Do-It-Yourself Guide: Find the Best Agent to Sell Your Property.

What follows is a comprehensive guide to finding the very best agent to represent you in the sale of your property. It outlines every step of a proven system that I used and refined over my 22 year real estate career.  As a real estate professional, I have listed and sold over two thousand properties. I have helped thousands of property sellers all over the United States and Canada identify the very best agent matched to their specific property and their unique needs. I have also listened to thousands of disgruntled sellers and have witnessed the loss of millions of dollars that could have gone into sellers’ pockets had they made the right selection of an agent.

Before I layout the formula, let’s be certain that you realize what you are missing. My company, The AgentValet, offers agent evaluation and referrals services that are guaranteed to find the absolute best agent to represent you in the sale of your real estate property. These services are provided to you absolutely FREE of charge. That’s right. All the work that we perform and all the benefits you receive cost you nothing.  Second, The AgentValet’s 16-Step system to identify the very best agent custom matched to your unique needs and your specific property is not only free, but it is also provided at NO OBLIGATION. This means that once we finish our search, you are under no obligation to hire the agent that we refer.  Third, when you decide to use the agent referred by The AgentValet you are entitled to our Concierge Service which uses  powerful systems of accountability and subtle peer pressure to motivate your agent. Thus, not only will you have the best agent for your needs, but you will also benefit from that agent’s highest standards of performance and customer service.  In other words, you will be the most important client of the best possible agent. Finally, if at any time you find yourself needing third party help, The AgentValet is there to support you by creating solutions to enhance your relationship with your agent and increase your agent’s performance.

Though not as effective as having the AgentValet identify your agent, this article will help you avoid the biggest mistakes home sellers make when choosing an agent. It is an advanced, step-by-step, do-it-yourself guide for finding a great agent.

Here is the complete 10 Step Do-It-Yourself System for finding the very best agent for your needs:

1. Commit to avoiding the common traps.

Caution! Everything you have been told about finding a real estate agent is likely to lead you into a terrible real estate experience. This is evidenced by the extremely low regard that the public has for real estate agents as well as the low level of customer satisfaction reported by those who have recently completed a sale with an agent. After spending hours searching the web and reading articles on the topic of selecting an agent, it’s no wonder to me that home sellers have much difficulty in selecting the right agent for their needs. You are told to ask family and friends for referrals, to drive and neighborhood and see who has the most listings, to interview a few agents, to call their references and then make a decision. I am here to tell you that each of these steps is fraught with pitfalls that can trap you into a very bad experience. I explain these traps in an article soon to be posted in the Blogs and Articles section of www.agentvalet.com. The name of the article is “Fatal Mistakes Sellers Commonly Make When Selecting a Real Estate Agent” and if you are still leaning towards the do-it-yourself approach to finding an agent, you must protect yourself by reading the article.  When you do, you will understand why you should be wary of listing with….

• The agent referred by a friend,
• The “Neighborhood Specialist”,
• The “top producer”,
• The agent with the most sales,
• The agent who is “hungry”,
• The agent who gives the best listing presentation,
• The agent who advertises the most,
• The agent who discounts the commission,
• The agent who gives your property the highest estimate of value,
• The agent who agrees to do everything you say,
• The agent that promises the world
• And more….

If you fall into any of the common traps such as those listed above, you should not be surprised if you end out of patience and out of pocket! Only an agent that is confirmed to have an outstand track record of performance, customer satisfaction and bottom line results in selling property similar to yours in neighborhood and your price range can be trusted to best represent your real estate interests.

Beware: You must thoroughly verify the agent’s past performance and customer satisfaction since many agents that claim to be “top producers” exaggerate their results, put their own interests above their customers, and/or do most anything to get a listing. Unfortunately, these unscrupulous agent’s are not only common, but they are very convincing. And while they have perfected their ability to persuade home sellers to list, they rarely back up their claims and follow through with their commitments. You see, these agents that I am referring to are the ones that often get the listing, but once they have it, they spend their time pursuing their next listing rather than following through for their existing clients.  They know that eventually they will be able to convince you to price your property low enough that it practically sells itself. As you read on, you will find ways to catch these unscrupulous agents dead in their tracks. And, you will discover a system for identifying the agent that not only promises to give you the best service available, but actually follows through.

