7 signs of a motivated agent + a poll

Everyone says they can sell your house - but who actually can?

You already know that selling your house in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Regina, Victoria… um, everywhere in Canada or the US, really, is extremely sticky business right now. It’s tough, to say the least.  

(Unless you’re EREB, in which case you send out a press release claiming that resale is still a-okay – all is actually well in the land of real estate in Edmonton. Gee… isn’t it funny that the real estate association would say that? Yet another reason why What-Customers-Say.com believes in the voice of the customer: ‘cos real estate associations are, um, slightly biased. Understandably.)

So when it comes time to choose a real estate agent to help you offload that investment home you kinda knew you shouldn’t've bought a year ago, do you want to get a motivated agent… or do you want to face:

• At least 3 months of being stuck in a contract with a real estate agent who’s not actually moving the needle for you — when every month that passes brings you closer to financial ruin?
• The frustration of waiting for your agent to schedule an open house, put an ad in the paper, put your photos on MLS or even put a sign up on your front lawn?
• The greater frustration of watching your neighbors sell while you haven’t even got an offer?
• The challenge of vying for the attention of an uber-busy agent who turns your business over to the newbie on his team… who then fails to return your calls?
• Unrealistic valuations followed by 2 months of zero activity followed by a recommendation to drop your price to what you should’ve had it listed at 2 months ago?

It’s funny (not “ha ha”) that the sale of your home in this crazy, continually dropping market is going to consume your every waking hour… and yet you’ll put it all in the hands of someone who either doesn’t know how to sell your property or doesn’t think that YOU know what he should be doing to sell your property.

Motivated agents
You’ve heard of motivated sellers. Your agent seems to want you to be one of those. So, k, fine — play along ‘cos you really do need to sell your home, so do what it takes.

But expect your agent to ‘play along’, too — expect him to be a Motivated Agent. That means: expect your agent to be as motivated to market and hard-sell your home as you are to paint it, stage it, landscape it, replace the A/C, reduce the price, throw in a new plasma, etc.

What makes a motivated agent? 7 things to look for
1. An aggressive marketing presence. No, that doesn’t mean a giant picture of him standing with his arms spread on the side of every third bus you see. (That’s just marketing dollars being tossed around.) An aggressive marketer will make impressions in every medium/channel possible. That means you should notice his face or ad on/in a variety of media: a bus bench, Facebook ads, social networking sites (like What-Customers-Say.com, LinkedIn.com), events, personal websites, MLS or Realtor.ca, the newspaper, other print publications. If your real estate agent knows how to market himself, he’s more likely to know how to use the tools to market your home.
2. Fighting for the right value. Ever watch those HGTV home selling shows? Have you noticed that there’s often a conversation that goes on between the seller and the agent about ‘what to list at’? Um… what does the home seller really know about the current market value of her home? The agent will use comparables and other tools to gauge the best price at which to list your home. If the agent bends to your will, then he is not doing his job. Instead, he’s setting you up for months of frustration followed by the inevitable drop in price.
3. A real marketing plan. If you haven’t received one of these from an agent in the past, you haven’t been working with the best. Your agent needs to create a true marketing plan for your home — and then share that plan with you, making modifications based on discussions with you. The marketing plan should include the channels that the agent will be using to get the word out about you as well as the overall budget he expects to spend during the course of your 3-month contract. Be sure to see a healthy mix of PR, magazine ads, newspaper listings, online advertising, open houses and other events. Yes, your motivated agent should absolutely plan to market you this way.
4. Holding quality agent open houses. When you hire an agent, you’re really trying to access that agent’s network of agents. These are the people who have buyers in their back pockets. These are the people who need to step foot in your house, walk around and sit on the sofa overlooking the tiny bit of view you know buyers will quite like. A motivated agent will make an agent open house “quality” by giving advance notice of the event to other agents; sending invitations to those agents; offering feature sheets in advance and at the open house; and wining & dining them when they get there with nice cheese plates and a glass or two of bubbly — not a bag of chips and some dip. BONUS: Offering the same high-quality public open houses.
5. Answering your calls. Promptly. Good luck finding an agent who doesn’t have a Blackberry. So, then, if they’ve got a Blackberry, why aren’t they returning your call? Are they motivated… or aren’t they? If they’re motivated, they’ll be willing to take your calls (I mean, not at 3am!) and answer your questions. Because you’re going to have questions. And you’re paying them to keep you informed about activity on your house and new marketing opportunities.
6. Referring third parties for additional work. Need a stager? Your motivated agent will have a card handy for you, perhaps with a discount to boot. How about renos to that downstairs bathroom? Here’s a card for Jim Jones, who does top-notch work in a relatively short period of time. Want a new lawyer for closing? Your motivated agent should give you a list of at least three with varying skill sets and average fees for real estate transactions. Yes, your motivated agent should do all of this without fail or pause.
7. Keeping you in the know. As time marches on and your house sits quietly, your agent should give you updates. One of the folks at What-Customers-Say.com has had his Ucluelet vacation property listed for about six months, and the agent has been great about sending updates via email, complete with initiatives she and her team are undertaking to generate interest in buyers and agents. She’s already hosted a two-day weekend for introducing agents to the property. Yes, it’s expensive for her… but she’s motivated. She’s going to earn every penny of that commission.

Best of luck with hunting for the right agent. Remember to include www.What-Customers-Say.com in your search for an agent who’s so good that his customers can’t help but talk about him.

~jw

And, in honour of the big vote today in the US, a poll:

Tags: Edmonton real estate, find a realtor, real estate marketing