It all depends on who you are loyal to!
This seemed to be the theme today in my appointments.
As we prospect and look for new clients we run into a lot of people who say things like "I would go with you but I have to go with..." because they feel like they owe that person something whether they are a family member, friend, or previous agent. While I can appreciate loyalty, of course I want all of my clients to be loyal to me and refer ALL of their friends and family to me, I also want them to work with me because they know I will do THE BEST job for them and their loved ones. If the person you are being loyal to is not going to do the best job for you or provide the best service, why do you owe them anything? After all, don't they owe it to you to provide you with the best service and in the end the best results? Just because someone is a family member or friend doesn't mean that they have a clue about what they are doing and generally I have found that consumers just want to go with them so that they will discount their commission. What kind of friend would do that or expect their friend to make less money just because you are friends? Wouldn't you rather have an agent that is going to make you more money and provide a better service because of their experience? It is proven (on many occasions) that if an agent discounts their commission, they will sell your home for less money. They will also focus more of their time with clients that they know they will have more incentive to devote their time to, all the while leaving you wondering "what happened to my agent, why aren't they doing anything for me?"
Some recent examples that inspired me to write about this topic are...
1. J-We knocked on J's door and she told us that she was moving and that she was going to list her home with her previous agent, 'IF they tell her that they can sell her home for what she needs'. So, she wanted us to tell her what we thought we could sell her home for. We obliged and continued to educate J by bringing her comparables on a steady basis for 3 months. When the time came for her to list her home, she let us know that she felt obligated to list with her previous agents even though they did not once provide her any information or try to continue to earn her business whatsoever. They told her that they didn't think that they could get her what she needed (even though we proved to her with market data that we could). She told us that she was going to give them a chance and IF they can't get her what she needs then she will list with us. Poor J will most likely sell her home for $10,000-$20,000 less than had we listed it. Over the last 3 months of following up with her, we became the experts in her area because not only did we educate her, we educated us! Her previous agents are going into the listing blindly.
2. Mr J- Today we met with Mr J who had us come to see his home and give him a value of his home and said "the only reason you are here is because you are the neighborhood experts". Mr J was deciding on if he should list his home with us or his good friend. He thought that we could tell him the price that we thought his home would sell for in the area and then list with his friend for that price. Poor Mr J! Little does he know that the price that I can sell a home for is not necessarily the price that another agent can sell it for. There is a lot more to marketing a home than the price. I will sell Mr J's home for $15,000-$20,000 more than his friend because of my marketing strategy and ability to handle and generate multiple offers. Because of my proven marketing strategy rather than having buyers offer less than the asking price and the seller come down on their price because they have one offer to choose from, multiple offers drive the price up above the list price and the seller has the ability and confidence to accept higher offers.
3. Miss T- Miss T has been trying to sell her home off and on with her previous agent for a year. In the last year while market prices increased and the average days on market decreased to less than 1 week on the market, Miss T had several price reductions, to reduce the price $30,000 below competing homes in the area. When Miss T's listing expired I called her and explained to her that with my marketing strategy and the current price of her home, I could help her to sell her home for atleast $20,000 more than she was asking when her listing expired. Miss T felt that her agent has worked so hard for the last year that she was obligated to re-list with her agent and possibly reduce the price more. I explained to her that an agent earns their wage WHEN they sell the house, not by NOT selling the house. Even after some very logical explanation Miss T said she would give her agent one last try FOR 6 MONTHS!!! I explained to her that I never take a listing over 3 months and IF I don't sell her home in 1 I would let her fire me! Miss T felt that she should be loyal to her agent and give her another chance. Miss T's loyalty cost her $30,000.
4. Faye- Faye has been a client of mine since 2006. I have sold 5 properties for Faye in addition to 2 homes for her sons. Faye told me today that you can never tell if someone is good at what they do or if they are telling you the truth. She said "Amie, I tell everyone to go with you! I know I can trust you and that you are the BEST at what you do. If only we had met you before we decided to work with our neighbor, She is nice but I would never go with anyone but you! And when my husband dies, you will be selling ALL of our properties." Faye and her husband have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars by working with the wrong agents and trusting the wrong people. Faye knows that the value of being loyal to the right agent is PRICELESS!
I am so thankful to my clients, friends and family who have seen the value of doing business with me and have trusted me enough to refer their loved ones. To me, Your Loyalty is EVERYTHING!!!! And I hope to continue to Earn it!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Is it better to have an Exclusive Agent or Many?
Today I got a call from an "investor" looking for properties to rent or flip. When I asked him if he had an agent he was working with he told me he had "several agents looking for properties for him and when they find him one then he will buy it with them and have them list it for him when he sells it". I talk to a lot of these kinds of people that say If an agent finds me a home then I will have them represent me. This could work against him in several ways.
