7 Critical Responsibilities of a Real Estate Agent…
Make Sure Yours Does These 7 Things Better Than Anyone Else
1. Create Awareness That Your Property is Now Available For Sale
The agent you select must do everything he or she can to be sure that the consumer is made aware that you are now available by the methods they are looking to find you.
Where Buyers First Learned About the Home They Purchased
From the 2007 National Association of Realtors Profile of Homebuyers and Sellers
There are some low-impact marketing methods some agents still use such homes magazines, newspaper ads, and open houses. There’s nothing wrong with choosing an agent that uses those marketing methods in addition to high-impact methods, but make sure that the agent you hire invests heavily in and understands how to use the high-impact marketing mediums in the chart above, which are: 1. The Real Estate Agent Community, 2. The Internet, and 3. The Signage on the Property. These three account for 77% of all sales. Newspaper ads and homes magazines only account for 4%. TV and radio ads don’t even make the chart.
2. Promote the Specific Benefits That Your Home Brings to the Market
Awareness level is not enough. If awareness level were enough, you could put a sign in the yard yourself and you could do whatever minimal advertising it took to make the consumer aware you were here. And they would come to your door, automatically. Well that’s not quite the way it happens, because there’s a selection process and an evaluation process by which a consumer will select a property to go look at or a real estate professional will select a property to present. That process is based on information given and an understanding of why that property is a better opportunity than its direct competition.
That’s my job. It is to educate the consumer and the real estate professional of the benefits that your property brings to the market over any of its direct competition. That’s why it is so important that we go through and do our homework properly on your home to be the most educated people about your house second only to you, the homeowner. You’re looking to me as your prime person to go out into the marketplace and make people understand that you are the best opportunity. I must be able to speak with great authority and great wisdom about your home so that there is no question if they are making a consideration between a competing property and yours, that they have more information, more understanding, and a feeling that this is the better opportunity based on my presentation of information about your house.
My job is not only to create the awareness level, it is to take it to the next level and really promote the benefits that your property has and educate both the consumer and the real estate professionals working in your segment of the market.
3. Defend Your Equity
When you hire a real estate agent to represent you, that individual starting day one becomes the primary defender of your equity. The individual you choose should have the strongest negotiating skills that you can find in the marketplace to protect your interests.
It is my job to put the best contract terms and the best price on the table for your benefit.
4. Price Your Property Using an Accurate System that Nets You the Most Amount of Money
It is common for agents to look at three “comparable sales”, and come up with a price for your home. While looking at comparable sales is indeed important, it does not give the complete picture of the market you are in and where your home needs to be priced in order for it to sell.
We use a three step pricing system. First, we look at the supply vs demand in your immediate area. That tells us if we can afford to push the envelope on price, or if we need to concentrate on being the best deal out there. Second, we look at the comparable sales, and establish a value range that an appraiser could put your house in. Third, we look at your competition and answer the question “Based on the type of market you’re in, where do you need to be inside the appraised value range, among your competition, to ensure that you sell for the most money in a reasonable amount of time?”
5. Analyze Your Property’s Performance in the Market on a Weekly Basis
The agent you choose should have a pro-active approach to getting their listings sold. Most agents utilize the “3 P’s” method of selling homes… 1. Put a sign in the yard 2. Put it in the MLS 3. Pray
We don’t. For us, the day we put your home on the market is just a starting point. On a weekly basis, we are evaluating how your home is faring among its competition. We are looking at how many inquiries we received from potential buyers, number of showings, feedback from those showings, homes you were competing against that have now sold, and new competitors on the market. Once a week we are asking the question “If we continue down the same path we’re on right now in terms of marketing, presentation quality, and price, can we anticipate an offer coming in?” That’s a yes or no question. If the answer is no, then we need to figure out how we can get positioned correctly. We will be going over that data with you once a week.
6. Follow a Business Model that Supports Your Goals
There are two main types of business models that real estate agents choose from….
1. Take as many listings as possible whether they think they can sell them or not. Use those listings to generate buyer leads. The majority of income comes from buyer transactions in this model.
2. Take listings and actually get them sold. The majority of income comes from selling their own listings.
An easy way to find out which business model an agent is using is to ask how many listings they have right now, and how many of those are currently under contract with a buyer. If the percentage is less than the market average, they are the type 1 agent. If their percentage is better than the market average, they are the type 2 agent. We get very uncomfortable if we ever have less than 30% of our listings in escrow. Most agents that carry a lot of listings usually have around 5% - 10% of their listings under contract.
When choosing your agent, make sure they view your home as their main source of income and not just an advertising link to buyers for other homes.
7. Tell You What You Need to Hear, Not What You Want to Hear
This seems so simple, but it is not. The greatest temptation a listing agent has is to tell people what they think they want to hear. This is true before an agent is hired and after the agent has been hired. Before they are hired, the temptation is to tell potential clients they can get the price they want, even if it’s above what the market looks like it will pay. And the temptation after being hired is to try to not be “offensive” and tell people when there is a problem… whether with the presentation quality of the home or with the price.
We promise to always tell you the truth, not just what we think will make you happy.