2. Personal Needs Assessment and Property Description.

As in most significant undertakings, adequate preparation is vital for a positive outcome. Let’s face it. If you are not clear on what you want in an agent and if you haven’t defined what your needs are, how can you expect to be satisfied? Sure, if your property sells at your price and timing goal, you are more likely to feel satisfied with your agent. However, if your agent delivers poor customer service and does not keep your best interest foremost, you will not be satisfied. Who wants an agent who pushes them into a sale that does not take into consideration the timing, convenience, coordination with a replacement purchase or other needs of a property seller? Therefore, while you will need to focus on bottom line results, you will also want to outline your customer service needs in an agent. For example, how often do you want you agent to call you? What information do you want from your agent on a regular basis? What is most important, a quick sale or the highest price? Do you need an agent who has superior communication skills, is very friendly and personable, is very business-like and professional, is very socially connected in the local community, is very motivated and has a high energy, has an outgoing personality, is very patient, adn/or is available and willing to walk you through every step of the process? The bottom line is, to end up knowing that your interests are being well served, you must define what you want and need from your agent. Once you define these, you can be specific in your agent interviews knowing what questions to ask and what commitments to seek.

The AgentValet starts the agent search with a comprehensive interview of the customer. In this interview, we discover your specific needs as well as the customer service qualities that are critical to your overall satisfaction.  The AgentValet knows that the best agent for you is one that meets your unique needs.

3. Know what to look for: A proven track record of customer satisfaction and bottom line results.

When you think it over, what you really want in an agent can be summarized into two basic objectives.  One, you want be satisfied with the process of selling your property. And two, you want the best possible result, (usually in terms of money received and timing of the sale).  Unfortunately, most home sellers end up muddling these two objectives together because they confuse the objectives with what the believe is necessary to obtain the objectives.  This causes confusion which leads to a poor choice of agents and a set up which works against an agent’s ability to satisfy and perform. In this very important step, we clarify what you are truly looking for so that you avoid choosing the wrong agent for the wrong reasons. This step will also help you clarify the needs that you defined in Step 2 so that you experience both satisfaction and a successful result.

Let’s start with your desired result. For most sellers, the most important result relates to the money that they will receive from the sale. Practically all sellers prefer not to leave money on the table. So, as they enter the sale process, their desire for the most money possible, drives much of their decision making process. Typically, the seller begins to focus on what they think is necessary to obtain the highest return rather than focus on agents who consistently obtain the most money for their listings. Since the effectiveness of an agent is dependent upon many factors, the seller’s focus on just one attribute leads to a poor decision. To illustrate the point, are just a few of the most common faulty approaches:

Example 1. The seller is not clear on the market value of the property and decides to put significant weight on the prices suggested by the various agents interviewed. The problem with is approach is that agents are keenly aware that price often drives the seller’s agent selection. Therefore, an agent with low integrity will often suggest a price that is too high in order to win over the seller. In addition, the agent who is less knowledgeable about your property’s value will usually error on the side of overpricing.  In both cases, the agents know that once you are in a listing, they can then influence you to reduce your price to get it sold.

Example 2. The seller believes that no matter what agent is chosen, the best way to get the desired result is to qualify agents based upon specific attributes, or specific marketing efforts.  For example, the seller may believe that the agent who advertises the most is the one most likely to get the highest price. This causes the seller to look for agents who are advertising frequently, to focus on advertising during agent interviews and/or to make advertising demands on the selected agent after the property is listed. The problem with this approach is that rarely does a seller know which elements of a marketing plan are most effective at attracting the best buyers. The seller may end up listing with an agent who is inept but that promises to meet the sellers marketing requests. However, the best agents working the area know exactly what marketing is most effective.

