How do people usually select an agent?

People select agents for all the wrong reasons. Agents  want to create an image of success because you think if you hire a successful agent your transaction will also be successful.  Agents want you to focus on how dominate they are, their experience and they use lots of marketing dollars to reinforce this image. You will see ads with:

• Sales awards like membership in the $1m club, $5M, etc.
• Ads with their listings displayed. This is done partially to get more listings not to sell the homes listed.
• Mailers in the neighborhood about homes listed and sold.
• Ads on the grocery cart at the local grocer.
• Ads in local news papers, sponsoring of local teams, etc.

How you should select an agent:

The truth is these are great ways to build name recognition and to create an agent brand. These are ways that agents market themselves to get more listings. It may say a lot about how good the agent is at marketing themselves but it doesn't mean they are the best agent to list your home. Marketing yourself to get listings isn't the same as marketing the home and protecting the interest of the seller.

There are several things you should look at when deciding on a listing agent:

-         Their abilities to negotiate, navigate their way through the process, effectively communicate with you and protect your best interest.

-         Their approach to selling your home. Can they effectively market your home? Or is the marketing more flash then substance?

-         Can they be a trusted partner in your selling process? Are they going to put your best interest first or are they more interested in getting the deal done and paid?

At Revealty, our philosophy is different then most companies. We believe agents should never be making decisions for their clients. Our job is revealing everything the client needs to know so they can be making an effective and informed decision on their own.