There are always reasons why certain things are off-kilt.  

Having listings and to work them professionally is costly : advertising, showing properties (price of gas is excessively high), open houses, brokers' open, etc...

Indeed, there are agents who just take listings, no matter the price, just to add to their inventory.  Usually, those homes are on lock boxes, no pictures on the MLS and lack detailed property description.  Listing agents do almost nothing for those listings.  I like those those, however, because I get those listings on the rebound six months later after they expire because there was no activity on them.

There are others who are "Discount Brokers".  An up-front fee to the listing broker and brokers offer a minimal commission to buyer's agents.  they will put any listings on the MLS, even a $10 Mil out-house if presented to them.  They have no representations, what-so-ever, and buyers' agents have to contact sellers directly for showings.

The newbies often are not very assertive and yield to sellers easily because of lack of confidence.

There are, however, justifiable exceptions.  I have a buyer/seller whom, over the years, I have sold 4 of their own properties and I sold them 4 other properties.  Now they have an itch to get out of where their condo and move back into a house.  I explained, in detail, the severely vulnerable selling market we are in and, most likely, they can only sell anywhere from breaking even to net only $5 to 10K.  They convinced themselves that they have the best condo in the entire world and with the improvements they invested into it, their condo will undoubtedly sell for $125K more than the actual comps I gave tehm.

Because they are very good clients, I had to indulge them.  I listed it at $100K more than the comps until they realize on their own that there is something wrong with their price.  

The only satisfaction you get if you lose out those high priced listings is, you can always tell yourself, six months later, I told him so.

For me, anyone who wants to list 10% or more higher than market is cordially invited to list elsewhere.

"I'd rather turn you down now than let you down later."

I don't take over priced listings as a matter of rule but:

I certainly know of one firm in particular in our area that will typically train their agents to lead clients to believe they can get more.   They have it in their listing presentation, but in the listing contract they slide it in that if the property doesn't sell in a specified time period, they have to reduce it, and then reduce it again if it still doesn't sell.   Smart or sneaky - you make the call.  

This same firm also pays out higher in-house sales commission, which incents agents to sell the brokerages listings over others.  

Unscrupulous?  I don't know.  Questionable?  I definitely think so, but they have been doing it for years, at a high rate of success I might add.  

And they are large enough where other brokerages don't want to call them into question for fear of a slient "boycott"  in retaliation.  

I certainly don't want to offend them, as I don't want to lose the chance of not having their buyer agents not show my listings.  I'll still encourage the gorilla to come thru my door, even though they may knock it down once in a while.

But it does make difficult to go up against this company with sellers to get the listing.  Probably should consult with an attorney to draft my listing agreements likewise!  LOL!

I like Candice's answer, and that is the final close, but I find it helps to share a little informtation first.

I know you want as much as you can possibly get for the house.  I want the same thing!  I also know what my marketing program can accomplish with real buyers in the real world.

There are three things that sell a house.  Price, Presentation, and Marketing.

The right price will make a buyer write an offer instead of just put you on their favorites list. They will be afraid that if they don't write an offer somebody else will get the house while they are thinking about it.

Now, some agents sell on price alone.  They don't have the marketing program I have.  So they only list homes that are priced to sell without marketing.  You can do better.

Presentation is something that can add value or make the home sell faster.  You have a lot of competition right now.  I can advise you about how to present the house in it's best light to make the sale come faster and bring a higher price.

Marketing will get more exposure of your house to more buyers.  I offer a complete marketing program designed to get more showings and offers at higher prices than agents who sell on price alone.

Finally, other agents may tell you what you want to hear, in order to get you to like them. They hope that this will get you to list with them. They are counting on you to reduce the price later.  However, this makes the sale take longer, and brings less money than if you start with the correct price.  If an agent cannot be honest with you in the beginning, then do you want to reward that kind of agent with your trust once negotiations begin?

Here is the bottom line.  There are other homes for sale that are fairly similar to yours.  They are priced lower than the price you suggest, so the buyers will buy those first.  This might not sound too bad, but think about it as though there is no second place.  In every neighborhood there are homes for sale.  Every month one house sells while the others sit - sometimes for 6 to 12 months or more.  Do you want to be one of those that sits for 6 to 12 months and ends up pulling a lower offer than it would have if priced right from the beginning?

         if no - then let's do the smart thing and list at a price that will

                  make buyers want your house!

        if that's ok with seller to take that long to sell - JUST LEAVE !

I would rather turn you down now than let you down later

All great points here.  Over the years, I have later taken a listing that was overpriced by another discounted or undiscounted larger brokerage and turned them into a sale. Some I even met with before they chose them and they did not like my price and then called me later when they expired. Expireds are a great source of listings for me.

