March 5th, 2010
What is the best way to figure out how much my house is worth? Should I hire an appraiser? Are any of the valuation websites accurate?
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AgentAnswers(SM) invites prospective Chicagoland home buyers and sellers to send us general real estate questions via email or Twitter, which we’ll post here (minus contact information) for local agents to respond to via comments. Notable responses are also featured in our Twitter feed.
REALTORS®, simply subscribe to this blog or follow us on Twitter (see right-hand column) to monitor new questions.
Check out previous AgentAnswers(SM) Q&As by clicking on the “Blog Categories” dropdown in the right-hand column and selecting “AgentAnswers”.
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March 3rd, 2010
Here are two more posts I’ve been meaning to share from some folks who know a thing or two about real estate marketing. Like the others I’ve linked to, both tie-in well with our value proposition for REALTORS®.
While he has new web apps in mind here, Brian Boero at 1000watt Consulting makes the case for differentiating in his “Breaking Away from the Undifferentiated Realty Mass” post. His point? “There are lots of reasons to deviate from the standard real estate brokerage playbook. But there is none more compelling than this: In an industry with so much noise, new and different wins.” In other words, if you’re not different, become different.
Similarly, the people at the National Association of REALTORS® encourage agents to highlight the things that make them stand out: “Every Realtor is different and has different strengths and weaknesses. As a Realtor, if you suspect your client is having a hard time picking one agent to work with, try explaining to them what all Realtors have in common, and then explain what makes you stand out.”
Agents, please tell us, what is it that makes you stand out from the crowd? We, buyers and sellers, want to know.
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March 2nd, 2010
Given the tie-in to our value proposition for Chicagoland REALTORS®, I couldn’t resist sharing this short video. As Jeff suggests, listen at the end for a quick reference to a competing carrier, which is the key takeaway for you agents out there.
Agents, how do YOU stand out to home buyers and home sellers?
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March 1st, 2010
I like to highlight blog posts by real estate agents and marketing professionals that unknowingly support our value proposition for Chicagoland REALTORS®.
Ron & Alexandra Seigel recently wrote one when they asked whether you – a real estate agent – could “state who you are and how you are distinct from your closest competition in a few quick phrases.” The question obviously doesn’t just apply to luxury real estate professionals. Find me any home buyer or seller who isn’t interested in the distinguishing characteristics of the agents they are considering.
Are you making them ask?
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February 16th, 2010
The value of AgentsCompared.com to area home buyers and sellers who are looking for an agent is of course directly proportional to the level of participation by local REALTORS®. While our agent ranks have grown significantly over the past six weeks (after we began offering free Standard Plan subscriptions), we continue to employ a variety of tactics, online and offline, direct and indirect, to get the message across to Chicagoland REALTORS® that joining AgentsCompared.com is a win/win proposition for them and consumers.
I’d like to share one such effort here. Tomorrow morning executives at twelve of the largest Chicagoland residential real estate companies will receive a brief introduction to AgentsCompared.com, and a straight-forward request to encourage their brokers and salespersons to give the site a try. I plan on posting reactions – be they written or verbal replies or spikes in registrations from particular companies, in the comments below.
It will be interesting to see which CEOs are the first to understand – and act on – the value proposition offered by AgentsCompared.com to local agents. But one thing is for sure: after tomorrow, none of these companies can say they didn’t know about AgentsCompared.com or its mission to help prospective Chicagoland home buyers and sellers make more informed decisions when selecting a real estate agent.
Posted in Agent Outreach, AgentsCompared.com, Chicagoland REALTORS®, Value Proposition | No Comments »
February 8th, 2010
There are 4, maybe 5, homes for sale on my street. 3 of them have been on the market for nearly a year. Would it be a waste of time for me to list our home right now?
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AgentAnswers(SM) invites prospective Chicagoland home buyers and sellers to send us general real estate questions via email or Twitter. We post questions on this blog (minus contact information) for local agents to respond to via comments. Notable responses are also featured in our Twitter feed.
REALTORS®, you don’t need to join AgentsCompared.com to participate. Just subscribe to this blog or follow us on Twitter (see right-hand column) to monitor new questions.
Check out previous AgentAnswers(SM) Q&As by clicking on the “Blog Categories” dropdown in the right-hand column and selecting “AgentAnswers”.
Posted in AgentAnswers | No Comments »
February 7th, 2010
In the past couple of days I’ve briefly written about our new value proposition for agents (“win over prospects by emphasizing your strengths) and the pros and cons of hiring a “top producer” agent.
This post from last October by Arizona REALTOR® Jeff Blackwell nicely ties the two concepts together. It touches upon the importance of agents actively differentiating themselves from their competition, and the good things that can come from consumers who notice a difference in what an agent brings to the table.
Posted in Agent Selection, Value Proposition | No Comments »
