Dear Agent Who Didn’t Get the Listing
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Writings about residential real estate and all things home, by Cynthia Cummins of Kindred SF Homes.
Don’t despair. Because it’s not about you. It’s about a particular and peculiar combination of needs, fantasies and neuroses that led the seller to choose Agent X instead of you.
Maybe Agent X flew some false flags that impressed the sellers: The Agent X talked about their MBA and their JD (which we know is pretty much worthless when it comes to doing the job of Realtor). Agent X pointed to their top producer status (which only goes so far). Agent X touted their celebrity status (see a paid advertorial in the Nob Hill Gazette).
Or Agent X was the compromise choice for two soon-to-be-ex spouses in the middle of a divorce. One spouse liked you. One spouse liked a third agent (who also didn’t get the listing).
Or the sellers liked both agents they interviewed and decided to choose with a coin toss (or by picking a scrabble tile – real story, I know because they drew a Z for me and I lost).
Or the owners told you “We don’t feel like you believe in the property” because they didn’t like your realism about best pricing strategy (lower than they hoped) and they didn’t appreciate you “dissing” their house (when you were merely talking about optional enhancements that could boost value).
Or Agent X told the sellers exactly what they should and shouldn’t do and didn’t leave any room for collaboration or argument. Some people appreciate being bossed around by an authority instead of facing choices.
Or the sellers felt you weren’t “aggressive” enough, even though you know (and can’t say) that the only person Agent X is going to be aggressive with is THE SELLERS.
Or it could be that Agent X was clearly more qualified than you!
Please remember you did your best. Perhaps next time, you’ll be the winner. But, in any case, later on, you can console yourself when the property goes on the market with Agent X and you see:
An asking price that is way too high.
Typos or tired cliché adjectives in Agent X’s marketing copy.
Inaccuracies in Agent X’s description.
That the agent-facing remarks in Multiple Listing Service haven’t been updated since the listing was new 63 days ago.
That not a single eblast has been sent out to agents since the first week of marketing.
That Agent X threw the house on lockbox and isn’t doing open houses.
That Agent X isn’t doing any of the special things you had planned.
That the property has gone in and out of escrow several times.
That there have been two price reductions and still no sale.
You never know if – after the sellers grow weary of Agent X’s lack of results – you’re going to get the call to list the property at a realistic price and with truly motivated sellers. Meanwhile, you’re free to do other work and serve other clients. It’s going to be okay.
Photo Credit: Thought Catalog
