What Exactly is an Agent Selling?

Dig deeper...it's not houses.

Most buyers choose their homes because they meet basic criteria (size, location, price) and because they possess some specific intangible qualities.

Few buyers are sold a home that they wouldn't have otherwise bought without the salespitch.

Moreover, most homesales have two agents involved: one representing the Buyer and one representing the Seller. Generally speaking, the agent working with the Buyer has no incentive to sell a specific house. There will always be another to consider.

Many home Sellers consider what they pervceive to be an agent's sales skills as they interview potential listing agents. However, most times, the listing agent will have little or no communication with a serious Buyer. And, even if they did, it is highly unlikely that even the most gifted salesperson would convince a Buyer to buy a home that they wouldn't have bought anyway.

Selling You

So, is having a good salesperson as your listing agent unimportant? Hardly. You just have to realize what it is that they are actually selling: Themselves to you.

First, they have to sell themselves at the listing presentation. They want you to hire them and they should pull out all the stops.

Once hired, they will constantly be selling you that what they are advising is indeed the right thing to do. Maybe the price is too high. Maybe the floors need to be refinished. Maybe it's wise to take offer A versus offer B.

Now, Sellers typically develop strong opinions about exactly how the sale of their home should proceed. An agent that brings a dissenting opinion will be met with resistance, scorn, and sometimes walking-papers. This is where the best salespeople stand out from the pack: they can help you come to the "right" decision, whether you want to or not.

The best agents can bring deals together and keep them together by convincing their client to take an action when they don't want to take.

Sellers should hire agents who they trust to give correct advice, and whose sales skills with overpower their own objections.