3 Keys to Servicing Listings

Effectively servicing listings means communicating effectively with sellers, other agents and prospective buyers.

1. Communicate Regularly With Your Clients

Servicing listings effectively means keeping sellers informed and up to date on the sale of their property.

This includes providing your clients with copies of MLS and any other listings as well as all promotional material such as 'just listed' cards, flyers and information sheets.

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Interim status reports would include as many of the following elements as are appropriate:

• Agents’ reactions to the property
  • Agent feedback is useful in improving the overall marketing of the property

• Buyers’ reactions to the property
  • Like agent feedback, buyers reaction can be help increase the effectiveness of the marketing activities

• New listings in the area
  • These listings represent competition for the sale of your clients’ property. Drawing on your market knowledge, you can help your clients understand how this competition will influence the sale of their property

• Recent sales
  • Sales of comparable properties offer up to date reference points for selling an appropriate listing price. How do recent sales influence the listing price that you have helped you clients set?

• General market conditions
  • What is happening in the general market? How do these activities affect the saleability of your clients’ home?

• Mortgage market conditions
  • What is happening in the mortgage market? How do these activities affect the saleability of your clients’ home?

Maintaining effective communications with sellers is critical. It is an essential element of good client service as well as servicing listings. This communication also increases sellers’ commitment.

The more committed the sellers are, the easier it is to sell their property.

Finalizing an agreement of purchase and sale does not mean the end of servicing the listing.

With the agreement, servicing the listing means facilitating the actual closing. Among other tasks, this includes:

• assisting sellers in buying and/or finding a new home
• preparing and explaining relevant documents
• assist in arranging third party inspections and approvals

This continued service to clients reinforces your credibility as an agent. It also helps clients remember you long after closing, encouraging them to recommend you to others.

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2. Sell Agents, Not Buyers

Clearly with more agents working to find buyers for your clients’ property, you will increase the likelihood of selling the property and selling it sooner.

Opportunities to promote the property to agents include:

• MLS listings
• Office presentations
• Personal network

• Agents’ open houses

3. Feature the Benefits

They need to feel good enough about a home to imagine themselves living there. In promoting clients’ properties, help buyers imagine living there. Use words and phrases that reflect their life-style: “family gatherings”, “intimate dinners”, “casual get-togethers” and “elegant entertaining”.

Once their emotional needs are satisfied, they will rationalize their decision on logical considerations: “the price was right”, “great location”, “excellent condition” etc. Once transactions have closed, servicing listings extends to keeping in touch with clients. This will ensure that you maximize their lifetime value. It also ensures the continued flow of your client pipeline. It is important to note that similar considerations apply when you are helping clients purchase a new home.

To learn more about providing purchasers with good quality service, see serving buyers.

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