I have sat in front of many home owners on listing appointments and had the promise made that they will get back to me either way, no matter who they hire. Nice line and most times, entirely untrue. Today was different. I did get a very pleasant call from a gentleman that chose to hire another agent, and wanted to tell me why.
Feedback is a great thing, but we can all dread anything negative we here about ourselves. What this seller told me had nothing to do with me personally, but the information I presented him. He didn't like the Net Sheet I drew up for him. The figures he didn't like 
were the estimated sales price, and the estimated closing cost assistance that a buyer would need to purchase his home. I gave him a realistic sales price, and the seller subsidy figure I thought would be the most likely. This comes from my knowledge of the area, as a full-time, consistent producing agent.
He chose his Realtor, not based on experience, but their Net Sheet. The winning agent promised him more money for his home and told him that buyers in our market didn't need closing cost assistance.
I asked who this winning agent was, and he graciously shared. I wished him all the best, thanked him for the call, and assured him there were no hard feelings.
Of course, my inquiring mind typed in the winning agent's info in the local MLS as soon as I got home. I was sad to see that he has not yet sold one house. He has not even listed one house. He has done one rental. My reserach went back to January 2008..,..so I am assuming he's a new agent. My heart sank.
I wish the seller the best, but I know the outcome as well as you do. His home will sit on the market based on the promises of an agent who has yet to represent a buyer or a seller in a real estate transaction. Perhaps he should have asked how many homes the agent had sold. Or how many buyers he'd represented lately...or even how he knew the figures he presented were accurate... and then the seller could've taken that advice with a grain of salt. Hard to make knowledgable statements, as an area expert, when you have no working knowledge of what you are discussing.
To make matters worse, the seller said he'd signed the listing agreement yesterday and that the agent was hoping to have it in the MLS by this evening. Nothing yet. Another bad sign. An agent with no measurable sales and yet no time to put in a brand new listing? I wonder what in the world is a higher priority in your business than selling a client's house?
A lesson for all home sellers. Anyone can put a number on a piece of paper to make you happy, but do they have the experience, knowledge or motivation to sell your home?
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