Selling? Never accept anything less than the best!
It’s funny isn’t it that when we are buying something from a shop, or having a meal at a restaurant we want wonderful service. But when it comes to selling our homes we often just accept the ‘status quo’ even though we may be really frustrated with it.
When selling your home, one of the most difficult decisions is which agent to choose to sell your prize asset. Many of us find a couple of local agents, give them a call and ask them to value our property, we then pick the one we prefer and wait for them to work their magic. If this sounds like you, don’t worry, you are not alone. If we are buying something on eBay we check a person’s rating and their testimonials, and even may see what other items they are selling – in effect we research.
This should be the same when you are looking for an estate agent. Check out their websites, how they present their other properties on Rightmove, read their brochures and engage with them on social media.
I would always recommend that you interview 3 agents, and yes I did use the word interview. You are hiring them to provide a service so you need to make sure you have the agent that will work for you.
Have a list of questions for each agent, which could include:
- What similar properties have you recently sold in this area?
- How close to the asking price did the local properties sell?
- What is the average time between listing and sale?
- What would be your marketing strategy for selling my home?
- How will proactively attract potential buyers to my home?
- Do you advertise on Rightmove?
Estate Agents want to show their knowledge, they want to instill trust in their company and most importantly start building a working relationship with you.
Don’t just take my word for it!
“On a valuation I am keen for the potential vendor to grill me on the services we offer. Why? Because I know this allows me to create clear distance between my agency and our competitors as I explain with passion how we can achieve better results through superior marketing and expertise.
This conversation demonstrates my absolute belief in our services and shows the vendor my commitment to their cause which helps establish their trust in me right from the very first moment of our meeting”.
– James Ryan, Ellis and Co Golders Green, London
“I am an estate agent, but you already know that. We want our clients to choose us because of our expertise and our willing to help. In fact we like our clients to interview us. The relationship between a home seller and an estate agent is a personal one. It’s built on trust and understanding. Only by questioning your estate agent can you really have the confidence in them and only then can they truly understand you, your home’s needs.
We welcome questions. In fact, on our valuation appointments we encourage them!”
– Michelle Wilden, JDG Estate Agents, Lancaster and Morecambe
“I’m always impressed when a prospective seller actually sees a number of estate agents before making a decision as to which agent to employ – it demonstrates to me that they are serious about the job in hand. If I was selling my home and arranged for (say) 3 agents to visit me for an appraisal I would simply ask ‘What are the 3 main reasons as to why I should employ YOU as my estate agent?”. I love it when I get asked this question as it means I have the opportunity to really explain and demonstrate how good we believe we are. Most importantly it means that we can start to build a relationship – something that ultimately will be of mutual benefit.
If I was looking to employ an estate agent, I would always seek independent validation as to how effective an estate agent is by visiting review websites like AllAgents (allagents.co.uk). I also think that vendors need to be very, very careful that they don’t simply instruct the agent that offers the highest valuation – the most common (and most costly) mistake any house seller can make. It really is the oldest trick in the book for an agent to ‘flatter a house on to the market’ simply to get the instruction.”
– Simon Bradbury, Thomas Morris Estate Agents, Cambridgshire
“Questions are the real test to evaluate your estate agent. See how they handle a situation and ensure that the agent you choose is the right one for you. For us, this gives us the opportunity to showcase our talents and broadcast our passion to give you and your home the commitment it requires to enable a smooth process. It helps to break down any communication barriers so that you feel valued and we know where your concerns lie. This is my favourite part, the one part where I can really show my enthusiasm.”
– Victoria Green, VMove Estate Agents, Carnforth
“Relationship building is at the heart of every sellmyhome.co.uk instruction. From the moment a potential vendor gives us a call we do our best to understand their individual requirements. We’ll talk them through the steps involved and will tailor bespoke tips and advice depending on the property in question – after all, selling a home can be an emotional time for all the family and our aim is to make the process as simple as possible. Having worked for one of the big high street Estate Agents for years, the same vendor ‘customer service’ principles apply, the only difference with the online route is that the vendor has to do the viewings themselves. We have dedicated account managers who are on hand to help with any tricky negotiations and the financial benefit is that there are no extortionate estate agent commission fees at the end. At the end of the day, Estate Agency whether high street or online is a ‘service’ industry – although we understand that our offering might not suit all vendors we love it when potential customers give us a call to put us through our paces!”
– Henry Nash, SellmyHome.co.uk
“There is often a slight feeling of trepidation when I attend a valuation, I always confirm the appointment. I believe it to be professional, secondly to avoid a “no show”, and finally to break the ice therefore preventing the awkwardness on arrival – that can work both ways! However, what a pleasant experience it is when the seller is interested in not just the all-important valuation figure.
Personally, I don’t feel I have a sales pitch, I have a story to tell, with the promise of unrivalled service in the hope the client believes they won’t be short of attention. I want to be asked of examples of tricky sales we’ve completed on, examples of a variety of sales particulars we’ve carefully typed with a personal touch, how many followers we have on Twitter and where we rank on influential list of property professionals.
When we are able to tell our story – it gives us a sense of pride and we can only hope the seller feels the same when they choose to award us their business.”
– Danielle Whitby, JB&B Leach, St. Helens
Remember when selling your home, don’t settle for anything less than the best.
If you’re looking to sell, request a free no obligation valuations from agents in your local area now using Rightmove’s local valuation service.
Andrea Morgan has always had a passion for property and interiors. Her acclaimed twitter account @RightmoveAddict features her successful and award nominated blog
tryingtobalancethemadness.com. Andrea recently launched her new venture Citrus Content nwhich provides refreshing content for property and interior businesses. She is a Certified Blog Contributor for Rightmove, has been featured in Show Home magazine, and presented on the interiors stage at Grand Designs Live.
