One time when I was a principle selling a home there was an agent who clearly had the inside track for my listing. In fact, he was the only agent in my area who I had ever had a conversation with, and he and I had spoken with each other several times.

So, when it finally came time to list the home I felt 90 percent certain that I would give him the listing, but I still thought it would be a good idea to talk with just one other agent. So I decided to call Ellen Conrad, an agent who had impressed me with the mailings she had been sending out over the years.

When I met with Ellen I continued to be impressed with her. She was one of the most successful agents working in the area, and she was very nice, friendly, and personable also. But after I met with Ellen I still felt that I would probably list the home with Bill (not his real name), the other agent I had talked with and built a relationship with over the years.

And while Bill still had the lead in my mind, I decided I wanted to meet with each of them just one more time before I'd sign the listing. And Ellen, very intelligently, asked me if she could be the agent I would meet with last before making my final decision. (This is very smart for any agent to do as there's no way an owner can sign a listing agreement until they've finished their meetings with all of the potential listing agents. So the agent who has the final meeting has the first opportunity to obtain a signed listing from the owner right then and there.)

So I called Bill on the phone, and told him I had two questions for him:

1. "What will you do to market the home that will be different from what all the other agents are doing?"

2. "Can we meet with each other one more time in person?"

Bill replied, "Well, all of us agents basically do the same things, so I really don't think there's much of anything I'll do differently than any other agent to market the home."

To my second question, he said, "I don't think it's necessary for the two of us to meet with each other again. There's really nothing new I would tell you that I haven't already told you."

WHOOSH!

In one simple two-minute conversation, Bill had lost the listing to Ellen.

Can you see how everything I had believed about Bill was lost by his answers to those two questions? Who wants to list their property with an agent who openly tells you that they're no better than all of the other average agents out there? I've been a real estate agent for 25 years, and I'd still like to feel that the agent I'm working with believes that they're better than the average agent.

And, can you imagine turning someone down for one final meeting together when the person is considering signing an exclusive agreement with you?

I met with Ellen one more time and signed her listing agreement. Then I called Bill and left a voice mail message for him telling him that I had listed the home with Ellen. And then something completely unexpected occurred.

Bill called me later that day and left me one of the most abrasive voice mail messages I've ever received. He screamed on the message and told me he felt he was never even in the running for the listing.

This was entirely false. Had he just given me a good answer to the first question and met with me in person one more time, I'm certain I would have listed the home with him.

Interestingly, I found out later that Ellen had actually trained Bill when he first came into the business, which probably made him even angrier when he found out I had given her the listing.

My point in discussing this is to remind you to follow-up with your clients and prospects. People want to know that you're the best choice they could ever make in a real estate agent. Never, ever get lazy and settle for projecting mediocrity to them.

Published: May 27, 2005

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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.