Dec

30

Real Estate Agents: It Takes Guts

Filed Under Sellers |

In order to walk up to someone’s house, like I normally do, and basically ask for $24,000 is a pretty tall order. You’ve got to have guts in order to do that. Say that the average house for sale on Long Island is $400,000. Six percent of that (or the ideal commission for real estate agents) is $24,000.

So I knock on doors of homeowners all over Long Island and attempt to get to know them. I give them the chance to know me and how I can help them sell their home. I’m forward enough to knock and I’m a professional, so I know what I’m talking about.

Of course I’m not making the entire $24,000. This is split up between all different agents and brokers. Without getting into boring details, just know that in most scenario’s, my portion will generally be about $6000.

Of course out of this amount will be deducted all the advertising costs associated with marketing the property and so on (this is where having a good agent helps because they actually market the property and spend some money to sell it).

For you, the homeowner, at the end of the day, all you know is, it’s going to cost you $24 big ones to have me sell your home. Now there are a million ways I can prove to you that the $24,000 “spent” on real estate commissions will save you 10’s of thousands of dollars, but that’s not the point of this article. This article is about logic. The logic of sales and marketing.

I can talk to you about the totality of the real estate market and why all aspets of it are important and how I, being a real estate professional can really help you, but again, that is outside the scope of this article. So let’s just get right to the main point.

First, a question must be asked. Do you think someone who sits back and sticks a sign on their front lawn is a salesman? Let’s say that same person puts an ad in the paper and places their ad on several online websites as well, with pictures and all. Are they a salesman? Does this make them a professional salesperson?

Sitting back and passively marketing something, anything, does not equal sales. Logic dictates that in order to be a salesman, you’ve got to be out there, meeting people. You’ve got to make phone calls, meet with other people in your field and network…hard. Sales and siting back do not go together…at all.

If you hire someone who is in the business of selling, if they’re good at it, that’s what they’ll do. They will sell in ways you, the homeowner, cannot.

Now let’s change the term “They” meaning real estate agents to “ME” or “I”. If you are my client, while you’re at work, I’m working for you. I’m meeting with other agents. I’m involved in the business of real estate. I’m knocking on doors. I’m handing out flyers. I’m advertising both myself and your property. I’m out there looking to get you top dollar because you’ve gone out of your way to entrust me with the responsibility of selling your home and that’s exactly what I plan to do.

The reason why homeowners who try and sell their homes by themselves do not succeed usually is because sticking a sign on the front lawn and expecting buyers to flock to the home is not selling. Putting it on a website or two with some pictures is not selling. It’s marketing.

Marketing is an essential part of sales. Now here’s the problem with the homeowner and his/her sign and website ad…that’s all they’ve got. Most homeowners will allienate themselves from real estate agents thinking they don’t need them to sell their house. In some cases, this is true. People do actually sell their homes without the services of a professional real estate agent - about 2 in 10. Out of the 2 that manage to sell their homes on their own, they’re usually investors who have a marketing system in place that allows them to successfully sell or rent their properties.

So here I come. I walk up to your house, knock on the door and at the end of the day, I”m asking for…let’s face it - a lot of money. I’ve got guts. I’m armed with the most up-to-date real estate market information and I’m out there either working for you or I’m listing properties around you and make no mistake, I’m your ultimate competitor.

I have a sign on the property. I do direct marketing. I advertise in The Real Estate Book, Pennysaver, Harmon Homes, Google.com, Trulia.com, Craigslist.org, Newsday, The Times, and more. I do personal ads in diners and I might even be on Television. Coldwell Banker, my broker, advertises on a national level, spending millions of dollars to market our company. My personal website, company websites work 24 hours a day and I personally have my cell phone next to my bed, just in case someone overseas calls on one of my listings in the middle of the night. I attend multiple Chamber of Commerce meetings and know builders, developers, contractors, attorneys, inspectors, other business owners and I know most of their families, friends and associates. They know me and know my listings.

A sign in the front yard, an ad in the paper and maybe a few ads on some internet websites is not selling. It’s marketing and it can be effective. I wish you the best.

When/If you do not sell your home, call me to make an appointment. An appointment with me may “cost you” $24,000. But I get that only after I accomplish your goal, of selling your home! And in most cases, because I’m going to price it right and market it heavily, I’m going to put more money in your pocket than if you continued to try and sell it yourself for the next 9 months and lose another $50,000 in value (you just made $26,000 right there!). And here’s a tip, always remember that a real estate agent’s commission is negotiable. In real estate, as in life, almost everything is negotiable!


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