The
Listing Agent - Preliminary Marketing of Your Home
The
"Real" Role of a Listing Agent
When you bought your home, you probably
used the services of a real estate agent. You found that agent through a
referral from a friend or family member, or through some sort of
advertising or marketing. The agent helped you in many ways and
eventually you found the house of your dreams, made an offer, closed the
deal, and moved in.
For whatever reason, now it is time to
sell your home and you need a real estate agent again. Many home
sellers, especially those selling their first home, tend to think all
agents are similar to the one that helped them buy their home.
Although real estate agents can (and do)
work with both buyers and sellers, most tend to concentrate more on one
than the other. They specialize. When you bought your home, you probably
worked with a "selling agent" – an agent that works mostly
with buyers. Because of the nature of real estate advertising and
marketing, the public’s main image of the real estate profession is
that of the selling agent (buyer's agent).
As a result, many homeowners expect their
listing agent to do the same things that a selling agent does – find
someone to buy their home. After all, they do the things you would
expect if they were searching for buyers. A sign goes up in the front
yard. Ads are placed in the local newspaper and real estate magazines.
Your agent holds an open house on the weekend. Your house is proudly
displayed on the Internet.
But this is only "surface"
marketing. More important activity occurs behind the scenes. After the
"for sale" sign goes up and flyers are printed, your agent’s
main job is to market your home to other agents, not to homebuyers.
© 2000 by Terry Light and RealEstate ABC, revised 2004
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