Слайд 1Why do some Real estate Agents /
Consultants lie about price?
Слайд 2Do you ever wonder why so many agents exaggerate or simply
just lie about price to get you to list your home with them?
Слайд 3
Sometimes consultants lie due to ignorance, sometimes it is a honest
mistake, sometimes It’s poor role models or lack of training and
sometimes it is just because they are plain dishonest.
Слайд 4The issue is a little more complicated than that though. Most
sales agents want to be totally honest but the public doesn’t always make it easy for them.
Слайд 5As a practising sales consultant, many times I have cursed an
opposition sales
consultant for beating me to win a listing by deliberately over pricing a property
only to see it sell many months later for the lower price that I quoted.
Слайд 6Many times I have seen owners curse a consultant who has
wasted their marketing
dollars whilst their property has been overpriced only to have to find more marketing
money once their house has been reduced to a saleable price.
Слайд 7Is the Agent totally at fault for over pricing properties in
both of these
instances to win the business or does some of the fault lay elsewhere?
Слайд 8Agents often have a poor reputation when it comes to honesty
and yet most
agents I know are generally honest decent people who want to do the right thing.
Слайд 9Unfortunately the natural greed of human nature doesn’t
always make it
easy for sales consultants to say what they
really think when it comes to pricing properties.
Слайд 10Honesty, particularly in today’s market can sometimes be seen as being
a bit
negative and no one wants to sell their house with a negative sales person.
Слайд 11Owners often say to consultants, ‘We just want you to be
honest with us.’
Unfortunately many owners interpretation of honesty is different to what
most consultants would consider as being honest.
Слайд 12If the appraisal is based on a cold call where there
is no previous relationship and
there is no distinct difference in the ability between the competing sales consultants
then more often than not the owner will simply choose the consultant who quotes
either the higher price or lower commission.
Слайд 13The following is an example of a very common scenario that
happens everyday in
real estate where an inexperienced, honest consultant takes an owner’s word on
face value when they say…
‘ I want you to be honest with me.’
Слайд 14The inexperienced consultant presuming that the owner wants him to be
honest
tells the owner a realistic price only to lose the listing to an experienced
consultant who lost a listing the previous week for being honest.
Слайд 15The experienced consultants hard won experience has now taught
him to
be not quite as honest as he would like to be.
Слайд 16So the next time the inexperienced agent gets a listing opportunity
he wises
up to the ‘I want you to be honest with me’ line and stretches the truth a little
to a price the seller wants to hear, a price that will give him a chance of
earning a dollar by winning the listing which could eventually lead to a sale.
Слайд 17And this cycle repeats itself time and time again.
Слайд 18So, are agents always 100% honest?
Слайд 20Are they the only ones to blame for this lack of
honesty?
Слайд 24Not whilst Agents have a fear of losing business by being
honest.
Слайд 25A solution could be to take the appraising of property out
of the hands of consultants
and give it to an independent body (valuer’s ?) so that the decision on which agent
to employ is based on things like reputation, references, presentation, marketing,
negotiation skills, knowledge, market share etc., but not opinion of house price.
Слайд 27My Advice to sellers would be to choose a consultant not
on the price they quote
but the ability they demonstrate. If you want to achieve a really high price you
need the best consultant working for you, not the cheapest one or the one that
opens his mouth the widest on price.
Слайд 28The challenge for agents to win listings whilst still being honest
is to show
owners that honesty with evidence based research should not be confused
with an Agent’s commitment or ability to beat the market suggested value
through the correct marketing and pricing strategy.
Слайд 29If my ideas interest you follow me on Slideshare
for further
thoughts on Real estate, Sales and
Marketing and Business.
Tony Morrison
CEO Harcourts Tasmania
tony.morrison@harcourtstasmania.com.au