The Conversation I Overheard
I overheard a conversation in my office yesterday between one of our luxury realtors and a client who was hedging about listing his home with her. The reason: the realtor who had failed to sell the man's home said, "She won't do anything that I haven't already done." In other words...or in those words...the realtor who hadn't sold his home assured the seller he couldn't find anyone any better. I had to laugh. My co-worker very diplomatically pointed out the fact that over half of this realtor's listings canceled before the listing expired (something like 48 out of 90). She was nice about it, but, of course, the question hangs in the air: What happens with his listings? The other realtor also had very minimal pictures online, probably taken with his iphone. Then, how did he advertise? Did he stage the home (the answer was a negative)? How accessible was the home to the public? Was the home overpriced...did the realtor tend to overprice homes?
As I listened to them talk things through while I prepared marketing materials for neighborhood drop-offs, I was reminded once again how little most people understand about how big the job of listing a home is. The realtors with whom I work and I spend hours and many dollars preparing a home before it ever even hits the market. Usually on the listing presentation, we assess what needs to be done to the home to make it desirable to buyers. That includes anything from taking down pictures, to moving furniture out (often it lands in the garage), moving different furniture in, painting, cleaning or changing flooring, cleaning up clutter, cleaning the home in general, adding accent pieces and changing out bedspreads or curtains. The sellers who listen to us generally do much better than those who don't want to put out the effort. I've personally planted flowers, cleaned patios, cleaned ovens, polished travertine, organized kitchens...you get my drift. All of this before I get paid a dime, of course. In fact, remember, realtors don't get paid until they have closed a sale even though they have invested thousands of dollars sometimes in selling the home.
Quality pictures are expensive and necessary. That is a reason why some realtors take their own. But the pictures are the very first thing the buyers see. They must represent the home at its very best. Another expense, of course, is advertising. The more eyes there are on the listing the better chance it has of selling quickly. Brochures that showcase the home should be of the highest quality, too. Here are the front/back and inside of a recent fold-over brochure of mine printed in high gloss paper. I want the buyers to handle this brochure...and I want it to be indestructible so they can look at it over and over again!
Another thing I do is create candy boxes as open house gifts. These boxes have information about the home as well as pictures of the home so that while buyers are going from one open house to another, they and their kids are munching on chocolates from the home I have listed. I get such great feedback on these, with some people telling me they refill them so they will have candy in the car all the time.
Realtors have drawings, wine and cheese nights, grand opening barbecues, neighborhood garage sales, fund raisers for good causes...many of us are out there all the time in many ways shedding light on the homes of our clients and making a difference in our communities. It is people we serve. If we are passionate about what we do, we will give it our best effort.
So, no, seller on the other line trying to decipher how my co-worker will be different from the one you just fired (and I don't know who that was), every realtor isn't going to do the same things your previous one did if he didn't help you fix what needed to be done to make the place look its best, if he or she didn't stage it for maximum use of space and accessorize tastefully, if the realtor didn't take quality pictures and make quality brochures or didn't create a marketing plan that gives your home the highest quality exposure possible, and if he or she didn't work with you to price the home competitively so that it isn't too high or too low, then you can be assured everything will be different this time around!
Bottom Line: Find a realtor who wants to earn the commission they receive by working on your behalf, with her own time and money invested in you, to make the sale of your home a stunning success! There is so much more involved than sticking a sign in the front yard, putting the listing on the MLS, then waiting for a buyer to show up at the door! And, in this market, with the right combination of marketing and accessibility, you just might have two or three buyers bidding on your home!
As I listened to them talk things through while I prepared marketing materials for neighborhood drop-offs, I was reminded once again how little most people understand about how big the job of listing a home is. The realtors with whom I work and I spend hours and many dollars preparing a home before it ever even hits the market. Usually on the listing presentation, we assess what needs to be done to the home to make it desirable to buyers. That includes anything from taking down pictures, to moving furniture out (often it lands in the garage), moving different furniture in, painting, cleaning or changing flooring, cleaning up clutter, cleaning the home in general, adding accent pieces and changing out bedspreads or curtains. The sellers who listen to us generally do much better than those who don't want to put out the effort. I've personally planted flowers, cleaned patios, cleaned ovens, polished travertine, organized kitchens...you get my drift. All of this before I get paid a dime, of course. In fact, remember, realtors don't get paid until they have closed a sale even though they have invested thousands of dollars sometimes in selling the home.
Quality pictures are expensive and necessary. That is a reason why some realtors take their own. But the pictures are the very first thing the buyers see. They must represent the home at its very best. Another expense, of course, is advertising. The more eyes there are on the listing the better chance it has of selling quickly. Brochures that showcase the home should be of the highest quality, too. Here are the front/back and inside of a recent fold-over brochure of mine printed in high gloss paper. I want the buyers to handle this brochure...and I want it to be indestructible so they can look at it over and over again!Another thing I do is create candy boxes as open house gifts. These boxes have information about the home as well as pictures of the home so that while buyers are going from one open house to another, they and their kids are munching on chocolates from the home I have listed. I get such great feedback on these, with some people telling me they refill them so they will have candy in the car all the time.
So, no, seller on the other line trying to decipher how my co-worker will be different from the one you just fired (and I don't know who that was), every realtor isn't going to do the same things your previous one did if he didn't help you fix what needed to be done to make the place look its best, if he or she didn't stage it for maximum use of space and accessorize tastefully, if the realtor didn't take quality pictures and make quality brochures or didn't create a marketing plan that gives your home the highest quality exposure possible, and if he or she didn't work with you to price the home competitively so that it isn't too high or too low, then you can be assured everything will be different this time around!
Bottom Line: Find a realtor who wants to earn the commission they receive by working on your behalf, with her own time and money invested in you, to make the sale of your home a stunning success! There is so much more involved than sticking a sign in the front yard, putting the listing on the MLS, then waiting for a buyer to show up at the door! And, in this market, with the right combination of marketing and accessibility, you just might have two or three buyers bidding on your home!
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