Fierce competition is a reality in today’s housing industry. Showing your value and setting yourself apart to potential clients who are considering several other listing agents is not a should do—it’s a must do. It can be tempting to reduce your commission (which I don’t recommend) or work for free (which I also don’t recommend), but instead, do what everyone else isn’t doing: educate.
 
Having the right tools and words can help you shift a homeowner’s focus to what they should be looking for in an agent—and why it should be you. It’s your opportunity to provide a powerful coaching moment. Here is a dialogue that you can use to educate your homeowner:
 
“Mr. and Mrs. Hunna, there are two types of agents in real estate. There are selling agents, who like to take buyers out and show them properties. Then you have marketing agents, who take your home and market it in such a way that it motivates thousands of selling agents to show and sell your home. When you are a homeowner, who would you think is better for you? A marketing agent or selling agent? The winning answer is a marketing agent. My job as a marketing agent is to get as many buyers through your front door as possible. I do that by marketing to buyers and industry professionals. That’s important because that’s how you get top dollar for your investment. So, as you interview real estate agents, you should be focusing on who would be the best marketing agent, not just licensee, who can promote your home.”
 
You can go on to explain how marketing agents use tools like a broker open house, public open house, eye-catching MLS descriptions, agent incentives, home-staging expertise and more to pique the interest of other agents in the area. You can ask your homeowner, “Who’s more likely to get the home sold quickly? One agent focused on finding buyers themselves or a whole MLS full of agents with buyers of their own who will seize a good opportunity when it presents itself?” The answer is obvious.
 
Once your homeowner begins to understand this, you can focus on who you are: your expertise, your company, your team, your credentials and the marketing tools that help make you the best at marketing homes. Good luck and go get those listings! We’re here to help.
 
Darryl Davis has trained and coached more than 100,000 agents globally. For more information, visit http://www.DarrylSpeaks.com/Online-Training.

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