Effects on the Buyer's side:
1. He doesn't have one agent that is committed to JUST looking for properties for him on a daily basis, so he could be missing out on several opportunities. Especially in this market where homes are selling quickly. If the agent isn't looking specifically for homes for him on a daily basis, by the time the agent finds the home or the buyer finds the home, it could already be under contract or have multiple offers on it.
2. The agents would be sending those same properties to all of the other random people that they don't represent in hopes that they might get someone to buy something.
3. The agents may only be sending them their own listings, in which the agent represents the seller, so there is no one to negotiate for the investor.
I have seen these types of buyers pay over market value on properties like these because the agents had overpriced listings and only sold them to buyers that did not know any better because they had no one representing them or looking out for their best interest. They thought they were getting a good investment. I have had to help some of these buyers out of the situation that they got themselves in by not having an agent that represented them and was negotiating on their behalf.
By having The Lar Team represent you exclusively, you are getting 3 agents for the price of one (which is Free to the buyer). Our team is organized to benefit our buyers so that they have One agent looking for homes for them on a daily basis (Bryan Larsen) who is ready to take the buyers to see a home that they are interested in around their schedule and immediately so that they don't lose that home to other buyers. They will have one agent (Amie Larsen) who has extensive experience in the art of negotiating, to negotiate on their behalf and structure an offer so that their offer will get accepted, even in a bidding war. They have one agent (Lynn Buckway) managing the process once their offer has been accepted to make sure everything goes smoothly and easily.
Effects on the Listing Side:
1. These "investors" are just listing with an agent based on an agreement to reduce their commission because they got 2 deals out of it. These agents are NOT experienced listing agents, they have discounted their commission just to get a listing or a deal and therefore reducing their quality of service.
2. I have seen on multiple occasions that these investors could have actually sold their properties for more money and in less time had I listed the property. The length of time on the market due to the lack of marketing and experience that their agent has costs the investor more money which sometimes makes it the opposite of an investment.
Our highly effective Marketing Strategy begins by pricing the property right in the beginning. Offering the proper wages to the people that are going to sell the home (the buyer's agents) and Marketing the property to get the highest exposure possible.
The only reason a buyer or seller would have "several agents" is because they haven't found the right one. There is nothing wrong with interviewing several agents until you find someone with the experience and expertise and personality that will match your needs. Once you have found the Best match for you, hire them and let them go to work for you!
To see our Digital Marketing Strategy go to www.thelarteam.com
Effects on the Buyer's side:
1. He doesn't have one agent that is committed to JUST looking for properties for him on a daily basis, so he could be missing out on several opportunities. Especially in this market where homes are selling quickly. If the agent isn't looking specifically for homes for him on a daily basis, by the time the agent finds the home or the buyer finds the home, it could already be under contract or have multiple offers on it.
2. The agents would be sending those same properties to all of the other random people that they don't represent in hopes that they might get someone to buy something.
3. The agents may only be sending them their own listings, in which the agent represents the seller, so there is no one to negotiate for the investor.
I have seen these types of buyers pay over market value on properties like these because the agents had overpriced listings and only sold them to buyers that did not know any better because they had no one representing them or looking out for their best interest. They thought they were getting a good investment. I have had to help some of these buyers out of the situation that they got themselves in by not having an agent that represented them and was negotiating on their behalf.
By having The Lar Team represent you exclusively, you are getting 3 agents for the price of one (which is Free to the buyer). Our team is organized to benefit our buyers so that they have One agent looking for homes for them on a daily basis (Bryan Larsen) who is ready to take the buyers to see a home that they are interested in around their schedule and immediately so that they don't lose that home to other buyers. They will have one agent (Amie Larsen) who has extensive experience in the art of negotiating, to negotiate on their behalf and structure an offer so that their offer will get accepted, even in a bidding war. They have one agent (Lynn Buckway) managing the process once their offer has been accepted to make sure everything goes smoothly and easily.
Effects on the Listing Side:
1. These "investors" are just listing with an agent based on an agreement to reduce their commission because they got 2 deals out of it. These agents are NOT experienced listing agents, they have discounted their commission just to get a listing or a deal and therefore reducing their quality of service.
2. I have seen on multiple occasions that these investors could have actually sold their properties for more money and in less time had I listed the property. The length of time on the market due to the lack of marketing and experience that their agent has costs the investor more money which sometimes makes it the opposite of an investment.
Our highly effective Marketing Strategy begins by pricing the property right in the beginning. Offering the proper wages to the people that are going to sell the home (the buyer's agents) and Marketing the property to get the highest exposure possible.
The only reason a buyer or seller would have "several agents" is because they haven't found the right one. There is nothing wrong with interviewing several agents until you find someone with the experience and expertise and personality that will match your needs. Once you have found the Best match for you, hire them and let them go to work for you!
To see our Digital Marketing Strategy go to www.thelarteam.com
The Purpose
The purpose of this blog is to share with Readers information regarding Real Estate, clear up misconceptions and offer tips based on occurrences and experiences that come up on a daily basis.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)