For your first meeting try to allow 90 minutes per agent.  In general 75 minutes will be enough time for you to get to know each other, and for the agent to get to know your property. The additional time provides plenty of buffer room for meetings that run over and for you to jot down some notes and take stock of the situation once the agent has left. Your next appointment can then arrive and if for some reason the agent’s happen to cross paths, then so be it.
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Before you book a meeting, make sure you have a series of questions written up that you can refer to, as in the heat of the moment most people tend to forget the questions they’d thought of. If you don’t have any questions pre-planned get in touch and we can send some to you. In addition we have a downloadable PDF called ‘The Top Ten Questions’ that we send to every person that we recommend an agent to. 

The second meeting is perhaps the most important as this is where the agent will pitch you their proposal for selling your property and indicate the prices they can get for you. So before you bring the agent back, make sure you clearly outline the brief and timelines to them, as this will force the real estate agent to commit to those timeframes in your meeting.

Try not to disclose what you want for your house, as doing so will hand over the competitive edge to them. Your focus should be on finding out what price the agent can bring from the market and if you believe they can deliver it.  

There will come a time in the meeting where they disclose the price range they’re thinking of, so it’s important to make sure you hold your cards close to your chest. Try to keep a degree of separation and refer to the price in the third person.

​For example if the agent says to you: “Bob, we think your property should fetch between $600,000 and $620,000, how does that work for you.” What you do is push the question to back to them. Your response could be; “Well Sue, can you explain why this is the range you’re suggesting and how you derived these figures? Obviously we want to get as much as possible for the property, but we’re relying on your professional opinion to give us the best option. So where do you see the top line sitting?”

The key to meeting agents is being upfront, direct and clear.

Follow these simple steps and you won’t go wrong. 

In your initial contact with the agent you must be upfront with them about what you’re doing and why.

Trying to hide or dull down the real reason you’re approaching them won’t do you any favours. They hear excuses like, “We don’t have to sell, we’re selling because we want to make top dollar,” all the time and know that in most cases it isn’t true.

You’d be significantly better off telling them the truth. Instead try approaching them more directly with things like “I’m selling our house as we are moving to Wellington in 3 months and I’d like to meet you,” or “Our house is too big and I’d like an appraisal because I’m thinking of selling.”

By being honest and direct you’ll be able to avoid misunderstandings and ensure the agent is aware of key timelines and requirements they will need to work to. This communication method will also help to foster a relationship of mutual respect. Remember, you probably live in the same location as this agent and you want to be able to hold your head high knowing you’ve conducted business fairly, as opposed to running for cover every time you see them in the supermarket.
The second thing you need to do is layout out your ground rules. Strictly speaking these aren’t rules as such, but more the process that you want them to follow until the agent is engaged. Remember they don’t do their job until you engage them, so it’s important that you structure the ‘dating process’ clearly and carefully.

Here’s a good example of how you’re initial call could go. “Hi Jeff, it’s Sue from 19 Brown Street, I was given your details from My Top Agent. I would like to invite you to our property to have an introductory meeting and then if that meeting goes well, get you to come back in 3 days’ time to gives us a pitch on how you would market our property and where you see its value in the market. Just so you know we are meeting two other agents, but we want to be fair and give you all an equal opportunity. Either way you will know within a week if you have the job or not. Is that acceptable to you?”
A call like this gives a clear process, cuts straight to the point and all top agents will respect you for being up front.
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HOT TIP: Believe it or not, what you are really doing is creating ‘demand’ for your property between the agents. This example is what you want your agent to do for you once they’re hired. It’s important to see how they operate under these terms. If they say no, then pat yourself on the back, as they may have too much work on, and can’t be bothered pitching.  It’s better to find out their commitment levels after your first call rather than to wait 3 to 4 weeks into a marketing campaign only to find out they’re too busy…