1. I’ve learned… Ideas from “Top Agents”

2. Lynn Bodenheimer “I am like your doctor. There are times when I’ll have to tell you news you don’t want to hear. But you must have all the facts in order to make educated decisions.”

3. Kathy Irvine “When providing updates to the Seller always phrase it that the market is telling us.” “Be sure they understand that it’s not the agent’s opinion, it’s the marketplace itself that determines value and marketing strategy.”

4. Janell Hunter “You have to be the most competitive in every area. You must have the best price, the best condition, the best commission pay-out. It can’t be just one, it has to be all.” “…Remember, we need to market not only to buyers, but to agents as well.”

5. Tyler Olsen “Now is NOT the time to sugar coat things.” Tyler will not take listings for less than 9 months. “Tell Sellers, up front, not to choose an agent based on what they tell you they can get for your property.”

6. Sue Torbeck “It’s so very important that they (the seller) feel important so I stay in touch…every week.” Show what you’re doing for marketing. “I let them talk…I need their thoughts, feelings to get an update on THEIR motivation.”

7. Steve Breihan Steve tells sellers how different today’s market is, and gets an agreement from them that if the house doesn’t sell in two weeks, they will look at a current CMA and re-address pricing. They will repeat this every two weeks.

8. Steve Breihan He also e-mails his Sellers every Thursday to give them a report on market conditions. This way they hear from him at least weekly.

9. Sally DeFriese “I use the Mapping feature in Rappatoni. I search the school attendance area for similar properties and show them the map report, with each red dot representing a competing listing.”

10. “What is there about your property that would cause a Buyer or an agent to bypass all these other available properties to get to yours?”

11. Joanne Iskiwitch Joanne re-visits the facts with the Seller… -Hits -Showings -MLS Data (data) -Her Marketing Efforts -More and more staging

12. Jim and Linda Graves Arnold “We put seller into MARIS (MLS) as a prospect themselves---as if they were a prospect to buy their own home.” That way as soon as market changes occur, they know precisely what those changes are.

13. Kathy Renaud “ Let the sellers know that you will tell them the truth even at the risk of losing the listing.” “ Also let them know that if an agent comes in and says ‘there ’ s not an issue with the market,’ then they ’ re not being truthful with you. ”

14. Kathy Renaud “ You can ’ t be afraid to communicate the realities of the market, but stay upbeat and energetic, so they know you haven ’ t given up and they feel positive about your relationship. But you can ’ t be shy about telling them the truth. ”