5 Denver Realtor Secrets of Success
5 Denver Realtor Secrets of Success
Key habits to roll into your selling process right now!
Knowing as many Realtors as we do…
We get to hear about the tough clients, bad negotiations and the “never-ever-agains”. Add that to our 10+ years experience observing how homeowners might react through the highly emotional process of buying and/or selling and we’ve caught on to a few things. When a listing isn’t going well, sellers look to friends and family to chip in all the areas where they went wrong which usually includes any/all advice their Realtor has provided. And while you certainly can’t control every circumstance or how someone may react in a stressful moment, we do know the common key habits of our most successful Realtors. Here are a few of their tools to help you stay on track!
They know their value and how to sell it.
Realtors who’ve been around a while know there’s no such thing as a guaranteed listing. Your best friend since high school, your son’s girlfriend, or decades-long travel buddies may still force a fight to the death around commissions or list price (assuming they even bring you in for a listing presentation in the first place!). The ones who avoid getting beaten up through the selling process and who continually work with the gained trust of their clients, know their value lies in market knowledge, relationships, brokerage resources, and don’t sacrifice their commissions.
Our top clients know what they will and won’t do. While situational flexibility is crucial, they know their limits and red flag moments!
They hold true to their process and come prepared.
Our most successful clients hold tight to their buyer or seller process. Of course, all homeowners are unique with different circumstances but there is always a framework in how they approach the situation which helps them stand firm in their value and avoid folding to lower percentages and avoid taking on those clients they know they’ll never fully satisfy. They come prepared and in doing so, can position themselves strategically in pricing negotiations.
For example, some clients will use our staging calculator prior to their listing presentation to get a handle on the tangible investment numbers. This allows them to decide where they’ll draw the line at the negotiating table. It allows for in the moment flexibility to “cave” on paying for staging because they’ve already been able to evaluate where their final commissions will land.
3. They provide context and knowledge around their recommendations.
You might be surprised to hear how often a homeowner reaches out to us directly only for us to find out after the fact that they were working with a regular Realtor client of ours. While we appreciate being entrusted to guide their client through the process, removing their primary real estate advocate from the situation altogether can often leave them feeling like the process really isn’t that important and de-values the purpose of us stepping in in the first place. The best homeowner/Realtor relationships we see are the ones where the Realtor steps in as a true guide for all services they recommend (though it doesn’t necessarily mean being present for each and every appointment).
One of our favorite client habits is that they start with a preliminary conversation with both the homeowner and the stager to talk through the goals - situational context is key! We deal in highly sensitive situations and getting the Realtor’s perspective on the homeowner’s background and general demeanor around selling means we can better tailor our recommendations, timelines, and enhance our value in our time with the homeowner.
Funny story… Years ago, we would go into “blind consultations” regularly. Often times we had never even met the Realtor hiring us. One time, an agent called to schedule a consultation with his homeowner and only told us when and where to meet. When we arrived, the homeowner had no idea we were coming, was shocked to hear why we were there, and was less than thrilled that we were taking the time to analyze her furnishings. The end of our time together was met with “yeah, there’s no way I’m doing any of that”. It not only made for an incredibly awkward afternoon but wasted the Realtor’s money, and taught me a major lesson in making sure expectations were being properly set.
4. They position themselves as project managers.
Communication leads to confidence. When you communicate clearly and effectively, you become the expert. When we work with our most successful Realtors, they confirm dates, shift timelines when needed and keep all parties on the same page as we move as a whole to the finish line. They keep everyone clear on their tasks within the role in supporting the ultimate goal of selling at a certain price in a certain timeframe. We like to avoid surprises (of course, they’ll still happen) but when we’re all connected and communicating on a team with the Realtor as our quarterback, we see much happier homeowners!
5. They stage, of course! (but don’t pay for it!)
The age old question - who pays for staging? Our agents rarely pay for the staging themselves except for occupied home consultations. It happens from time to time and most often in more personal transactions but we find when Realtors end up hiring staging themselves, it’s because they already got hit hard on negotiations just to get the listing and then end up cutting costs everywhere else to salvage any remainder of commissions which only sacrifices on how the property finally presents (and I think you know where that leads… longer time on market, higher carrying costs, paying for recurring staging months, etc.). We happen to think Realtors are tremendously valuable (we know how late you stay up!) and bring an incredible amount of knowledge, networking, and resources to each listing. We also know that in a world of fewer listings, the market can be cutthroat and some will do whatever it takes to get the listing. Just try to keep in mind, you work on referrals and bending over backwards for this client means they’ll refer you to their friends and their friends will expect the same. Don’t compromise your skillset!