Real Estate Snippets: Interviewing a Real Estate Agent

Real estate agents are self-employed. That means that every time a real estate agent works with a potential client they have to negotiate a contract to represent the client. It can be like going to an interview for a new job every day or every week. The "interview" can be emotionally taxing, especially if the agent is young in the business. The rejection of not being chosen is a hard thing to overcome for new agents.

The consumer, on the other hand, would like to be able to spy on the agent as they do their work. It would be so much easier to choose if the potential client could be a fly on the wall or peak through the knot holes to see how their potential agent does business. Prospective clients know that some people are really good at interviews, but that doesn't make them a good professional. Others get tongue tied in interviews but do an excellent job negotiating a good transaction for their clients.

The vast majority of consumers work with the first agent that contacts them, but a few actually do interview agents before making their choice. This week I was interviewed by a seller. The fear of rejection is an ancient memory after so many years in the business, but there's always a surprise at every meeting. This one had several surprises. First, the house had been listed before and showed pictures of an outdated kitchen and baths. Imagine my surprise when I entered a kitchen that had brand new appliances, cabinets, and countertops and the baths had new ceramic floors. What a shock.

Experienced agents had challenged me years ago to prepare an answer for the question finally asked by this couple: "How do your services compare to that of a big company's?" The same question can be rephrased to "Why should we choose you? What makes you different?" This is the same question that marketing specialists ask.

So what was my answer? In my opinion, the size of the company does not make an agent more competent or "better". The individual agent will be competent and proficient or not. That standard of quality is not dependent on the size of the company the agent is affiliated with. Agents that are less professional in a large company will not service the listing better than would a good agent from a small company. The marketing expertise depends on the expertise and commitment of the individual agent.

In addition, a good agent from a small company has a high level of quality control for the transaction. That same standard of professionalism will be demonstrated in the network of professionals the small company agent refers to their client. The large company may pressure their agents to use affiliated businesses just because they are sister companies. The affiliation with the big company does not make the sister companies the best choice for the transaction.

The final analysis was that the quality of service for the listing depends on the agent and not on the size of the company. My standards are pretty high even though I work from a small company. As a result my listings will get personal attention that they might not get from an agent with lower standards.