What Sellers Want in A Real Estate Agent

According to data collected by the NAR, the top five things sellers want in a real estate agent is help:

1. marketing their home to potential buyers (20%)
2. pricing home competitively (20%)
3. selling the home within a specific time frame (19%)
4. finding a buyer for home (14%)
5. finding ways to fix up home to sell it for more (14%)

Help marketing their home to potential buyers (20%) 

There are two services that sellers want most in a real estate agent. They are marketing a seller’s home and pricing their home for sale. According to the NAR, 20% of sellers most want a real estate agent who will market their home to buyers.

Listing agents who want to get more clients should focus on creating a stellar marketing plan. The best way to do this is by answering the questions home sellers will most often ask. These include:

• What online channels will me home be shared on (Zillow, MLS, Social Media, etc.)?
• How will the real estate agent make my home stand out from the thousands of listings online (Single Property Sites, media used, target ads, etc.)?
• Which forms of media will be used to promote my home (Professional photos, floor plans, virtual tours, etc.)?
• How will my home be promoted locally (open house, sign riders, etc.)?
• How will the real estate agent’s professional network be leveraged to promote my home?

Since marketing skills are the most important thing sellers want in a real estate agent, making a stellar marketing plan should be #1 priority.

Help Price Home Competitively (20%) 

Pricing homes competitively is just as important to sellers (20%) as having a solid marketing plan. Sellers want an agent who will list their home at the right price. But, giving sellers the best listing price possible isn’t good enough. Sellers want a real estate agent who will show them exactly how they decided on the listing price.

In a world of inaccurate Zestimates, real estate agents need to be incredibly honest and open about how comps are acquired and how listing prices are decided on. Sellers love printouts and explanations of detailed comps. 

Real estate agents should view themselves as educators. Home sellers need agents to teach them about the best price for their home and how that price is determined.

Help Selling a Home Within a Specific Time Frame (19%) 

Real estate agents have a great opportunity to help calm a seller’s anxiety and get new clients, by emphasizing a commitment to selling homes within a specific time frame. With job changes, expanding families, and other relocation needs, many sellers become nervous and frustrated when thinking about their time frame needs.

A seller’s fear and frustration are a huge opportunity for real estate agents. Presenting a track record of previous sales, past client testimonials, and emphasizing how the marketing plan and listing price are important to selling quickly are important.

Help Find a Buyer for Home (14%)

Fourteen percent of sellers most want an agent that will help them find a buyer. This need ties directly into a real estate agent’s marketing plan. And, highlighting the real estate agent’s professional network is a must.

The listing agent should also highlight their ability to find the right buyer for a seller’s home. Talking about qualifying buyer leads is important. Not only will the real estate agent find a buyer, but one who is financially secure, is going to make it to closing,  and who is not asking for an outrageous price cut.

Help Find Ways to Fix Up Home to Sell it For More (14%) 

It’s not a surprise that many home sellers want to increase the asking price of their home. And while this can cause headaches for agents, what many sellers actually want is help and guidance fixing up their homes to sell for more.

When presenting a fair listing price and comps, part of the conversation often turns to increase the listing price. No surprises here! But agents should be ready with a list of data-backed home improvement options to increase the sales price. Having the name of a few good contractors on hand is also a great idea.

What Sellers Want in a Real Estate Agent

While many real estate agents focus on their negotiating skills, their brokerage’s reputation, or other strengths, the truth is, we have data on what sellers want in a real estate agent. A strong marketing plan, a competitive listing price, help selling their home quickly, finding a buyer, and advice on home improvements is what sellers actually want most. Above all, agents who focus on these needs and marketing toward those needs will see the highest pay-offs.

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From a brutal memoir of a new agent to some solid business classics, we are exploring the best books for real estate agents in 2019. These books were written to help real estate agents get ahead, laugh, and learn something new. While not every entry on this list written specifically by an agent, they are guaranteed to encourage real estate professionals and help grow their businesses.

REAL by Dave Crumby

This book is for real estate agents who want to stop working 12-14 hour days and reclaim their personal lives. Through contributions by real estate influencers like Trulia’s Pete Flint, Zillow’s Spencer Rascoff, and Crumby himself, REAL removes common misconceptions about what it takes to be successful.

The real-life stories of the authors inspire agents to adjust their own businesses. They each reveal their own peaks, valleys, and how they overcame indusrty challenges. By reading these stories, agents will find hidden opportunities within their own businesses.

