Give prospective clients interview questions

Interesting article today in CBS MarketWatch advising consumers how to choose real estate agents. I particularly liked reading the set of questions they advise prospective home buyers and sellers to use in interviewing agents.

NAR research tells us that the majority of consumers use the first agent they contact, and also typically contact just one agent before they transact. But that doesn't stop us from going into competitive listing presentations all the time, where multiple agents are going after the same consumer - and same commission.

How can you use this to your advantage? When you're in a listing presentation yourself, tell the consumer what questions he/she should be asking of every prospective agent. Put that list in your listing presentation materials.

Encourage them to ask smart questions, but make sure that YOUR answer to those questions is delivered clearly in your presentation.

You might think that this strategy only encourages those consumers to interview other agents, but my experience has shown that it actually reinforces for consumers that YOU are the right agent for them.

Give it a shot, and let me know how it goes!