Example 3.The seller may believe that an agent who is “hungry” will work harder to make a sale. This seller believes that if the price is set high, the agent’s dire need for a sale will cause a better result. The problem here is that there is no one attribute that determines an agent’s overall effectiveness. In reality, the fact that an agent is hungrier than the others usually means that the agent is ineffective at selling property. Moreover, a desperate agent is more likely to compromise ethics in order make a commission.

The first half of the solution:  When is comes to identifying the agent who is most likely to bring you the best possible result, you must focus on one and only one criterion. Forget all of your previous beliefs about that which indicates agent effectiveness and simply focus on the end result that you seek. In other words, rather than assuming what leads to results, identify which agents consistently deliver the very best results! Now I know what you are thinking. How do you obtain objective and reliable information that quantifies the results obtained by agents? Don’t all agents promise that they will do the best job? Fortunately, there is a way to obtain quality information that will help you quantify the performance of agents. And, in this article I will explain exactly how to go about getting it.

While the bottom line result is of paramount importance for most home sellers, customer service is also very important. Typically sellers want to be notified of all significant events. They want to know that their agent is doing everything within reason to market and sell their property. They want to their agent to be accessible to answer their questions. They want their agent to keep them informed of the market conditions, and of the affect that other listings have on the sale of their property. They want guidance in preparing their property for the market and in negotiations.  They want paperwork handled properly and timely. And most of all, sellers want to know that their agent is taking into consideration their unique needs and is acting in their best interests. In summary, sellers want to feel as though they are receiving outstanding customer service. So how do you go about predicting the level of customer service you will receive from your agent? For one, you could outline in detail everything related to customer service that you expect from your agent. (And I suggest you do). Then you could seek commitments to fulfill these requests from the agents that you are interviewing. But how can you possibly anticipate, specify, qualify and quantify everything that you will need from your agent in order to feel that you were well served? Obviously, this is not possible.  The real estate transaction is far too complex and has a multitude of variables.  What is the solution?

The second half of the solution: When is comes to identifying which agent is most likely to satisfy you with their customer service, you must find a way to verify the standards of customer service that are consistently delivered by the agents who you interview. Of course, this may not be as simple as it sounds. Surely, every agent you talk to will promise to deliver the best customer service available. But considering the low ratings people commonly give their real estate agents, it would be a big mistake to trust an agent without verifying. Then how do you verify? Common wisdom says that you should check references, right? However, if you ask agents for references, isn’t it obvious that agents will only supply past customer references from select individuals who they know will speak positively? Fortunately, in this article I will give you clear instructions for effectively evaluation the level of customer service that you can expect from an agent.

At The AgentValet, our step-by-step system identifies your unique needs then matches them with the agent most likely to fulfill those needs while giving you the best bottom line results available. The steps in this article are offered to help you obtain similar results if for some reason you choose not to request this free, no obligation service from The AgentValet. Please keep in mind however, that AgentValet case managers have the experience and resources that are not available to the typical property seller. It would not be fair for me to say that this article will empower you to match our effectiveness. Still, if the 10 Steps in thsi article are performed diligently, your chances of obtaining excellent real estate representation are greatly enhanced.

4. Identify the most active agents in your location, price range and property type.

In this step you must first identify which agents are most active in selling property similar to yours. Why? Because no matter how effective an agent is at selling their listings and no matter how pleased their customers are, if they are not intimately involved with in your market segment, you simply cannot expect that their effectiveness will apply to you and your property. There is no question that, all else being equal, an agent who specializes in the location, price range and property type of your property is far more effective than one who works in other locations, price ranges and property types. There are several reasons for this. For example, an agent who has been marketing property in your location, price range and property type most likely has attracted many buyers and buyer’s agents seeking these and similar properties. Also, an agent whose specialty matches your property can help you obtain the highest sales price because their superior knowledge of your market segment greatly enhances their ability to advise you in pricing and in negotiations. When an offer is received, the specialist is most aware of the potential an even better offer. Further, since an agent whose clientele comes mostly from your area must maintain a strong reputation in your area, such an agent has a much greater motivation to obtain a successful result and to deliver outstanding customer service.  These are just a few of the many reasons to focus on agents who work in your neighborhood, your price range and your property type. Fortunately, it is fairly simple to identify these agents.  (Beware of the agent the merely claims to be a “specialists”. I can’t tell you how often I have found this to mean “I want to specialize in this someday!”)

