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Is a Busy Agent too Busy Help a Sacramento Seller?
A busy Sacramento agent will get the job done over a lazy agent with nothing to do.
A Sacramento seller asked me if I am possibly too busy to work with him. It wasn’t a short sale, just a regular listing in Fair Oaks. I found that statement incredulous I’ve been listing and selling a fair number of homes in Fair Oaks lately. I sell all over Sacramento but really love Fair Oaks. In fact, I had several Fair Oaks listings in escrow right now.
This seller was calling around the Internet, looking for a real estate agent in Sacramento. I told him I’ve been in real estate in one form or another since the early 1970s, and I’ve survived all types of markets. I mentioned that I rank in the top #10 as a Sacramento top producer for last year — adding that I’m also a very successful Sacramento Realtor and often manage on average25 listings in inventory.
“Whoa, 25 listings, that’s a lot,” he said. “Would you have time for me?”
I wanted to point out that some agents easily handle more than 200 listings a year, but I figured the thought of that would probably boggle his mind. Many years I average 100 and have no problem with that number. I have systems in place and am organized. There are also agents who don’t take a listing more than once every 2 or 3 months. So, which kind of agent is better? The agent with a lot of business or the agent with none?
The agent who is better is the one who answers her phone and gets the job done. I am that agent.
While Elizabeth is in Cuba, we revisit older blogs published elsewhere.
Why the Seller Chose a Different Sacramento Realtor
There are many reasons sellers choose a Sacramento Realtor and some have no bearing at all.
An agent emailed me yesterday to say a buyer she had been working with suddenly dropped her in favor of another Sacramento Realtor. She wanted to know why. In fact, she went so far as to email the client and ask — in the interest of improving her communication skills and learning from her mistakes — but the client did not respond. She wondered if I would be willing to call the client and find out why the client had hired a different Sacramento Realtor.
It’s human nature to wonder and to sometimes feel slapped in the face. Some agents might wonder what is wrong with themselves — what can they fix? Others might wonder what is wrong with the client. Why is the client so stupid? Then, there are Sacramento Realtors like me who don’t care because it’s not important.
Why isn’t it important to know? Because it doesn’t matter. Because every client is different. I’d say 90% of the time, when a client drops an agent or chooses to work with a different Sacramento Realtor than the first agent called, it’s because of circumstances outside of that agent’s control. Here are some of the reasons clients might not call back or may choose to list with some other agent:
- Co-Buyer or Co-Seller had already made contact with a different agent
- Client was at the grocery store and ran into an old friend who just got her real estate license
- Client stopped at a real estate office and met a very eager agent
- Client called a listing agent who ran over to show a home and wrote the offer
- Client wandered into a new subdivision and builder’s agent sold the home
- Client talked to co-worker who suggested client call a discount broker
- Client was interviewing agents and chose the cheaper agent
- Client’s mother / father / cousin had used a different agent in the past and asked that agent to call
- Client spotted a photo online and decided agent reminded her of her mother
- Client read a blog by an agent who likes the same kind of books
- Client lives on the same street as the new agent
- Client goes to the same church as the new agent
- Client’s lawyer recommended a different agent
- Client fell out of bed and on top of a newspaper advertisement touting another agent
- Client went to YouTube and watched a video of an agent driving around town and liked her car
You see, I can go on and on with reasons, none of which has anything to do with the agent who was dumped or passed over. The truth is clients often work with the first agent they come into contact with. They use very little criteria when choosing an agent. Which is a shame, especially since many of us spend years gaining experience, taking continuing education classes, and developing our specialties to ensure superior service. But clients don’t see any of that nor understand it.
I’ve had clients choose me because my last name is Jewish. Sole reason. No joke.
A few days ago I noticed a new listing that the wife had promised to me show up in MLS listed by another agent. Her reason for calling me in the first place was because the bank had suggested it, plus I am a certified HAFA short sale specialist. She had a HAFA short sale that was preapproved. The listing read: “approved short sale,” which is unfortunately not the same thing as a preapproved HAFA and told me the agent they hired is not a Sacramento short sale agent much less a certified HAFA specialist. Too bad for those people. They made the wrong decision. I let it go.
I’m assertive but I don’t pressure clients. I tell clients when they call that when they are ready to go on the market to call me back. I work at the client’s convenience. Do I lose a few listings this way? Sure. I do. I leave the door wide open for another Sacramento Realtor to slip through. But that’s how I prefer to do business. I don’t need every listing.
It matters not why a buyer or seller choose another Sacramento Realtor. Agents, don’t waste valuable time focusing on that. Crap happens. Fix what you can fix and let go of what you can’t. There is really nothing to be gained from the knowledge, unless it’s why don’t you take a daily shower, and in that case, maybe the agent should stop sleeping under the freeway. What matters is that an agent keeps clients happy and new business continues to arrive.
While Elizabeth is in Cuba, we revisit former blogs published elsewhere.
