The "Real" Role of a Listing Agent
When you bought your home, you
probably used the services of a real
estate agent. You found that agent
through a referral from a friend or
family member, or through some sort
of advertising or marketing. The
agent helped you in many ways and
eventually you found the house of
your dreams, made an offer, closed
the deal, and moved in.
For whatever reason, now it is time
to sell your home and you need a
real estate agent again. Many home
sellers, especially those selling
their first home, tend to think all
agents are similar to the one that
helped them buy their home.
Although real estate agents can (and
do) work with both buyers and
sellers, most tend to concentrate
more on one than the other. They
specialize. When you bought your
home, you probably worked with a
"selling agent" – an agent that
works mostly with buyers. Because of
the nature of real estate
advertising and marketing, the
public’s main image of the real
estate profession is that of the
selling agent.
As a result, many homeowners expect
their listing agent to do the same
things that a selling agent does –
find someone to buy their home.
After all, they do the things you
would expect if they were searching
for buyers. A sign goes up in the
front yard. Ads are placed in the
local newspaper and real estate
magazines. Your agent holds an open
house on the weekend. Your house is
proudly displayed on the Internet.
But this is only "surface"
marketing. More important activity
occurs behind the scenes. After the
"for sale" sign goes up and flyers
are printed, your agent’s main job
is to market your home to other
agents, not to homebuyers.
The "For Sale" Sign
It seems fairly obvious that when
you put your house up for sale that
your agent will put a "for sale"
sign in the front yard. The sign
will identify the agent’s company,
the agent, and have a phone number
so prospective buyers can call and
get information.
Signs are great at generating phone
calls, even if very few actually
purchase the home they call about.
However, you might be one of the
lucky ones. For that reason, you
should determine what happens when
someone calls the number on the
sign. Does a live person answer the
phone or does the call go to a
voicemail or recorder?
You want someone to answer the phone
while the caller is "hot." When
buyers call the number on the sign,
the call should go to a live person
who can answer questions
immediately. A potential buyer may
be on the street outside your home,
placing the call using a cell phone.
Flyers and a Brochure Box
Your agent should prepare a flyer
that displays a photo and provides
details about your house. There
should also be a phone number so
buyers can contact your agent to get
additional information. The flyers
should be displayed in a prominent
location in your home and also in a
brochure box attached to the "for
sale" sign.
The brochure box is convenient for
those buyers who drive by and just
happen to see the "for sale" sign in
front of your house. It provides
enough information so they can
determine if they want to follow up
with a phone call or inform their
own agent they are interested in
your house.
Marketing Your
Home to Other Agents
The Multiple Listing Service
Even before the sign is up and the
brochures are ready, your agent
should list your property with the
local MLS (Multiple Listing
Service). The MLS is a database of
all the homes listed by local real
estate agents who are members of the
service, which is practically all of
the local agents.
Important information about your
property is listed here, from
general data such as square footage
and number of rooms, to such details
as whether you have central air
conditioning or hard wood flooring.
There should also be a photo, and a
short verbal description of what
makes your house "special."
Agents search the database for homes
that fit the price range and needs
of their clients. They pay special
attention to homes that have been
recently placed on the market, which
is one reason you get a lot of
attention when your house is first
listed. Many agents will want to
preview the home before they show it
to their clients.
The main point about having your
house listed in the MLS is that you
expand your sales force by the
number of local MLS members. Instead
of having just one agent working for
you, now you may have hundreds or
more, depending on the size of your
community.
The listing agent’s main job to make
sure that the other MLS members know
about your house. This is
accomplished through listing your
house in the Multiple Listing
Service, broker previews and
advertising targeted toward other
agents, not homebuyers.
Office Preview
If your listing agent belongs to a
fairly sizable office, an "office
preview" will introduce your house
to other agents working in the same
office. In effect, they get a "head
start" on selling your property.
Once a week, the office’s agents
will get together, share vehicles,
and "caravan" to all of the new
listings. They generally pull up in
front of your house at about the
same time (some even use a bus) then
file quickly through your home like
some bizarre "follow the leader"
game.
It can be amazing to watch.
They go through very quickly, since
most of them are familiar with
similar models of your house. They
are usually looking for anything
memorable or different and to
determine if your house is one they
would be proud to show their
clients. Then they all pile back
into their cars and move on to the
next house on the tour.
But some of them come back…with
buyers.
Broker Previews and Culinary
Delights
Broker preview is very similar to an
office preview, except it is open to
all the members of the local
multiple listing service. It usually
occurs within the first week your
house is placed on the market, just
after the office preview. However,
there are lots of new listings to
choose from, and not all the agents
preview all the new listings each
week. You may not get as many agents
visiting your home as there were on
the office preview.
Unless your agent "entices" them to
come. This is where you could
provide some help, if you are so
inclined.
Though it may seem funny, nothing
seems to attract a real estate agent
like the offer of free food. So if
your agent offers "free eats" at a
broker preview, you are likely to
get more visitors than if nothing is
offered. Realize that many agents
have been on this weekly circuit for
years, so "boring" food does not
really accomplish much. In other
words, sandwiches supplied from the
local grocery chain are not very
enticing.
If you want to help your agent sell
your home quickly, try and help them
be creative and original in the
choice of a culinary treat.
Of course, some agents will actually
come to look at your house, too –
whether food is offered or not.
Maybe.
Office Flyers
Your agent will undoubtedly prepare
flyers about your property so that
prospective homebuyers can be
informed about the attractive
features of your house. These flyers
(or similar ones) should also be
sent to all the local real estate
offices, too. Most areas have a
weekly flyer service that delivers
advertisements to all of the local
offices. Since agents get these
flyers every week, they do not
always look at them. However, a
large percentage of them do. Some
agents will keep the flyer and bring
buyers to your house.
The flyer should be done
professionally and photocopy well.
Ask your agent to show you copies of
office flyers they have done in the
past.
Marketing Sessions
Your agent probably belongs to a
local association of Realtors and
they often have meetings once a
month. At these meetings there is
often a "marketing session" where
some agents stand up and tell about
their listings and other agents
stand up and tell about their
buyers. Your listing agent has an
opportunity to "pitch" your house at
these marketing sessions.
At the same time, these sessions may
not be as effective as they were in
the past. One reason is that they
are often more social occasions than
serious business meetings. Another
reason is that, as technology has
expanded, local associations have
tended to merge and create larger
Multiple Listing Services and
Associations. Local meetings have
become poorly attended gatherings.
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