Caution: Just because an agent specializes in property similar to yours, does not mean that they will put your best interest in the forefront.  In order to get the right agent you must diligently follow all the steps in this article. To find the agents specializing in property of your location, price range and type, do ALL of the following:

1. Drive around the area of your property looking for companies and specific agents who have the majority of “For Sale” signs on property similar to yours.
2. Go online and search for listings around your property. Good sources include www.realtor.com, www.trulia.com , and www.homes.com . Take note of both the offices and any specific agents who are most active in selling property similar to yours in area, price range and type.
3. From information gathered in your online and drive around search, begin to call the real estate offices that are most active in the area. Also, if there are any active agents on your list that are not affiliated with the most active offices, call their offices too.  Ask to speak with the sales manager or broker.  State that you will be choosing an agent form one of several companies active in your area. Explain that your final choice will be the one agent who has the best proven track record in selling property similar to yours.  Then describe your property and your needs. (Don’t give your address at this point but adequately describe the location.) Ask for the name and number of the one agent who best matches your property and your needs. You must follow these procedure exactly as described otherwise you are likely to end up with an agent who is not the best but one who the managers “friend”, the one who the manager thinks needs a deal to g et out of a slump, the one who is in line for the next lead, the one who is “on floor duty”, (on call), etcetera. If the manager is

   determined to give you several names take note of each then be persistent in asking for the one agent best matches your needs. If you have an agent from your drive around that is with the company you are calling but was not mentioned by the manager, then ask why? While talking to the manager, listen carefully for the tone. How confident does the manager sound in the agent being discussed? Keep in mind that you do not want to speak with the agent at this time. Do not let the manager transfer your call to an agent. As you read on, you will understand the importance of this advice. Do this step with each office and that you have identified then go through and organize your notes. For each agent your should have their company affiliation, their contact information, the address of at least one of their active listings, notes taken from your discussion with their manager and any notes regarding how much activity they have in property similar to yours.

At this point you have the most active agents but you are still far from being able to determine who will represent you adequately let alone who is the best agent for you. The following steps will help you narrow this down.

At AgentValet, we have access to data sources that allow us to quickly identify the agents who specialize in and obtain consistent results in selling properties similar to yours. You don’t have these resources but, with some focused work, you can at least identify the agents who are most active in selling property similar to yours.

5. Gather feedback from Real Estate Insiders

Wouldn’t you like to know in advance which agents in your area have a reputation for taking great care of all the important details of their client’s transactions? I hope so. Otherwise you are likely to find yourself in a sale that is needlessly delayed or falls apart. Also, wouldn’t you find it valuable to know which agents cooperate well with the agents who represent buyers and which agents are uncooperative and greedy with their listings? Finally, if there were a way to discover which agents are more self-serving rather than loyal to their clients, then you would want to know this, right? In this step you will find the reputation that agents have among other professionals in the industry. Here you can gain useful insider knowledge from those who are behind the scenes in your real estate marketplace. Follow this step and you will obtain true, objective feedback about agents you are considering.

To gain insight into the reputation that specific agents have among the industry professionals, you can call industry insiders. If properly approached, you will gain insight that will indicate whether an agent is likely to take great care of your interests and provide you with a trouble free transaction. To do this, use Google Maps’ “Find Businesses” search function http://maps.google.com/maps or your local yellow pages.  Search for the escrow companies that are closest to your property and to the real estate offices on your list. (If you live in one of the few states that use Attorneys for real estate closings rather that escrow offices, then substitute real estate closing attorneys with escrow offices.) Now call the offices and ask to speak with an escrow officer or someone who handles the real estate closings. When you are transferred, state that you will be selling a property and would like some help finding the best agent.  Now go through your list of agents and ask which agents are best with handling details, keeping their clients happy and keeping their customers’ interest in mind. Next, ask to speak with the sales representative who has responsibility for building relationships with agents. When you speak with the representative introduce yourself similarly then again go through your list of agents. Ask the escrow sales representative which agents have the best reputation for being pleasant and cooperative with other professionals in the business. Note that you will have to call several offices before you have feedback on every agent. Also, make sure to introduce yourself as a potential customer. If you are not getting help, it is because you are asking for information before stating that you will be selling and will direct your business to those that have helped you.

