Is Your Agent Connected?
Author: Sarah Stelmok From http://sarahiouslyspeaking.com • Apr 12th, 2013Category: Blog Entries.Local, RealEstate.Local
What do I mean by connected? I definitely don’t mean the bright shiny objects that have been floating around the marketing world and interwebs. Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest only go so far in developing sustainable relationships. Is your agent connected to other agents?
Personal Connections Matter
The real estate industry is a pretty cut throat world to be a part of. From day one real estate agents are taught that everyone with a real estate license is our competition. There is this myth that there a not enough potential clients to go around. Survival of the fittest. Do what needs to be done to get the business. It is rare to find a real estate veteran who isn’t traumatized from the lack of cooperation from fellow agents. There isn’t a real estate course that teaches agents to be nice to each other. (I think there should be).
I’ve been actively selling real estate for 10 years. I can’t say that all of my transactions have had fabulous relations between the agents or the buyer and seller. Sometimes egos get in the way, sometimes feelings get hurt, and sometimes representing my client means the other side loses something they are fight for. But, my goal is to have a reputation as an honest, ethical, educated agent who represents her clients well and gets to the closing table. Why? Reputation goes alot further in real estate than most consumers realize. A past transaction and it’s outcome can affect future transactions. If an agent is known for being difficult, aggressive, and/ or unethical, other agents don’t want to work with them. Who wants to be put through a transaction that will exhaust them or may be doomed to fail from the outset? The more business an agent does, the more likely they have a reuptation amoung fellow practioners. So, what if your real estate agent’s reputation with their colleagues?
Whenever I show homes or receive offers from buyer’s agents I always let my client know if the agent is someone who I recommend they work with. What!?! I actually tell my clients if they want to work with an agent!?! Yes, I do. Without having to go into detail about prior experiences with other agents, my clients deserve to know if a cooperating agent will get this transaction to the closing table. They deserve to know how long the agent has been licensed and how many education courses they have taken in the last 2 years. The numbers and terms of the offer are only one component of the potential transaction. The abilities and limitations of the people on the other side of the transaction are an even more important component; so important that many agents will advise their clients to accept an offer with a lower sales price and more contingencies because the agent representing the buyer is good at their job.
So, you need to ask the question, Is My Agent Connected? Are they connected with agents in their market area? Can they set expectations for working with cooperating agents when showing houses or reviewing offers? Will their connections make my home sale
or home purchase experience more enjoyable? IS My Agent Connected?
