2.04.2013

Death Of The 'Listing Presentation'

If you're a home seller who's considering putting your home on the market, fear not. The process of interviewing agents does not always lead to countless graphs, bad personal promotion or hearing about an agent's awards at the annual company meeting. There's a reason some in the service professions are achieving great success on behalf of their clients while others spend their days putting would be clients to sleep.  Probably 75% of the people in my business are focused on force feeding home sellers to be every - last - diagram and market analysis. They listen far less than they talk, focus on themselves rather than the homeowner and seem to be stuck in techniques originated when Ronald Regan was in office. 

Listening - a lost art. Engaging - a seemingly unknown skill. Designing - most agents only do it one way rather than catering an effort specifically to a client's needs. Here's a little secret for my profession. Mass commoditization is dead. A personal, niche oriented (read client oriented) effort now is not just a nice idea, but a mandatory path to true service.

What's the point of this post?  Somehow I've become very comfortable just going in and talking to people in their homes without the dog and pony show. I want to know that their son needs space in the basement because when they buy their next house he's not watching Dora on a 27 inch tank of a television but battling zombies on a 50 inch flat screen.  I want to know that  now as their second child has just gone to college they want space for their kids to come home to in a finished basement. A main floor master is paramount for their future. That big wooden play set in the back yard? How quickly can we trade that for an over sized three car garage? 

The summary is that as you may choose to make a transition in your life this year, consider how you choose representation that hears your needs for the future and designs a plan to help YOU get there. Do you really want to plan this change with a three inch stack of old home data or partnering with someone who will strategize to help reach your goals. Beware the excessive data and the countless line of self adulation realtors. If their 'presentation' feels like 1985, can their marketing efforts be far behind? greg cooper, east carmel indiana homes for sale 46033,  east carmel indiana neighborhoods, top selling carmel indiana realtor agent broker