6. Test responsiveness and sales skills

Would you like to know how your property will be dealt with when potential buyers call your agent? In this step you will obtain a first hand experience of the agents’ professional sales behavior. From your initial research, you should have the address of at least one listing for each agent under consideration. (If not, Google the agent’s name, to find thier website and one of their active listings.) Next, call each agent to inquire about their listing. Do not reveal at this time that you are a potential seller. The agent will assume that you are a potential buyer if you say something like, “I was driving around and your listing on Whatever Street caught my attention. Could you call me back as soon as possible and tell me about it?” When you speak with the agent, ask for a description of the property. Take note of the following: If the agent was not available and you left a message, how quickly was your call returned? Did you speak with the listing agent or was the call handled by someone else. If the call was handled by someone else, then the same is likely if a buyer calls on your property. This is fine as long as the call is handled skillfully and professionally.

When you speak with the agents, assess their communication skills and their enthusiasm. Are they complimentary of the property? Are they effective in influencing you to view the property? Are they pleasant, focused, and in tune to you?

(Caution: The primary purpose of this step is to gage the current level of motivation by the agents. Do not allow this to replace your analysis of the agents’ recent results and customer satisfaction.  A proven track record is the most important factor in predicting future results. However, in the event that you narrow down to two equally qualified agents, this test may help with your final selection.)

7. Create a written request for proposal

This step will help you stay in control of your initial meeting with real estate agents and help you effectively compare and evaluate their advantages and disadvantages. It will also allow you to be pleasant and build rapport (agents usually give more attention to the clients that they like) while still conveying to the agents that you mean business (which is also motivating.) Using a request for proposal will keep you in control. This is important because agents know that if they can control an interview, they have a better chance of proving themselves. Most of the top producing real estate agents have mastered the art of the listing presentation. Their chief goal is to beat out any competition and win your listing. They have learned form experience and training how to impress the seller with their positive attributes. Each will want focus you on their particular strengths and convince you that their strengths are the most important factors. Since the marketing and selling of real estate is a complicated, multi-dimensional process, evaluating and comparing can become confusing. To keep your evaluation as simple as possible, you will want to maintain an organized comparison of agents over a set of critical attributes. Most importantly, you want to compare the track record of success in selling property similar you yours, the track record of customer satisfaction, and the agents’ ability and willingness to fulfill your specific wants and needs. Without controlling the agents’ presentations, you are likely to be influenced by the agents to reevaluate your own agent selection criteria.

Also, a written request for proposal allows you to obtain certain specific information to effectively compare the agents’ based upon the criteria that is important to you. Addtitionally, based upon their fulfillment of your request, you will be able to test attributes such as compliance, organization and preparation.

Create your written request for proposal in the form of a simple a letter or email which should include each of the following:

1. State that under no circumstance will you be listing your home on your first me eting. (This will refocus the agents to your needs. Also, this should stop agents from attempting to pressure you into a quick decision.)
2. State that you are interviewing several agents. (The fear of losing to the competition will compel the agents to commit all their resources and their highest standards of service.
3. State that only agents who bring precisely the requested information will be considered. (This will minimize the chance of an agent being unprepared and/or failing to bring the precise information that you need to properly complete your comparisons.)
4. State that you will be selecting an agent based upon merit and not on their estimate of value. (This will create a focus on mark eting and service rather than the agent using the common and unethical tactic of trying to win you over by promising a high sales price.)
5. Request printouts of the last 10 properties sold by the agent. State that each should show the list date, sold date, initial asking price, final selling price, address, and basic amenities. (You will use this to obtain clear and precise facts for comparing the agents’ sales performance and for confirming their area of specialty. You will also use it to confirm the customer satisfaction maintained by the agents.)
6. Request MLS printouts of the last ten listings taken by the agent showing the property address, price and current status (i.e., available, pending sale, sold, etc.). (This will give further information to gage sales performance, area of specialty and customer satisfaction.)
7. Request a written mark eting plan with samples from their current or previous listings. (Marketing promises are not as important as a track record of results, however a written mark

   eting plan will indicate an agent’s tendency to be organized and thorough.)

