How to get the best out of your estate agent

I happened to go and see Basil and Barney the other day – my parents’ sausage dogs! As soon as I opened the front door, they were both running in circles and so happy to see me, plus eager to show me their latest new toys. All this energy and enthusiasm was enthralling, however before matters got out of hand and they headed off in the wrong direction, my mother stepped in to calm the situation with their favourite treats. Before long, they were cool, calm and collected once more.

How keen are agents

All of this high energy and emotional experience got me thinking that this is a lot like estate agency. When you are looking to sell your home, estate agents release their inner ‘Basil and Barney’. Full of energy, passion for your home and keenness to show you what other sales they have accomplished. They want your business. However some agents overplay their hand with unrealistic promises and this is where one needs to keep a detailed eye on them and to not let them run amok in the garden. If this happens, you need to put them quickly back on the lead before your sale gets completely out of hand.

Ask the right questions

I have always maintained that estate agency is a people and emotions business. If you have the enthusiasm for a property you will go a long way, but it is the detailed eye in the end that will count. From the outset it is useful to know who specifically is handling your sale, your key point of contact in the office, who is conducting viewings, what information is being put online, which team members will see your home, how can you improve your property to be more saleable etc.

Committed and focussed

After the initial joy at securing your instruction, the key is to agree a direction to go in with the sale and timeframes involved at the beginning. It is at this point that the agent needs to be fully committed, but calm and focussed on what they need to do. Rather than give them dog biscuits, offer them a sensible fee. Many agents are commission orientated – if you remove their reward at the beginning by stamping down on their fee, your sale won’t go the way you intended. Equally and most importantly, if the agent can’t negotiate a sensible fee for themselves to stay motivated, how well do you think they’ll fare when it comes to negotiating an offer for you?

Team effort

The road to success is a longer and harder one than in years gone by and keeping agent motivation is important. The hours one needs to put in currently to get transactions over the line is at times daunting, however keep the agent on side – it is a team effort and it really does go both ways. It continues to amaze me how much your personal rapport with an agent really does make to a transaction overall, not just the other way around.

Easy to work with

It doesn’t matter what business sector you are in, but let’s think about it for a moment. If you have a client who is fun to deal with and everything is good humoured with smiles all round, even if they can be a bit demanding you will always go further to please them. Now let’s imagine if this situation was reversed…

Keep the motivation

As with Basil and Barney, you need to know the detail that your agent is proposing from the outset and ensure their initial enthusiasm for your home doesn’t dwindle when the next treat comes their way. By being that friendly, light touch and communicative client, your sale will excel. However when Tinker and Trixie the two local moggies (aka the solicitors) come prowling, that is when to let Basil and Barney off the lead!