If you’re selling your home, don’t hire a traditional Realtor just because they have signs on the lawn. Hire a team with an expert negotiator and marketer on staff.
 

When hiring a Realtor to sell your home, you need to understand what you’re looking for and you need to know what goes on behind the scenes in a real estate office.

If you want to sell your home for top dollar, you need a marketing and negotiating expert instead of just a Realtor with a license. An expert will have a team of specialists around them to take care of the different parts of a real estate transaction. Big money gets put into your pocket as a result of marketing and negotiating, so you need to hire a company that does that day in, day out for their clients.

You don’t want to look for a traditional real estate company. What does a traditional Realtor know about marketing? Do they have a marketing degree or any negotiating skills? There are hundreds of traditional companies out there, and traditional franchises are being bought out by real estate tycoons. They spend thousands of dollars marketing their company to get as many signs in the lawn as possible in the hope that some of them sell so they can get paid.

A traditional company pays anywhere from 70% to 100% of the commission to the agent, which is paid by you—the seller. They’re not making money selling your house, so they’re not going to spend money either. They make money by charging the Realtor’s fees—monthly fees, copy fees, internet fees, etc. It’s a profitable gambit, but it’s one that ignores the customer experience.

When I sell houses, as an expert negotiator with an MBA in marketing, I come out every day fighting the home selling sharks. Traditional companies, on the other hand, try to get as many people working at their companies as possible so they can pay them their good commissions and make money off the other side.

So, would you rather work with a Realtor who has a lot of signs on the lawn or one who actually does something to earn their fee?

Buyers aren’t calling on signs anymore. They see properties on the internet and then email or text. Signs don’t bring buyers. As I discussed in a previous video, there are three majors mistakes people make when hiring a Realtor: they hire them because they have lots of signs in the lawn, they hire them because they’re local, or they hire them because they’re someone they know.

“Big money gets put into your pocket as a result of marketing and negotiating.”

If you want to hire the right Realtor, your first step is to start earlier than you think. If you start earlier than you think, you’ll have more time to make a plan and dot your i’s and cross your t’s. One mistake can cost you thousands, so you don’t want to start today if you plan on going on the market a week from now. You want to start closer to a year in advance. Once you go on the market, you want to crush the competition by differentiating yourself, and that’s what a marketing expert does. Traditional companies don’t do that.

In the video above at the 3:58 mark, you’ll see a slide I’ve provided that shows a cartoon explaining how a traditional, single Realtor at a traditional office works. Basically, they’re trying to juggle too many different balls at once, and they don’t know how to market to buyers online. As a result, their customer service drops.

The next slide after that illustrates how a team approach works. In this picture, everyone is working to their expertise as a team under one roof, thereby providing a solid foundation from which to sell your home. There is no “I” in team, and when you hire a team, you want to hire a good one.

So, the next time you hire a Realtor, get started early and do your homework. Don’t hire a traditional company or a traditional Realtor just because they have signs on the lawn. Hire a team with an expert negotiator and marketer on staff.

If you’d like to learn more about this topic, you’re invited to attend our next home selling seminar on April 7. To get all the details, visit www.homesellingsharks.com. In the meantime, stay tuned for my next market report.

If you have any other questions or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.