8. Request a written statement outlining the how often they will call you during the listing. (Communication is the most important aspect of customer service but all too often, the amount actual frequency of communication is vague.)
9. Request a compl eted a copy of their listing contract with language included that will allow you to cancel if you are not satisfied with your agent’s performance. (This will l

   et you know right away which agents are confident in their ability to keep you satisfied with their service. An agent who is not willing to give you the right to cancel is probably an agent who is not confident in their ability to maintain your satisfaction.)

10. Finally, request a copy of all material so that you may review it while making your final decision.

8. Interview the top 3-5 Agents

If you have not already done so, narrow down your list to the top 3-5 agents that are still under consideration. Call each of these, introduce yourself as a potential seller and give your property address. State that you would like to meet and discuss the listing of your property. Explain that you have a few specific requests and that you will send an email which explains everything. Ask when you can expect a response. Once they respond to your email, call and schedule a 1 hour meeting. Confirm that they will be prepared with everything that you requested.

The purpose of the interview is to listen and evaluate. Do not confuse the issue by showing off your property. This can be done once you select your agent. Rather, use time to sit back and have them explain the information that they brought. Ask them to go into detail about their marketing plan and their communication plan. Be curious and interested. Take notes. Are they organized? How are their communication skills? Do you feel comfortable with them?

Now, here is a very powerful tip. I am sure you know the importance of checking references. But, if you ask an agent for a couple of references, do you think that the references provided will represent the average customer experience? Of course not. You will get only those past customers who had the best experience with the agent.  Without a doubt,  a set of random references will give you a much better idea of an agent’s customer satisfaction standards. Here is what you will do to get a random set of references. Take the printout of the agent’s recent sales. Ask the agent to give you the name and number of the first five. Pay particular attention to the agent’s response and take note. Does the agent comply or reject your request? Does the agent appear to be confident or uncomfortable? Of course, it is likely that the agents will not have their clients’ contact information with them so ask them to email the information that night or the next day.

As in the other steps, we perform this step every day at The AgentValet. Even though we have access to data sources that give us contact information of their past clients, we still ask the agents for references because we want to test the agents’ confidence in their customer satisfaction.  About one in four agents will not give us their past client information. We find that these agents almost always have very, very poor customer satisfaction. Note: An agent may claim that it is their policy not to give out the confidential information of their customers. This is certainly understandable but it is not a reason to go forward without checking references. In this case, ask the agent to contact these clients and gain their permission to give you’re their contact information. A satisfied client will happily give their agent permission to be used as a reference. So, if the agent fails to obtain permission, then it is likely that the customer was not happy with agent.

End the interview by stating when you will be calling to announce your decision. And make sure to keep all the material that they bring to the meeting. You will need this material to adequately compare the agents.

9. Verify Customer Satisfaction

This is a simple, enjoyable and very important step. Never the less, I am amazed at how often it is skipped. After the interviews, you may have a gut feeling about one of the agents and feel that it is not necessary go further with your evaluation. This is a big mistake! Trust me when I tell you that many of the agents deliver outstanding presentations turn out t be agents that we would never recommend. These are often agents who focus on getting listings while letting others find a buyer. After they have listed your property, you are all but forgotten as they go on getting other listings. After awhile, if no offers come in, they will be hounding you for a price reduction. Don’t fall into the trap. Call the references. Simply ask the reference for their feedback from their dealings with the agent. Ask if they would use and agent again and if they would recommend the agent to others. If you have specific needs, ask the customer if they feel the agent could accommodate those needs adequately.