7L: The Seven Levels of Communication: Go From Relationships to Referrals by Michael J. Maher

This book is all about relationships – the foundation of any real estate business. Maher chronicles the story of Rick Masters, an agent who is inspired by a mortgage broker who runs her own business entirely on referrals.

Instead of promoting himself, Maher is inspired to back away from real estate marketing and focus on relationships. Throughout the story, Rick goes from someone who was focused on himself and his image, to someone who is generous and focused on helping those him around. As he does this, his business naturally grows.

This feel-good book is about growing your heart as much as it is about growing your real estate business.

Realtor Confessions: Life as a First Year Agent by Jake Simmons

This book is a must-read for any freshman agent in the real estate industry. Jake Simmons chronicles his first year as a real estate agent, learning from the school of hard knocks.

Simmons sets out to follow some of the most popular “get rich in three, easy steps” programs out there. He tries out several expensive coaches and seminars to see if they actually pay off. His results are laid out in an easy-to-read format, and this honest real estate agent processes what it really takes to be a successful agent.

Shift by Gary Keller

The subtitle of this book is How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times. With higher inventory and interest rates on the horizon, this book is perfect.

Keller encourages agents to shift along with the market. Written in 2008, Keller was looking into a market crisis when he wrote his text. There is a reason that Keller’s book has a 4.5 star rating on Amazon. Instead of standing back to watch when the market crumbles, Keller encourages real estate agents to look between the rubble to find advantages that other agents miss.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Though not a real estate book per se, it still ranks as one of the best books for real estate agents because of its timeless truths. Everything Carnegie discusses in this classic text still rings true, today. It is all about relationships, which is the basis of any real estate business.

Some of the topics Carnegie addresses in the book include how to handle people in difficult situations, how to get leads to warm up to you, and the steps to win people over through persuasion.

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Again, this is not a book written by a real estate professional. However, like Carnegie, Napoleon Hill provides timeless advice that transforms real estate agents’ mindsets. His goal is to transform negative beliefs into ones that draw success and sales.

The stories in Think and Grow Rich are truly inspiring. After sharing examples of success, Hill instructs readers on how they can motivate themselves into the same, winning mindsets. It is a perfect pick for someone feeling worried about what the future holds.

The Miracle Morning for Real Estate Agents by Hal Elrod, Michael J. Maher, and others

The Miracle Morning for Real Estate Agents is a must for agents. Elrod, along with other prominent agents, inspires readers to the rise to the next level of personal and professional success. It is a targeted spin-off of Elrod’s best seller, The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM).

Readers peek into the lives of Rick Masters and his wife Michelle (the same Rick Masters from 7L: The Seven Levels of Communication: Go From Relationships to Referrals). Through this example, the authors show how a mixture of positive thinking and skepticism can help transform an average real estate business into an amazing, seven-figure powerhouse (all before 8 am).

The Politically Incorrect Real Estate Agent Handbook: A Serious How-to Manual with a Sense of Humor by Peter F Porcelli Jr.

Agents that need a laugh should pick up this book. Porcelli Jr. injects humor into business with this great read.

The author doesn’t take himself too seriously and easily uses humor to demonstrate how to be successful in real estate. His brief chapters have plenty of laughs and insights that have readers regularly returning to them. In addition, Porcelli Jr. leads by example. When agents see how the author adds humor into business, agents are inspired to lighten up and do the same with their own clients and leads.

The Book of YES: The Ultimate Real Estate Conversation Guide by Kevin Ward

The founder of YESMasters Real Estate Success Training, Ward has trained thousands of agents to become sales powerhouses. And he has done this all using simple scripts.

In his book, Ward now reveals these scripts. In addition, he walks readers through the creation of their own tailored scripts to build client lists and generate additional sales. Overall, The Book of YES is one of the best books for agents struggling with lead conversion.

6 Steps to 7 Figures by Pat Hiban

Hiban is not an author by trade, he’s an agent who accumulated invaluable knowledge about the market over the last two decades. In other words, he has been through numerous real estate peaks and valleys and lived to tell the tale.

Through the book’s 7-Figure Game Plan, Hiban assists agents to increase their sales while reducing their amount of work hours. Hiban’s plan helps readers to get their personal lives back and feel financially secure at the same time.

The Best Books for Real Estate Agents

Some of the titles on this list are making their debut this year while others have been inspiring professionals for decades. But each entry is sure to encourage and help agents. Whether it is through practical advice, time management techniques, or examples of what not to do, these books are designed to help real estate agents transform their lives.

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