Business

Sellers: How Realtors Promote Your Home to Other Realtors

Many first-time sellers believe that the most important marketing tools a real estate agent can use when selling their property are yard signs and other visible print and online advertisements aimed at the buying public. While this is obviously important, a lesser-known marketing tool used by professional real estate agents is marketing to other agents. The reality is that once a home is listed on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service), one of the most important marketing tools a real estate agent can use is the relationship they have with other agents in their office or with other agents within the community. .

Depending on the office a real estate agent works for (be it a large office with a nationally known name or a private company) when your home is first on the market, it is usually standard practice for the company to arrange a “preliminary office” where all the agents of the office will tour and tour your home. This is important because for every agent that tours your home, you may be the one with the potential client who may be looking for the style, location, and price your home has to offer.

Professional agents who represent the buyer are often interested in knowing what their clients’ needs and wants are in a home, and therefore they will immediately communicate with their clients and the real estate agent.

The buyer’s agent will usually approach or call your listing agent and ask for the terms and details of the sale, including compensation. If the deal looks likely, most buyer’s agents will rush their clients to visit your house to see if it’s a possible match, and in turn, beat the competition by making an offer. Many houses are sold this way, often before a garage sale sign even appears!

Although the seller does pay both agents’ commission, the financial incentive is also important to the buyer’s agent. Typically, there are almost always two agents involved in each sale, they split the commission according to the listing agent’s instructions agreed to in the original listing contract between the owner and the listing agent. As an illustration, the agent who has listed his home for sale is often called the listing agent, and the other agent representing the buyer is the buyer’s agent. If he can convince his listing agent to reduce his commission, it does not guarantee that the buyer’s agent will be too willing to accept the idea if he is also expected to reduce his commission.

Since agents are paid only on commission, the fact is you won’t find as many agents willing to show your home – they will show homes to their clients that offer the usual commission to the buyer’s agent, especially in a buyer’s market. While an agent’s commission is currently a point of contention in the media, many consumers are unaware of the challenges of selling a home in a buyer’s market, as well as in a state that has strict regulations and competition. aggressive (i.e. fierce). like in California. Also, most homeowners don’t know that not only do the buyer’s agent and the listing agent split that “substantial” commission, but they must also split it with their broker or office based on their individual sales production. Also, since real estate agents are independent contractors, they must split that commission with the IRS, who, depending on your individual tax bracket, may take 45% of your commission check. This fact alone might shed some light on why a professional buyers agent is likely to be dissatisfied with a reduced commission and less motivated to show his or her home to their clients.

As for your listing agent, it is this combination of a professional agent’s ability to market your peer relationships along with your own knowledge, skill and professionalism that can make a world of difference in the final sale of your home. Depending on the negotiating skills and productivity of the agent, over time a professional listing agent develops the ability to negotiate well with other agents who represent potential buyers, even those agents who may be new to the business and may not know everything. . Furthermore, it is the agent’s ability to sell even in a buyer’s market that demonstrates their sales skills and merits. These are all subtle selling skills that will ultimately contribute to a smooth transaction and successful sale of your home.

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