Forget about taglines, forget about nifty names. Whitney Hawkins came through for us in ways we couldn't have imagined. I personally have purchased five homes in my life, and had no idea that Realtors could provide services like this.

But before I get to those services, let me mention what I've seen as the typical Realtor service for buyers list.

• They drive you around to see houses
• They help you write your offer
• They show up at settlement
• They send you a housewarming gift when you get your house

Yes, I know this can actually be a lot of work. Especially when you have a client as demanding as I am. But no matter how cantankerous I am I can't see that these services are worth the one to three percent of the transaction. Sure, I shouldn't care, since I'm not paying for it directly... but I am paying for it.

So - as a buyer's agent what can you do to make us picky folks think your services are more than a glorified taxi service? Try providing the level of service that Whitney does - in addition to the stuff most Realtors provide:

• She helped us understand each of the neighborhoods and the issues they face (such as beach erosion - thanks!) so that we didn't waste time looking at a dream house that would be washed away in a few years.
• She did her research on her clients. She'd done her homework and Googled us. Even found this very website and talked with us about it. (And she wasn't even scared off by our views on NAR.) No, this isn't creepy. This is necessary today. Imagine if we had a shrine to Caribou Coffee on our website. Having her show up with a single cuppa joe from them could've made us her clients for life. If the information is out there why not use it?
• She was backstopped by her coworkers. When anything went a little wonky there were key team members there to help. (Yes, something went wonky. No, we weren't phased by it. Yes, she handled it like a pro. No, we won't tell you what it was.)
• She didn't boast about her services. She just provided them.
• When she was in a position where she could provide informed advice she did so - and when she couldn't in good conscience give us an opinion she let us know - and told us why.
• She took care of everything. She acted as project manager, general contractor, foreman, advocate, negotiator, and... though we weren't looking for it... a friend.
• She continues to help us out after the transaction is over - offering to help track some of the work that the home requires, such as roof work. And she even negotiated a reduced rate for a service that was already given a firm quote at closing.

I cannot count the number of times Whitney asked "Do you want me to take care of that for you?" It must have been at least a dozen, if not more. She lined up every single inspection (there were four or five of those), she provided local experts for every conceivable need from insurance to title to manual labor, and she was just plain tireless. And, as my friends and acquantances can guess, I never said "no" to any request to provide assistance. By the time we neared the end of the transaction Whitney had switched from asking if we wanted help to suggesting how she could make it easier for us.

We at Stokefire always advise our clients to stay away from claiming that they're number one in service. It is much more powerful if someone else crows about you. When you boast about yourself it puts people on the defensive. When someone else boasts about you people are much more likely to listen.

So - we're crowing. She is the real deal. If you want a house in the Outer Banks we can't imagine that there's a better option than Whitney.

Full disclosure - I'm not getting paid a dime for this. Whitney isn't a client. I wasn't asked for a quote or reference (something I've been asked for in every other real estate transaction.) However, I fully intend to buy Whitney and her husband Winston a nice dinner as a thank you for all their great work. And if they want a vacation at Stokefire Southern Branch all they need to do is ask (though one has to wonder why someone would vacation about 10 miles from home.)

Oh... and on the off chance that Whitney does want to work with us we certainly won't turn her away. We see huge potential for a brand built from the base of services she provides.

And to the other Realtors that are reading this - have you ever had anyone write a letter like this one? If not, why not? What could you do differently to start creating raving fans like... well... us?

Many thanks to Whitney for her great work. And thanks as well to Claude Labbe - a guy in the Washington DC metro area with a great package of realty services for busy professionals - for referring us to her.

Tate Linden Principal Consultant Stokefire Consulting Group 703-778-9925