Create your own real estate blog!

REAL ESTATE AGENTS' BLIND SPOTS

Real Estate Agent Blind spots: advice for agents.

I have also been in a sales position and done many sales trainings. I have had the great fortune to know a lifelong sales trainer and career salesperson with whom I have trained and read his publications and listened to his advice. He once told me, “if you listen carefully enough and long enough, a client will TELL you how they want to be sold to.” I have experienced the depth of this truth as both a client and a salesperson and it is truly a profound insight.

I know many real estate agents.

Some professionally and some personally. They are professionals who need to know lots of legal stuff, lots about procedure, ethics proper paperwork, local regulations etc. etc. But ultimately they are sales people. They are about relationships, not paper shuffling.

But regardless of my relationships I have noticed one or two blind spots they have in dealing with their clients.

The typical agent's approach to a home sale is that of: “all out whatever it takes to get it sold, let's do everything to maximize your exposure and desirability of the property”. It is a very commendable all-out, gung-ho, “let's get it done” attitude, and that is what they are all about and their effectiveness separates good agents from poor performing agents.

However, it is not a cookie-cutter approach that is appropriate to the situation of every seller.

One of the things that needs to be communicated between the seller and listing agent is “what are your goals?” They not only need to hear this, they need to understand it emotionally. This is a key consideration that is far too often glossed over by the agent selection process so they can just get the listing, or the agent already has the above myopic gung-ho mindset to the exclusion of the reality of any other option or consideration.

I have experienced this phenomenon first-hand and heard the same sentiment from other homeowners. There is a considerable frustration on both sides as a result of this fundamental disjoint in understanding.

True, there are many homeowners who need to get out now, fast, whatever it takes, let's do it and get the offers flowing. And to that end, they are being successful and providing and invaluable service.

I have been in that situation and it is fine and works in synch with the agent's approach.

Yet there are other sellers in different circumstances, like I found myself more recently, where the conditions of the sale were different.

I was not in a position where the house HAD to sell.

I could have happily stayed where I was, but there were other opportunities I would like to explore IF I could get the right price for the house. Selling below a certain price and it would make no sense to sell. If we got an offer close to what would be beneficial for our plans and gave us some options, then we could make a deal.

If that was communicated with the agent up front, and all parties understood, great!

But what if the market would not allow that pricing?

Then don't bother listing it, tell me upfront my expectations are unrealistic, or remove it from the market if there is no interest. End of story.

Yet many agents are in default mode: let's change this, let's lower the price here, let's drop the price again after so many weeks to keep it fresh.

On this topic agents often miss the point. Then they complain that the sellers are getting emotional about pricing, that they are not facing the realities of the market, they are being unreasonable in their negotiations, etc.
EXACTLY!

Because if the market is not conducive to achieving my goals, then I do not want to participate in it. But they have lost sight of this reality.

I have spoken to several homeowners who have considered or had properties listed recently, and they experienced this same frustration.

A second reality that often eludes buyers/sellers and agents alike: the real estate market is all about timing.

More so than capital markets, one share of stock is like another, and the same opportunity can come and go over time.

But homes are often unique, and once one is sold it is off the market..perhaps for a few years, perhaps for a generation, but that unique opportunity is GONE.

Before buying my current home we searched for months to fine the right floor plan, the right neighborhood, the right feel, the right location-location-location, and at the right price.
If such a house doesn't exist on the market at that time, so be it. Why would we buy something that we could not make work for our needs and lifestyle? I would not buy just for the sake of buying.

I have also gone against conventional wisdom on occasion, and shopped for a house before I listed my home for sale. How criminal in the eyes of the agents! How irresponsible! It will never happen and only lead to disappointment, a huge waste of everyone's time.

Well, there were disappointments, but there were also opportunities that I was able to take advantage of that would not have existed if I waited until my house had an offer on it. It also afforded me the time to do the legwork to narrow the field to what I did and did not want and to familiarize myself with neighborhoods that I would and would not consider. It was because we found a house we wanted, that we were motivated to sell our previous home at somewhat of a loss to make the deal happen. We ended up with the house we wanted most and have been happily living in it for over a decade.

Was it perfect?

No, but it was workable for our needs.

Because of this timing aspect, we are ALWAYS in the real estate market. Looking for opportunities, keeping an eye on areas we like, and keeping an eye on the market in our current neighborhood to determine whether it makes sense to make a move to sell or not.

So agents: be sure you understand the real desires of your clients, and don;t assume that you know what is best for them.

REALLY listen to their needs, and more importantly, understand their position. This will make the process a lot simpler for everyone concerned and make everyone happier in that process.