In our role, whether it be Mortgage Broker, Realtor or Financial Advisor, we all end up meeting clients that we’ve never met before and we don’t always meet them in the office. The more comfortable we get in our role, the more likely we are to become lackadaisical about our personal safety, and social media certainly doesn’t help.

We thought that this month, a refresher about safety tips might be in order.

  1. Meet in public places: When you have a new client, ask him/her to stop by your office, during regular office hours, for your initial meeting or meet at a coffee shop. Unless the referral is from a trustworthy source, avoid going to their home or other private locations when others won’t be around (ie. your office at night). Also, be sure that someone, a co-worker or family member, knows who you’re meeting, where and when you’ll be done. If they don’t receive a phone call, or see you, by a certain time, you should have a plan to try to establish contact or contact the authorities. If you’re in an office environment, a board listing agent names, destination, client name, date and expected return time will certainly help keep track of everyone.
  2. Know who you’re meeting: If some is referred to you, be sure to call the client or friend who referred them and get some details about them and to ensure they were actually referred. Do a social media search to see what they look like and find out some basic details about them (ie. where the work, are they married, what do they look like). This will help to ensure the meeting is legitimate. Sign-up for caller ID on your phone, and automatically reject calls from numbers that have been blocked. This will provide you with immediate information about the source of the call.
  3. Showing properties: Show properties before dark. If you are going to be working after hours, advise your associate or first-line supervisor of your schedule. If you must show a property after dark, turn on all lights as you go through, and don’t lower any shades or draw curtains or blinds. Also, always have your prospect walk in front of you. Don’t lead them, but rather, direct them from a position slightly behind them. You can gesture for them to go ahead of you and say, for example, “The master suite is in the back of the house.”
  4. Don’t be too public: Limit the amount of personal information you share. Consider advertising without using your photograph, home phone number and/or home address in the newspaper or on business cards. Don’t use your full name with middle name or initial. Use your office address—or list no address at all. Giving out too much of the wrong information can make you a target.
  5. Open house: Don’t assume that everyone has left the premises at the end of an open house. Check all of the rooms and the backyard prior to locking the doors. Be prepared to defend yourself, if necessary. At an open house, be alert to visitors’ comings and goings, especially near the end of showing hours. Police have reported groups of criminals that target open houses, showing up en masse near the end of the afternoon. While several “clients” distract the agent, others go through the house and steal anything they can quickly take. If you find yourself to be the last one in an open house and your car is not in the immediate vicinity of the venue, then make a phone call as you walk. Assailants will be less willing to attack if you are in mid conversation with another person. Give your best friend a call; they would love to hear about your day.
  6. Pick up some self-defence skills: While every real estate agent should take a basic self-defence course, the primary goal in any threatening situation is to escape from immediate danger and call for help. Many health clubs, martial arts studios and community colleges offer some type of class as part of their continuing education. You can also ask your peers, friends and family if they have taken a self-defence class that they would recommend.
  7. Have your excuse ready: Part of being prepared to deal with a threatening situation is having “an out.” Prepare a scenario in advance so that you can leave—or you can encourage someone who makes you uncomfortable to leave. Examples: Your cell phone or pager went off and you have to call your office, you left some important information in your car, or another agent with buyers is on his way.
  8. Nothing personal: When talking to clients and prospects, be friendly but still keep your personal information private. This means avoiding mention of where you live, your after-work or vacation plans, and similar details. This goes for social media too. You want people to be able to relate to you but if you choose to “friend” potential clients on Facebook, or have a public fan page, make sure your details are scant. Don’t include your children’s name, the school they go to, where you live etc. where people you don’t know can have access.
  9. Long-term thinking: Get acquainted with a few of the immediate neighbours to your listing. You will feel better knowing they know your vehicle, and they will feel better about the stranger (you) who frequently visits their neighbourhood.
  10. Carry less: If you carry a purse, lock it in your car trunk before arriving at an appointment. Carry only non-valuable business items (except for your cell phone), and do not wear expensive jewelry or watches, or appear to be carrying large sums of money.
  11. Don’t get parked in: When showing property or meeting someone, park your car in front of the property rather than in the driveway. You will avoid having your car blocked in, you’ll have an easier time escaping in your vehicle, and you will attract lots of attention running and screaming to your car at the curb area
  12. Keep it professional: All of your marketing materials should be polished and professional. Don’t use alluring or provocative photography in advertising, on the Web or on your business cards. There are many documented cases of criminals actually circling photographs of their would-be victims in newspaper advertisements.
  13. Best practices for working Show Homes: When a person comes through the office to view a show home, have them complete a guest register that includes their full name, address, phone number, e-mail, and vehicle information.

And here are some tips to pass onto you clients:

  1. Hide personal information: Remind your clients that strangers will be walking through their home during showings or open houses. Tell them to hide any valuables in a safe place. For security’s sake, remember to remove keys, credit cards, jewelry, crystal, furs and other valuables from the home or lock them away during showings. Advise them not to leave personal information like mail or bills out in the open where anyone can see it. Be sure to lock down your computer and lock up your laptop and any other expensive, easy-to-pocket electronics, like iPods, before your showing. Also remove prescription drugs. Some seemingly honest people wouldn’t mind getting their hands on a bottle of Viagra, uppers or downers.
  2. Stranger danger: Remember to advise sellers not to show their home by themselves. Alert them that not all agents, buyers and sellers are who they say they are. Predators come in all shapes and sizes. We tell our children not to talk to strangers. Tell your sellers not to talk to other agents or buyers, and to refer all inquiries to you.
  3. Your trash is another man’s Treasure: When you’re client moves into their new home, they’re likely to splurge on a few new items. Just bought a new entertainment system? A bunch of empty boxes out by the curb triggers an alarm to would-be thieves. Instead of putting boxes out in plain sight, cut them down, and stuff them in trash bags.
  4. Moving into an apartment? Advise clients to have the locks changed when they move in. (The maintenance crew can simply swap lock cylinders with a random vacant apartment, a project that is free and takes only a few minutes.) And advise that they just use their last name, or if necessary last name and first initial, on your door or mailbox. This keeps strangers from knowing your gender or how many people live in your apartment. Make your clients your “safety partners”: Inform clients who are selling that while you are taking safety precautions, and that you’ve checked and locked the home before leaving, they should immediately double-check all locks and scout for missing items immediately upon their return, in case you’ve missed any less-than-obvious means of entry.

Keep safety top of mind!

Co-written with Martin Breeze, Mortgage Broker, TMG The Mortgage Group