Should New Real Estate Agents Focus on Buyers or Listings? And Why?

I agree with Kim in that many of my listings relocate, thereby taking their referrals with them.  I like Buyers.  They see you working hard for them every day (running around, etc) and I get a lot of positive reinforcement and love from them.  Listings are a lot of background work after the initial listing push, and most Sellers aren't privy to it - follow up calls, etc.  It's a lot harder for them to realize how hard you are working for them, and harder to "Wow" them.  I got in the business around 6 years ago, and I'm waiting for all those Buyers who I sold homes to in the beginning to start selling.  Should be interesting to see if they contact ME when they list/buy.

I think most of them will. 

Buyers are a nice investment in your future business.

In our market many of the heavy listing agents don't want to work with buyers and many of these agents start a "team" which is mostly made up of Buyer Agents. Getting a listing normally requires much more confidence of the client than many buyers require. So, it seems that many "floor duty" agents really get more calls from buyers than sellers.

Seems to me if an agent is getting into this business, unless they have a great contact list that trusts their business model and are also sellers, an agent would have the greatest chance of building their business with buyers and hope you did a good enough job that when they become sellers, they will still call you.

But beware, being a "box checker" is easy. Truly becoming a great Buyer's Agent is subject for another post!

As new agents with not much credibility, you do take what you can get.  My only preference is work and I don't mind the running around. 

I think new agents must work both buyers and sellers.  Knowledge and experience is priceless!

John - excellent point. I'm much more of a details-gal and thus enjoy listings more. Small-talking with buyers in my car exhausts me, but I love the process of pricing a home properly, brainstorming solutions to problems and putting the marketing together. But I still think that working with buyers gives you a little more bang for your effort, from a business-building perspective at least.

Karl - absolutely! So... how does one "work the business right?"

Working with buyers is certainly satisfying and fun.  However, they can cost you a LOT of time and money, especially if they LIE to you and say they're interested, serious, will know the house when they see it, etc.  Then you take them out every other weekend all summer long, using multiple tanks of gas, paying babysitters, etc. only to have them tell you after Labor Day, "Well, we did like some of the houses but we're still going to wait."

This is what you deal with when working in a vacation market.  They could just as easily take up your entire summer and then decide they'd rather buy their vacation home in Tennessee or in the Catskills, or go to Florida.

I work well with people and I also have strengths in  listings - I want to have  a mix of both listings and buyers.   

Being a new agent (licensed last summer), I currently have one listing (a FSBO I won over!).  I've worked with some buyers, but no closings yet.  I'd love to have more buyers, and have toyed with the "Buyer's Agent" scenario...but I still want the opportunity to have my OWN listings, too!  Yes, I want it all!!!  :)

Jennifer, in our market we have a current shortage of buyers with a long-term in-migration of new residents.  We think working with buyers initially is a great way to learn the neighborhoods, construction styles, home values, etc.; as well as capture more business in both the near and long term.

We also think current home sellers are wanting to work with teams and companies that attract and work with more than the average number of buyers.  Having direct, current experience on how a buyer thinks and reacts to a listing will be an advantage to the agent doing a listing presentation in our market.

Thanks for the post and all the comments.

John