The line in the sand. Are you a professional or wimp?
By Michelle Shelton, REALTOR, CNE, Marketing Specialist

In Arizona, today's market can be tough for agents. Dealing with unrealistic sellers is not always easy. The top agents have figured this out.

You have to be tough in your listing presentation about pricing their home so it will sell. With short-sales, foreclosures and bank owned property, the prices are being driven down fast, really fast.

Every day your seller doesn't have a showing, they are losing money and so are you.

The tendency is to go ahead, meet the seller half way, and at least get the listing, right? After all, the sign in the yard should generate a buyer or two for you. This is tempting. But is it offering fiduciary?  The answer is a resounding NO.

As professionals, our job is to educate and guide clients to the best possible outcome. A sale. When you overprice by even a fraction, your seller will lose money. When you agree to overprice a sellers home, you have not performed fiduciary. You have locked hope into the sellers mind and put yourself in the hot-seat. Not a fun place to be in today's market.

The information may not be pretty. The best thing to do is to be firm, respectful and honest when you show them what is going on so they can make an informed decision. You might lose the listing, guess what, you will be the one they remember in six months when their home is still sitting and at that point, they will be ready to sell.

Wimp or Pro?
Professionals shout this information from the rooftops. They talk about it, write about it, and send newsletters about it. Wimps on the other hand give the excuses and blame the sellers for being unreasonable and over-pricing the home. We have a choice don't we? After all, couldn't we say as much as we want to earn their business, it is not worth parting in six months with a bad feelings on both sides of the fence?  Of course we could! And we should!

My question to you is, are you in the business of listing homes or selling homes? What do you want your reputation to be as a REALTOR?

Think of it this way...if you had a life threatening illness...no matter how grim. Would you want your physician to give you the truth and lay out the options so you knew the outcome of each option? Or would you want him to tell you to take some aspirin and go home and wait? One is empowering and the other disabling. The outcome may be the same, however, an aggressive, informed plan of action has a much higher chance of success than the wait and see approach.  The physician that really supports you, tells you the truth and gives you options for the best possible outcome.

Visit Michelle online at one of these sites:

www.boldtalent.com (For REALTORS)

www.askmichelleshelton.com (Horse Property)

www.mapazhomes.com (MLS Search - FREE)

www.solddvd.com (FREE Listing DVD on Pricing your home to sell)