For Sale by Agent
According to the National Association of Realtors, FSBOs (For Sale by Owners) accounted for 11% of home sales in 2018.
That statistic isn’t surprising, but here’s one that is: 36% of sellers attempt to go the FSBO route, but challenges and hardships along the way led a majority of them to hire an agent eventually.
In a report published by Zillow, 57% of sellers who believe that selling FSBO will save them money, 36% think it will save them time, and 27% don’t hire an agent because they know their home better than any agent could.
FSBOs aren’t always what they are cracked up to be, and the data doesn’t lie. 70% of sellers who try for sale by owner end up listing with an agent.
When all is said and done, each of the 4.5 non-FSBO million homes is sold each year as an FSBA — a term we’ll arguably coin as “For Sale by Agent,” though not exactly a revolutionary one.
For Sale by Agent
With nearly 90% of all home sales taking place with a real estate agent, there seems to be plenty of inventory to go around. However, this isn’t always true.
The savvier and more aggressive agents are pulling out all of the stops to build their business and take new listings away from the rest of the pool.
To compete in the “For Sale by Agent” game, you need a well-executed marketing strategy that leverages the power of technology and utilizes the social media platforms that buyers and sellers are already using.
As you establish your digital presence, there are several competitive advantages you can gain along the way. Here are three areas you can set yourself apart:
Accessibility
To capture leads and procure new business, you need to be accessible. This availability doesn’t mean you have to be clocked-in all the time; instead, you have a way of being contacted at any time of the day.
In any given transaction, clients require your time and attention. There’s no way around this, but thankfully, the Internet provides a more efficient way of doing business.
By having a website, you become attractive to potential clients, as they can contact you on their terms — a much-undervalued commodity these days.
Knowledge
When climbers set out to summit Mount Everest, most do so with the help of a sherpa. A sherpa is a member of a people of Tibetan stock living in the Nepalese Himalayas, who often serve as porters on mountain-climbing expeditions.
When it comes to buying a home, it’s a similar situation. Real estate agents offer assistance at practically every step of the way — guiding and navigating through common pitfalls that happen in that particular journey.
As an agent, the experience you have is invaluable. Investing time and energy into your business — by establishing local expertise like no other — will help you build a foundation of trust.
This effort will put a premium on the service you offer, making you an asset that buyers cannot live without, and help you build (and grow) your real estate business.
Reputation
“Your reputation is in the hands of others. That’s what the reputation is. You can’t control that. The only thing you can control is your character.”
These are words spoken by Wayne W. Dyer — an internationally renowned best-selling author and speaker on self-development and spiritual growth.
Your reputation — from word of mouth to reviews posted on Google, Yelp, and Zillow — is predicated on the experiences buyers and sellers have had with you. And as Dyer states, you cannot control what they say.
What you can control, however, is the way you treat prospects, clients, or colleagues in the real estate industry. This approach will either set you up for future success or present an obstacle often challenging to overcome.
If you want to be seen as competent, likable, and easy to work with, all you have to do is act that way — and your positive reputation will precede you.
And at the end of the day, your goal is this: build your real estate brand in a way that makes you unforgettable and means the next listing that goes up in your neighborhood is for sale by agent — and agent, meaning you.