With sellers in this market, educating them is the best thing. Pricing right the first time is sure to get them a faster sale, many are insistant on testing their price - and at times that is ok, but you have to gauge your investment vs' their motivation.  I explain that we actually are a team - and I cannot be any more motivated than they are to sell.  If that is unacceptable, then I do not take the listing - no amount of marketing sells a dramatically overpriced listing. And at times recommend they order a fair market appraisal and offer to reimburse them when we close on a sale at the right price.  

But some listings are good to attract buyers if they are a little high but you feel confident the home will sell at some point or it is an area or neighborhood you want to break into.  Take listings you are proud to show, sell and take calls for people you represent that you enjoy working with who respect and appreciate what you do.  After all, without good listings buyer's won't call and today we all have to work on a volume to survive as full time agents.  And even listings priced right can be on the market a long time and get low ball offers with so few "real" buyers out there now with the changing lender requirements.

Happy selling all!!

Lonn,

To your "bottom line" paragraph, I couldn't agree more with you, your logical approach is accurate.  

I especially like your last sentence "I would rather turn you down now than let you down later."  

John

Larry, this has turned into a numbers game. Customer service and Truth has nothing to do with the final results. On the number side, "you have got to be in it, to win it." Get the listing at all costs.

On the side of understanding, "look at all the money you saved not advertising and kissing up to that over priced turkey."

The bottom line, "never, ever, ever, ever say anything bad about your "fellow agent". IT Won't get you the listing.

Larry,

I have a pre-listing package that I prepare for my initial meeting.  I also have a pre-qualification questionnaire for the seller's to see if they are qualified to sell.  

When I meet with the sellers, I tell them that before they ask me any questions, I would like to tell them (a) about the marketplace so that they understand what is going on in their area; (b) what I do to expose their home to get them moved; (c) my qualifications.  Then I tell them that his meeting is for me to determine if there is a connection with them or not.

I also tell them that I have a general marketing plan for the meeting but it will be expanded for their property to reflect the condition of the home and the seller's motivation.  I also have a breakdown of my time involved times my hourly rate so they understand what I am paid for.

I had two listing appointments on Friday.  Both had a list of questions, one was three pages long and the other had five pages!  I answered and cleared up the mind with the five pages and they showed me their house and I made staging suggestions and the one with the three pages said I answered her questions but two:  (a) Was I a Realtor or real estate agent?; and (b) What do I charge?

I believe alot can be answered by coming fully prepared into the listing presentation and making the presentation right off the bat so that we are not put into a position of defense but offense.  

Pricing wise - I feel like I'm playing "What's that Price?" or whatever Bob Barker's gameshow was ..... I have the listings that have sold with no MLS number or price on them.  I ask the sellers to pick out the home that is the most similar to there home.  I ask for them to pick out 2 -3 homes in the order of the one that looks the most like their home down to the closest for comparable number 3.  That's when I pull out the listings with the complete information.

What I do say to them is this:

"Are you aware that currently we have "x" number of homes for sale and only about "x" are selling per month?  So what we need to do today is agree on a price to make certain that your home is one of the small number of homes that are actually selling instead of the huge number that are sitting on the market loosing money day, after day, after day, after day.  So you understand that in today's market we're entering a competition, right?  How are you going to win that competition?"

Show them the comps without the prices and mls #'s and show them what is out there now.

After viewing three- four homes for sale ... then ask:  Mr and Mrs Seller, if you had to choose one of these homes, which one would you choose to buy?  Why did you choose that one?  I understand.  Mr and Mrs Seller, buyers are just like you.  They buy the home that they see as the best value for what they want and need.  Are you aware of how buyer's determine value?  It's much like buying anything.

Let's say a computer.  You go to one store and the computer you want is $2,500.  You, like everyone, like to save money so you go to another store whre you see the same computer for $2,500 - only this one has speakers and a built-in CD burner.  Which one will you buy?

Right, because it gives you more for the same price.  More features and benefits.  Now let's say you really didn't care about the speakers and CD burner.  What would you expect the other store to do if you were to buy their computer?

Right.  Lower the price.  Mr and Mrs Seller, the buyers will be choosing the same way you did.  .........

If they are unrealistic about the price ..... I pull out my chart of sales 12 molnths, 9 months, 6 months and 3 months.  I shows how many were listed, sold; the highs and lows of the listings as well as the selling price and then the median price from 12 months, 9, 6 and 3 months.  It shows the pricing dropping every quarter for most areas.  They will not argue when they see that chart!!!!  Then pull out the list of actives in their marketplace and say .... so here's your competition, where do you want to place yourself?"

