“The only person that made money on my Real Estate deal is the Realtor and they didn’t do anything!” Whether its commercial, residential, investment or primary residence, I hear this ALL of the time. The Realtor has done a great job taking the value away from our service and slipping it into their pockets. Property owners and buyers need to start asking the right questions and then holding us accountable for a Great service and experience.
1. Will my house be included in that magazine at the grocery store? – Hell No! needs to be their answer. 90% of homes are searched online and that’s no going to change. It may trigger the conversation on the ride home to move, but it does not sell the majority of homes. Online Online Online is all they need to work on. Save them the money and tell them to cancel that subscription.
2. Where will you put the house listing online then? -They should be quick to answer since its a pretty simple and standard answer. First, the local MLS will share it with the Realtor community and push it out to the larger share of 3rd party listing sites like Homes.com, Realtor.com and branded Real Estate databases. Second, Yahoo.com and Zillow! People use Yahoo and Zillow and a few others to find homes and its really really easy for them to search and select. Lastly, Social Media. They should have a growing, targeted audience that knows they are selling your house. More and more Realtors are trading business through Facebook and Twitter posts and buyers are catching on.
3. After I list, how will you keep my listing from going stale? – You should hear things like Updating listing photos, Contacting Hot area Realtors, Rewrite property description and so on. Pictures sell homes why, because people shop online for homes. Your photos and descriptions don’t have to be trickery but at minimum current and thorough. Adding videos and community links is great way to increase traffic. Real Real Estate video tours do wonders for a listing if done well. Part of paying a Realtor is for them to be continually trying new ways to keep your property at the top of the buyers list.
Today’s Realtor does NOT have the buyer, but they can know how to grab them with your listing. We need to be earning our commissions and adding value from the day we list up until it closes and putting a sign in the yard is the minimum job. We need to be web experts that know how to leverage blogs, SEO and media to sell your property quickly and for the best price. Ask questions and listen to answers. You should walk away knowing and valuing what a Great Realtor brings to your Real Estate.
-curt
