Does it make a difference on who you hire to sell your home? Are all real estate agents the same? And in a competitive seller’s market, what sets one agent apart from another? Well, when you analyze the data, you get answers to these questions.
I want to start off by saying I respect and appreciate my fellow agents. Some people may say that real estate agents are all the same and that just isn’t true, but I can appreciate why some people might think that. The fact is, it’s really easy to get your real estate license and not everyone is in it full-time to win-it! In California it takes only 135 hours of pre-licensing work and passing a test to get your real estate license. So yes, many agents lack the experience, training and education. But what does the data say? Does it make a difference in who you choose to sell your home? And when someone says that marketing doesn’t matter because homes are selling off the shelf, is that correct? Would you like one offer on your home, or would you like multiple offers to choose from?
Well, in answering these questions, let’s look at the differences in what makes a good agent. To me, there are 2 things that make up the difference between one agent to another.
- The first is Experience. Experience is the cumulation of years selling homes coupled with the volume of homes sold. It’s not even so much the DURATION of time, but rather the number of homes sold in the past couple years that makes a dramatic difference… the world has changed so much since everything went sideways, and the way homes are sold has too. It’s a matter of having “invested in education” since the world isolated, went remote and everything was forced to go digital.
- The second thing that makes a HUGE difference between real estate agents are unique skill sets. This can vary from agent to agent. It could be construction experience, great communication and follow-thru, speaks your foreign language, etc. I happened to grow up in a family that was heavily involved in real estate and DIY’ed literally everything, from building homes on raw land, selling, managing, buying, remodeling, owning, renting, property managing, commercial – you name it! I’ve experienced it and learned it all since childhood. But the most important skill set that a Realtor can have, that I have, is knowing how to digitally market. Since everything went remote because we all were isolating at home, and things went “online”. Even more knowing how to market remotely in the way that homebuyers were already shopping and absorbing information. Well, that is Digital Marketing, and it is where I chose to spend over $25,000 learning and perfecting my digital marketing skills. This very specific strategy gets my listings tens of thousands of views on your home for sale, literally crushing the big box real estate websites. How does that work? Views = Interest, Interest = Visits to your home, Visits to your home can translate to more offers and more offers typically gets you MORE MONEY! And if your house is not typical, this strategy can help get it sold faster.
The numbers are staggering. This system works regardless of how hot the market is. In my last listing in Oakland, the MLS got 670 views. 7,058 Redfin views . 7,424 Zillow views. I got 115,128 views from my digital marketing ads.
These numbers clearly illustrate what a massive difference marketing can make and how it can get a ton more people seeing your home versus just doing what all the other agents do, which is putting it MLS and relying on big box real estate websites to do the work for them. And what happens when there is a glitch? Like recently when listings weren’t syndicating out to those websites? The difference in results is when an agent takes responsibility for marketing your home themselves.
This strategy takes a few years to perfect and it is the singularly most important skill a Top Agent can possess these days, yet I am in that “less than 1% of agents nationwide” group that has this skill. Even here, in the San Francisco East Bay Area! The single thing that almost NOBODY else can do for you is get your home the exposure that I can. Ask for actual numbers, I’ll show you mine. The proof is in the system.
And ask me about my tiered home selling plans where you get to pick which real estate services you want and the fee you pay, offering you simplified and transparent choices! Tanja Odzak, Our East Bay Home AND eXp Realty and I’m always here to help. Reach out anytime even if you’ve just got questions. I’m more than happy to help.
I’m a Top Producing Realtor® in the OAKLAND / BERKELEY / EAST BAY AREA. I’ve been in the San Francisco East Bay Area since I came up to do my undergrad at UC Berkeley (a long time ago!), with a short stint at UC Davis while getting my Master’s. I take my duties as a Realtor® and Fiduciary very seriously, I enjoy educating my sellers and buyers along the way. Putting People, Before Profit.
Why not check out one of my no-obligation, online, On-Demand, virtual Real Estate Seminars?
Click here—> I WANT TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE *HOME BUYER* SEMINAR NOW
Click here—> I WANT TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE *HOME SELLER* SEMINAR NOW