Five Things Clients Are Looking For In An Agent and Why Most Realtors Don’t Succeed By Ashley Lipman

Posted at 10:21h by Morgan Taylor 1 Comment

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Welcome Realtyna Readers. Today’s blog post is written by Ashley Lipman from The Blog Frog and The Urban Avenue.

Ashley is an award-winning writer who discovered her passion in providing creative solutions for building brands online. Since her first high school award in Creative Writing, she continues to deliver awesome content through various niches. Today’s Blog post will be about Five Things Clients want in an Agent and Why Most Don’t Succeed.

Enjoy!
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It is easy to get a real estate license these days. It is estimated that 93% of home sales are made by 7% of the top realtors. That may or may not be the case in your business, but look around. How many of the realtors in your office are “top drawer.” How many are always working on a sale or finding their next one and how many posts their home on the internet, push a for sale sign down in the grass and sit and wait for a bite? Here are some hints from TheUrbanAvenue.

Client base

There was a time when everyone believed that business professionals had an honest moral compass. But, in our generation, we look for big names that are being exposed. Technology plays a big part in media and with a push of a button any accusation of  any person of influence is instantly blasted around the world, whether it is true or not. This happens to anyone from a teacher or coach to the oval office.

The result of the constant negative stories makes people distrustful of everyone. We are a generation that is always looking out for a scam. When you are talking about the largest investment most families will ever make, they meet with their real estate agent loaded for bear. At the first hint that the agent is not being honest or transparent, they are ready to look elsewhere.

Five things clients are looking for in an agent

We have already addressed trust, honesty, and transparency, so we will not add them to this list. However, those three things are absolutes in this industry.

Price the home correctly.

If you do not know how to price homes correctly, learn this skill now. The best agents sell homes as close to the asking price as possible.

Telling a prospective buyer that you can get the price down close to what they want to pay, just to keep them on the line is low and it ruins an agents reputation. Know the area, the prices of homes selling in the area, and the worth of the house. You are smart enough to know if the buyer’s price and the asking price are miles apart, you are not going to be able to close that gap.

Pricing by square foot doesn’t work. It is incredible today to know agents still try to use the square footage of a house to place a price on the home. Where the home is located, what features the home houses, and the how well the home is maintained matters much more than how many square feet it takes up.

Communication

Too many agents list a house and then the seller never hears a word from them until they get an offer (which is sometimes a long time.) This is unacceptable.

The client wants to know what you are doing to sell the house. They want to know you are actively trying to make their deal. They are checking publications, internet listings, and watching for hits on an ad. If you remain silent, the assumption is you are doing nothing.

They want to know if you have had any hits and if you haven’t, what are you doing about it.

Make sure the buyer is pre-approved, not just pre-qualified

Being pre-approved means their credit is already checked, they are not overextended, and financing is not an issue. Pre-qualified buyer may qualify when they provide a snapshot of their finances, but when they go through the approval process, they do not make it and you have wasted you and your seller’s time.

Fight for the best terms

A great agent fights for the best financing they can get. They put in the time, and the effort to find the most affordable option out there. They do not take the first offer and just walk away with it.

When you have gone the extra mile for a client, they share the information with their friends and family. Likewise, when you do not, they share that information as well. If you do your job well, people will seek you out.

Technology

If you want to reach millions of people, with little effort from you, learn to use technology. Do not stay with one platform. Use as many as you can to get the word out.

You have to make sure your ads reach the right people. When someone asks a question, answer it immediately. Technology allows you to do that via computer, tablet or a smartwatch.

Extra Services that you can do to help become one of the best.

• Attend the inspections. Take notes, wee notes and pictures with your cell phone
• Go to the home appraisal
• Know what it will take to close the deal. Do not assume the home buyer knows.
• Have a plan of action. Know what your competition is doing and be prepared to match it or beat it.

Why Most Real Estate Agents Don’t Succeed

Roughly 50% of people who get into real estate give up within two years. Why? Because they thought the market was something they could easily do in a few hours a week and they could sit back with their feet up while their bank account grew.

There are agents that make it big. They sell million dollar homes and take home fat commission checks. But those people have worked hard and put in the effort to get into that market. When a multi-millionaire decides to sell a home, do you think he is going to call someone who has no experience? Of course not. You have to wear out your shoes walking the streets and put in the time to get yourself known.

How to Make It

A Good Brokerage

Finding the right brokerage firm can be a great asset, but it can also take the wind out of your sales.

You want a firm that will not just give you a territory and a desk. You want a firm that will teach you how to be successful. What works and what doesn’t work. Though you have already studied and read for months just to get your license, you are not finished. There are excellent books that will walk you through all the scenarios you will face in the business. Read them and put them into action.

Build Your Brand

You have to be hungry to build your brand. You must want to have your name on every A list out there. You must have drive and determination. You will get small deals and be grateful for them, but you must use each as a learning tool. What did you do right? What did you do wrong? Were there any stressful moments for the client? Could you have prevented them?

If you have it in you to work hard and learn the game, you can be part of the 7%. But, be sure you are looking at the true picture of this career before you take the step.