Your ready to take the big step and hire a real estate company to get your home sold. You're not exactly sure of the process or even who to call first. But you remember an ad you saw somewhere on the Internet about a company that says they're the number one real estate company in the world, in the United States, in the city, or whatever. They continue on saying they have more agents than any

other company, their agents are simply the best, and they sell more real estate than anyone else. So you feel like you really have no choice but to give them a call.

You meet with the agent at your home; your so excited about selling you home (because you have a new home in mind) you begin educating them on why your home is simply the best home in the neighborhood. You're really selling the agent on all the benefits your home and the neighborhood have the offer.  All of this is exactly what you should do, or is it?

Now you've convinced the agent that they should list your home for sale because it has all the features and amenities that anyone could ever want. The agent agrees with you and says they would be happy to list your home for sale. But wait a minute, you stop and think – who should be doing the convincing, you are the real estate agent?

You slow down, ease your enthusiasm, and get your serious face. Then outcomes your first question to the real agent – What can you do for me to get my home sold fast?  The agent regurgitate the same ideas you already found on the Internet. Our company is the largest in the area, we have thousands of agents, and we sell more homes than anyone in our area.

Here's where it gets kind of dicey. Who's selling all these homes, the agent you are looking to hire or the company? Here's an example: ABC company has 100 agents and sells 200 homes a year, XYZ company has 10 agents and sell 100 homes a year. Who are you hiring, the company or the agent? If you said “company” then you completely wasted time telling the agent all the cool things about home and neighborhood, it really doesn't matter. The real estate agent isn't selling anything, they are just a paper pusher and the company is doing all the work.

In the scenario above, the XYZ company agent sells 10 homes a year versus the ABC company agent who only sells 2 homes a year. Which one has more experience?

What you need to find out is which real estate agent has the most experience. Here's the better question to ask the agent. How many homes have you sold in the past year? Not your company or your team, but you. Then compare the agent to another profession, maybe a surgeon. Then ask yourself, does this person have enough experience to make precise cuts into the equity I have built or are they going to do a hack job and leave me with scares?

Recommended Reading for my members:

If you think a professional is expensive, wait until you hire an amateur!

Could the National Association of Realtors be skewing the numbers?