Your commission will not be questioned at all when Mr and Mrs Seller see your pre-listing presentation.  I even include for them all the disclosures for their review plus I also give them "sample" contracts for them to review and become acquainted now and I put "sample" across these forms so they cannot be used, btw.  Mr and Mrs Seller, in  whole will respect you if you go to the table with full ammunition.  If they fight with you, they are unrealistic and walk away.  That means that that listing more then likely will take up your time when you could sell two others and make more money, honey!

I'm long winded today but I want to get this out to you and other agents.

Handling objections:

1.  Don't confuse objections with conditions.  A condition is a statement of fact you can't do anything about.  If you are short, that is a condition - you can't change the outcome.

2.  An objection is a question in the mind of the consumer and by answering the objection you can change the outcome.

3.  When you presentation is strong, you will get very few objections, so practice your presentation so your confidence shows through.

4.  If you continue to get the same objection over and over from sellers, then change your presentation to address the objection up front.

5.  Have two or three responses for the most common objections and you will be fully prepared.

6.  Logic makes them think and emotion makes them act, so use both when handling objections.

7.  Go back to motivation often, to bring up emotions.

8.  When somone wants to work with you is when you hear objections.  Otherwise they would just have you leave.  Answer their objectiohns and get the listing.

9.  DON'T ARGUE WITH THEM!!!

10.  Ask alot of questions to make certain you understand exactly wht they are saying.

11.  Listen to their answers.  Don't be thinkihng about what you are going to say.  Really, really listen.

PRE-QUALIFY THE SELLER:

What price do you realistically want to list for?

What price do you think your home will sell for:

How many days do you think it will take to sell your home?

How many homes do you think are your competition right now?

What do you own on your home? 1st, 2nd

Are your payments current?

What would happen if your home doesn't sell?

What are you looking for inh a Realtor to sell your home?

How would you rate your home on a scale of 1-10, 10 being great.

What would make it a 10, please explain.

What financing programs do you think your home will qualify for?

Are you willing to make any changes to your home to help it sell fast?

If so, how much money would you have available or be willing to put into your home for a good impression?

Will you be willing to pay for a stager to come in and make suggestions to help your home sell faster?  

Are you willing to spend money to have a cleaning service come in and make your home sparkle to help it sell faster?

These are just a few examples of pre-qualifying sellers.

You go in with all this ammo, I'm telling you there will be very little to ask from Mr and Mrs Seller but "where do we sign?"

Well there is probably not a bad answer that I have read. I don't take overpriced and Lonn pointed out the reason. You are going to be disappointed in me because I can't sell it at your price.

I believe my job is to tell you where I can sell it and if you disagree then try it at your price but call me when it doesn't sell.

My job is not to make you feel good or support any dreams you have, sadly I can crush them when I deliver the facts. I have never had anyone tell me that their home is the ugliest on the block and has the worst view in the neighborhood but typically I have just entered Nevrona! The one and only and the the one that should sell for the most! In reality you gold fish pond is a detraction form those that have cats and a lot of people put gold fish in the same category as carp. So it is not the end all but a detraction that the next owner will get rid of and if they are small enough will flush them away.  

So when we do a listing, we have to establish that we know what we are talking about and if they want the home sold here is how we will do it. Al to often we try to appease rather than specify a real marketing plan. If you are prepared to deliver something that is believable they will go along. It is only when they lead you fail since you have forgotten who is the expert!

Larry, disregard my previous post. I thought you were talking about yellow bellied agents. I know nothing about the yellow back agent.

Great stuff Barb!

If you have a good presentation they won't have many questions.

Well done : )

You might be a yellow back agent if you can't convince sellers that their expectations are too high!  Price and hard work sells houses.  The folks who have commented here are obviously hard working,  experienced agents who know what they are talking about.

Realtor, Columbus Ga

Klaus, I like that! You might be a yellow backed agent if, list a home as with a "full basement" but only if you are shorter than 5ft. tall.

I bet some of you guys are just an absolute hoot in person!   I really enjoy reading all of the posts. And you know what, a little humor goes a long way in a listing presentation too!  

Gregory, maybe they should advertise that home as a "custom designed full basement for the vertically challenged!"  :-)

Not sure if it makes since to take all over priced listings just to be in the "numbers" game, because of the cost of advertising those listings.  Now if your just doing a sign and an MLS then, maybe.   But I hope the agent is being up front with the seller that it's basically an unserviced or "low serviced" listing.   It's the law here in NC.  

Just a different business plan to me.  One I am ok with, IF the seller is aware what that means.

As for truth and honesty, I guess I just value my sleep at night.  Life is not a game to me.

BUT I TOTALLY agree that one should not slander or malign another agent, or their practices, in order to obtain a listing.  Viva la difference!  And what goes around, comes around!