8 of 10 Agents

There are about 10,000 in our metro area. Yet there are only 3,500 Active listings. We have an oversupply of agents and an undersupply of sellers. That is one reason realty careers are short-lived.

I was recently speaking with an agent that lost out in the listing interview. She is with a national franchise, and so were the other agents the seller interviewed. Yet, she still lost.

What made this more troubling, is she sold the seller the house just 5 years ago. The listing price was about $900,000 and the seller was moving down to $500,000. She historically sells about 15 houses per year, thus this was a painful outcome.

But what about the future referrals from that client. There are gone. This listing interview cost her $50,000.

This is competition! If you plan to win, plan to be prepared. Being prepared means you come with intriguing data that “blows the mind of the seller.” Comps do not do this. Your brand name does not do this. Each of us must be prepared to tell the seller what they do not know. Here are some quick data insights that win listings and sellers love.

• The percentage of closed listings vs failed / expired (represents the probability of a sale occurring).
• The active listing ratio to the under contract (represents real-time buyer demand).
• The number of price adjustments for active listings (sets expectations for the seller of what may be necessary).
• The percentage of properties that sell over the asking price (speaks to immediate buyer behavior).
• The dollar amount that listing sell over asking price.
• The projected days on market.

Data, and your skills to present your findings will eliminate the competition that wants one thing, “to defeat you, and win the listing.” Take nothing for granted. We are in a housing shortage and we must leave little chance of failing when competing.

If your competitive advantage is your brand name, you are setting yourself up for a loss. All the seller needs to do is higher the agent with the most sales, with the biggest company, with the most years in the business. But that represents only one person in all of this community. And most likely not you.

Hone your presentations skills. The next interview could be crucial to your career.