Are you doing a ‘client-centered’ listing process, or an ‘agent-centered’ listing process? What is a ‘client-centered’ process? A process that results in the outcome the client wants. A study by Consumer Reports said the client was satisfied with our service when
The listing sold quickly
The listing sold for close to full price
The Agent-Centered Process
You can guess what that is: The agent creates dialogue to get the seller to list with him/her at any price–so the agent will have a listing he/she can market to snag buyers.
The Cient-Centered Approach Gets You Referrals
If what the client wants from us is a “sold” sign on the property, and that’s the only way they rate us highly–and give us referrals, then, it makes sense to do a listing and marketing process that creates the higher levels of customer satisfaction. By the “client-centered” approach, I mean to keep the client’s best interest first at heart—not the agent’s!
Five Questions to Ask Yourself
Here are five questions to ask yourself, to see which kind of process you use—and tips to change your process to true ‘client-centered’.
1. Do you have an ‘information-loaded’, prioritized listing system? If you don’t have a complete process, you aren’t instilling trust and confidence in the seller.
2. Do you educate from the beginning, or do you just sell, sell, sell (tell) ? A pre-first visit package educates seller and shows your professionalism.
3. Are you a ‘property information gatherer’ or a ‘people consultant’? An in-depth questionnaire focusing on their needs proves you care more about them than getting a sign on the property.
4. What’s your objective? The statistics prove that most agents’ objective is to list the property. That is not in the client’s best interests. To change to client-centered marketing, you must focus on listing only saleable properties.
5. Do you provide the seller a written marketing plan? A professional marketing company always provides the plan in writing. Shouldn’t you?
