When it comes to the topic of winning listings, we’re always fascinated that some Realtors excel at signing new listings and others seem to consistently miss out some great opportunities.
When two or more Realtors compete for a listing, what is it that sets the winning Realtor apart?
Yes lowering commission is one way to win a listing, but we’ve never believed you have to. We think you can and should be asking for full commission at listing presentations…and winning them!
But why do some Realtors lower their commission? They believe that it’s their competitive edge. We’re here to tell you that it’s the most primitive ‘competitive edge’ you can use.
Some Realtors in Canada will actually list a property for 3%. That means they receive .5% at closing unless they double-end the sale. These Realtors almost never double-end a sale because they do very little work to market the listing. At .5% who can blame them!
We speak to many Realtors at tradeshows, in presentations, at office meetings and many tell us that they are buyer’s agents. If most are buyer’s agents, then it seems to make sense that there is only a small percentage of Realtors who carry the majority of the listings for sale.
Is a Realtor who lists 50 properties a year that much better than one who lists 2? Maybe, but we suspect the real reason is that many don’t feel they can compete with the ‘image’ or ‘experience’ of the big listers.
These Realtors are relegated to working with buyers until they can more aggressively and confidently compete for listings…sometimes years into their career.
We’re again here to tell you…that’s ‘primitive’ thinking!
There’s not much you can do to add years to your career, you have to put in the time. But there’s plenty you can do to compete in Real Estate. You can do it by offering more attractive services to potential home sellers and you can do this today!
Utopria has customers who have had their Real Estate license for less than six-months. If they can get in front of a home seller, they often win listings. They tell us they win over 20-year seasoned Real Estate veterans.
We asked a group of recent home sellers why they chose their current Realtor to help sell their home. The group we selected all had listing presentations from 2 or more Realtors. The overwhelming majority of sellers said that the winning Realtor offered something different…and that they had a demonstrated track record or working hard to sell homes. Makes sense!
But we asked them to remember what the Realtors said who didn’t win the listing. Here are the most common items.
1) Work harder for you
2) Put your best interests first
3) Will get top dollar for their home
4) Expose your home to a large home buying audience
5) Great communication with you, the seller
These are all good points, so why didn’t these Realtors win the listing?
The simple answer is that these point are EXPECTED. If expected, do they really need to be spoken? It’s like focusing on the fact that you will put a FOR SALE sign on the seller’s lawn. Most sellers expect this as part of the professional real estate service.
When Realtors take the time to focus on what’s different about their services, sellers automatically assume that points 1 through 5 above are covered.
Our advice at Utopria is to look around at different Real Estate services on the market. Select one or more that is within your reach (financially and technically). Retrain yourself on the current tools that will impress your sellers (and buyers)!
Talk about your new services…always…to everyone. Tell them how your value-added services will help network with sellers and other Realtors across your region and around the globe. Explain how this ultimately exposes their home to more buyers in a shorter time frame.
The end result of your hard work and attention to detail is the best possible sale price and a smooth transaction in selling their home.
To learn more about Utopria and how we help Realtors win listings with Interactive Marketing services, call or visit us online today.
Utopria Inc.
(888) 453-6504
www.utopria.com
