systems publishes the Online Real Estate Marketing Report at http://www.hometeam2000.com and offers a free, weekly e-zine of real estate marketing tips at http://www.top10realty.com.