10. Perform an Objective Evaluation.

This, of course, is the most critical step. If you have completed all prior steps in the manner stated, you will find this to be straight forward and conclusive. However, if you have cut corners, the advice here will be of little value and you will likely end up with the wrong agent. (Remember: Listing with the wrong agent can lead to extreme frustration, the loss of tens of thousands of dollars, months of time.  So, review the previous steps along with all of the information that you have collected. If anything is missing, or if you skipped any step, go back and take care of it now!)

Once you have completed all the prior steps, the evaluation is straightforward. All you need to do is analyze the data, review your notes and make your final selection. Start with the sales data. For each, calculate what percentage of each agent’s sales are of your location, price range and property type. Do they indicate that the agent is very involved in selling property similar to yours? If so, the agent will probably have a greater connection with potential buyers for your property. Also, the agent will be better able to advise you on pricing and negotiation.

Next, review and compare the marketing plans and sample marketing material from each agent. (Keep in mind that the bottom line is far more important than the process. Thus you should place far more value in a track record of successful results, than the marketing that is promised. Said differently, an effective agent focuses on what works, rather then what is impressive.)

Now, review the past customer feedback and rate each agent’s customer satisfaction track record. This also is more important that promises of marketing efforts.

Next, review all your other notes on each agent. Do you remember how responsive each agent was when you initially called? How well did they describe their listing? Would this be the manner in which you would want your property to be described? Do you remember how comfortable each agent was when you asked for the names and numbers of their past clients? Aren’t you glad you took notes!

The next part of this step is the most conclusive and the most important. It quantifies the performance of the contending agents. Calculate the average time on market, the average percent difference between the original asking price and selling price and the agents’ success rate of getting listings sold. Compare these among the agents. All the data comes from the MLS printouts supplied to you by the agents.

The Final Decision

Most sellers fall into the trap of selecting an agent who tells them what they want to hear. Though it is understandable that you may sway towards an agent who promises a high price or who is highly complimentary about your property, do not fall into this trap. Many agents use the tactic of saying what they believe the seller wants to hear. They know that this often leads to winning the listing over the competition. Once listed, you can count on underperformance and then a push for price reductions. While it is important to have rapport with your agent, to ultimately get the best service and performance you must choose an agent based upon quality information and established facts.  With the information obtained in the preceding 10 steps, the best agent will stand out. This is an agent that you can put your faith and trust in, an agent whose advice you can rely on, and an agent you can count on to deliver the best results possible.

Now call and congratulate the agent that you have selected. Also, make sure you call all the other agents that you interviewed. Not only is it considerate, but since they deal in your area, you will want to remain in their favor. After all, each of the agents considered is likely to be working with prospects for your property.

Well, are you overwhelmed or are you up for the task? Please, whatever you do, make sure ALL of the above are completed before you select an agent. This is a comprehensive system for identifying the best agent to sell your property. Moreover, it is a system for eliminating the agents who are polished at convincing sellers to list but who undersell their property and leave a trail of unhappy clients. At The AgentValet, we perform all of the steps above before we ever refer an agent. Many of the steps are modified in our system because of our access to information that is not widely available. And in most of the steps we are able to be more effective. Considering that our case managers perform these evaluations every day, their ability to sort out the best is unmatched.

In addition to having all the work done for you, when you receive an agent referral form the AgentValet, you benefit throughout your real estate experience. The AgentValet contacts both you and your agent regularly throughout the listing. Since agents know that they will be considered for future referrals based upon their performance, the referred agent will go above and beyond their already excellent service standards. You will always be their most important client because they want to impress us as well.

The AgentValet performs their service without cost to you. That’s right.  It is free! Also, you are not obligated to list with the agent we refer. (But after all the work we do, rarely does a customer make the mistake of listing with an inferior agent.) Considering our free, no obligation offer and all the other advantages, it’s no wonder that the most common feedback we receive is “Who wouldn’t do that?!!!” You can get started today by requesting a search from www.AgentValet.com. In 72 hours or less, we will have completed our comprehensive search and be ready to introduce you to the very best agent for your unique needs and your specific property.