 THE
"REAL" ROLE OF THE 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 (buyer's 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.
Also, take a look at the sign and see if it seems more interested
in generating calls from buyers, or if it seems more oriented toward
advertising your agent’s listing services to your neighbors.
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.
All articles © 2000 RealEstate ABC
No articles may be reprinted or displayed without permission.
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