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The Listing Agent - Preliminary Marketing of Your
Home
The "Real" Role of a Listing Agent
When you bought your home, you probably used the services of a real estate
agent. You found that agent through a referral from a friend or family member,
or through some sort of advertising or marketing. The agent helped you in many
ways and eventually you found the house of your dreams, made an offer, closed
the deal, and moved in.
For whatever reason, now it is time to sell your home and you need a real estate
agent again. Many home sellers, especially those selling their first home, tend
to think all agents are similar to the one that helped them buy their home.
Although real estate agents can (and do) work with both buyers and sellers, most
tend to concentrate more on one than the other. They specialize. When you bought
your home, you probably worked with a "selling agent" – an agent that works
mostly with buyers. Because of the nature of real estate advertising and
marketing, the public’s main image of the real estate profession is that of the
selling agent (buyer's agent).
As a result, many homeowners expect their listing agent to do the same things
that a selling agent does – find someone to buy their home. After all, they do
the things you would expect if they were searching for buyers. A sign goes up in
the front yard. Ads are placed in the local newspaper and real estate magazines.
Your agent holds an open house on the weekend. Your house is proudly displayed
on the Internet.
But this is only "surface" marketing. More important activity occurs behind the
scenes. After the "for sale" sign goes up and flyers are printed, your agent’s
main job is to market your home to other agents, not to homebuyers.
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