Bigger is Better

And you’re right. There’s nothing like a mouthwatering listing to put money in the bank for a real estate professional.

Think back to last year and to a listing that took months instead of days or a couple of weeks to sell. What got you into that trap? Sure, the market isn’t what it was a couple of years ago, but that’s out of your hands (unless you’re on the Federal Reserve Board). Focus on what you can control in your business. The homes you choose to list. Right?

You have three basic choices here:

• You can stay the course you’re on and choose to list homes you think may not sell as fast as you’d like, or

• You can choose to list homes that you can make more saleable with some work, or

• You can start marketing in areas where the nicer homes are.

Since #1 isn’t an option in my book, let’s look at number 2, making the listing you get more saleable. That’s certainly a legitimate choice, and it happens every day in the world of real estate.

The Fixer

If you’ve been in real estate for even a few months you know, it’s easy to find sellers who think their place is the best house on the planet, and that it ought to sell for many thousands more than his neighbor’s trash heap. My advice is if the seller doesn’t want to face reality, move on to one that does. Otherwise, you’ll be spinning your wheels.

Because ultimately, if your seller won’t listen to reason, that’s time lost from a seller who will. So to save time, in the long run, talk to the seller as quickly as you can to find out what hurdles you may have to jump over.

In my role as a consultant and coach, I give a seller information sheet to the real estate professionals I work with. Here’s a link to get a free copy of this sheet. The sheet helps agents get key information about the home and the seller’s expectations.

And here you need what’s called the walk away price, the price you have to walk away from and move on to another seller because you know there’s no way the house will fetch that price. You have to be able to walk away from the seller because, to me, the price is indicative of everything in real estate. It all comes down to price.

Trading Up

Now, option number three is an entirely different animal. Here you simply move up to better homes and nicer neighborhoods. To do that, you have to focus on promoting your point of difference. Why? Because other agents are aiming to list these nicer homes, too. You have to scream with a simple, powerful message that explains to these sellers why they should they should choose you over all the others.

One way to do that is to appeal to their common sense by promoting your numbers such as your list-to-sell ratio and your days on the market compared to the average agent in your market. If your numbers aren’t so hot, look at the numbers of your office and go with them if they’re stronger.

If you’re selling properties for more and at a faster rate than other agents, that means you’re saving your clients money. Break it down into dollars and cents, and promote that at every opportunity.

Now, get those listings and best of luck to you!

Bob Corcoran is a nationally recognized speaker and author who is founder and president of Corcoran Consulting Inc., an international consulting and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching and the implementation of sound business systems into the residential or commercial broker or agent’s existing practice. We look forward to hearing from you. Sign up TODAY for your complimentary business consultation.