If I tell you I've never sold a home, would you hire me?

I just read someone's post about FSBO's and it brought me back to the concept that, after 30 years in our business, I still don't understand. Let's look at this; A seller is listening to an agent explain why the seller should be represented by them, in what is usually a sellers most valuable asset in their world. The agent says, "Mr & Mrs Seller, I want to be honest with you. I have never ( or maybe, have once or twice ) worked with a buyer,marketed a home, sold a home,  negotiated an offer with another buyer or seller, prequalified a buyer, interv iewed a buyer, attended a real estate training course, and to be quite honest, I don't even have my real estate license or a broker I can go to for advise when I need it. Will you please hire me to sell your home?". I am reasonably certain any of us can guess what the sellers response will be. Yet, every day, FSBO's are out there representing themselves with the exact same qualifications as the (so-called) agent they wouldn't hire in a million years! And why won't they hire that agent? because the facts lead to the reality that that agent, no matter how well intentioned and how honest, is incompetent, and cannot be expected to get the seller the highest price in the shortest period of time, or anything else the seller may want. Maybe, thats part of why N.A.R. found that FSBO's who are successful in selling their own homes sell for an average of 16% less than a Realtor would get. Apparently, the agent they hired didn't get the job done.

So, the next time you speak with a FSBO, ask them how they are liking the real estate business. No doubt, like so many "new" realtists who aren't properly trained, their enthusiasm for their newest vocation will diminish as their frustration increases, and as some point, hopefully before they cost themselves real money because of the vocation-specific incomptenece of their FSBO agent (themselves) they chose to hire, they hire a competent agent and agency that will get them the most money in the shortest period of time, while getting them to where they need to be when they need to get there.