Real estate publishing giant, ActiveRain, asked 1,000 real estate agents to rate the biggest mistakes made by home sellers.

• 77% said, “overpriced home”

• 34% said, “showing availability”

• 32% said, “cluttered space”

• 28% said, “unpleasant odors”

• 21% said, “unwilling to negotiate”

Article By: Neil O’Donnell

In other words, according to the 1,000 real estate agents polled, “It’s officially all your fault.” The blame falls squarely on your shoulders.  You, being the home seller.

My question is, if agents already know there are predictable flaws in the traditional home listing process, why not step forward and instruct clients on ways to avoid these fundamental mistakes?

After all isn’t the primary purpose of retaining a real estate agent in the first place, to make use of his or her experience and expertise?  And, if the client refuses to listen?  Well, why would any agent choose to work with someone who blatantly ignores their best advice?

Conversely, why would any intelligent homeowner choose to work with an agent who was incapable of bringing experience, guidance and wisdom to the table?

It’s pretty clear to me that either scenario lends itself to an inferior outcome. 

I was watching an episode of Botched the other day, a TV series on E! Network.  The show follows renowned plastic surgeons, Dr. Terry Dubrow & Dr. Paul Nassif, as they attempt to fix cosmetic blunders made by other, less skilled doctors.

To be fair, some of the “botched” patients on the show knowingly eschewed the advice and counsel of a reputable surgeon in lieu of a “cheaper” option – think Tijuana.

Still many others were completely deceived and/or taken advantage of by someone they perceived to be a “professional,” who in actuality, turned out to be a complete fraud.

On the show, each prospective patient undergoes a rigorous consultation before working with Drs. Dubrow and Nassif.   This is where the investigative work is done.  After the consultation, if Nassif and Dubrow do not agree that they can help the patient or, more importantly, if they get the impression that the patient is not going to comply with their strict post-operating procedures, they’ll decline the option of accepting that patient as a client.

Here is something that I have learned about those at the top of their respective field.  The true professional values his reputation more than anything else – even more than money, status, fame or recognition.

Think about it, suppose the Botched plastic surgeons chose to accept a patient that they already knew was going to experience an inferior outcome.  Either the doctor and patient did not see eye to eye on the plan of procedure or it was pre-determined that the patient was unlikely to comply with the strict post-op instructions.

Who does that reflect poorly on – the doctor or the patient?

Of course. A botched procedure tarnishes the reputation of the surgeon.  After all, he is the Authority and is supposed to be the voice of reason.  When asked, “Who did your surgery,” how is the patient going to respond?

You got it; they’ll say Dr. Terry Dubrow and Dr. Paul Nassif.   Good, bad or ugly.   

This is the reason why I choose my client-relationships carefully.  I don’t believe in sales pitches and I don’t do traditional listing presentations.  At the end of the day, I am not in the convincing business.

Rather, I take my prospective clients through a very methodical process geared exclusively toward getting the best result – for them.  This means, there is a general checklist of agreements that we must come to.  Commitment is key.  First on that list, we must agree to work as a team.

Unfortunately, many agents find themselves working in opposition with the client from day one of the relationship.  The warning signs are there and yet they are more concerned about boosting their image or personal listing inventory than they are about being transparent with the client.  So what happens?  They tell the client whatever they want to hear to “seal the deal.”

As long as the sign goes into the front yard, there is always hope, right?  Don’t get me wrong.  I am a big believer in hope.  I just don’t want that to be my agent’s strategy when selling my home.

I tend to view things differently.  One of my closest mentors always says, “Amateurs focus on sales while professionals focus on relationships.”  Sale or no sale, I don’t want a botched relationship on my conscience any more than Dr. Dubrow or Dr. Nassif wants a botched  cosmetic surgery on theirs. At the end of the day in business or in life, that is what we are left with – our relationships.  I believe that.

Now, all of that being said, there are definitive solutions that we provide our clients, which help them avoid making the same “traditional” home seller mistakes.

Solution for an “Overpriced Home”

For starters, most agents use the inferior price-driven approach when pricing a client’s home.  They are more concerned about the price of what the home down the street sold for three months ago than they are about maximizing the value of their client’s home.

When we replace that flawed strategy with the more sophisticated value-driven approach, it’s been proven that we can attract a higher paying buyer/investor.  This is something that I have written about in other articles and documented in detail in chapter 5 of my book.

The skinny of it is: value ultimately dictates price.  There are up to a dozen different ways, depending on the “starting position” of the property, to manipulate a home’s perceived value – the “stock price” – if you will.

This, by the way, is something that I’ve learned from intense study of Warren Buffett’s proven philosophies about how to identify and value the best companies to invest in for growth potential.  It turns out, Buffett’s “brilliance” applies to much of what we are trying to accomplish in selling real estate.

The Solution for “Showing Availability”

Second, if a homeowner won’t make “time” to show their home to a prospective buyer, let’s face it, they deserve a sub-standard result.  I had an experience just like this about a month ago.  I was making preparations to show a group of 6-7 homes.  Planning to meet my clients on a Sunday morning, I sat down on Friday afternoon to give all of the homeowners plenty of advance notice.  Most of the showing instructions read something like, “call, leave a message and go – or – one hour notice required for pets / young children.”  Nothing out of the ordinary, really.

Then, I got to one listing which had instructions that read like the Dead Sea Scrolls: 24-hour notice, no lockbox, strict appointment with the owner, a special alarm code that was “only good for 1 hour” after activation, and on and on.  I shook me head, picked up the phone and called the owner.

It was early Friday afternoon and I told her we were planning to look on Sunday morning.  “No problem,” she told me, “just call me tomorrow and let me know exactly what time.  We’ll make sure that the house is ready.”

The next day I called.  No answer.  I called again.  No answer.  I called the listing agent.  No answer.  The next morning, I called the owner again.  No answer.  The listing agent finally called me back and told me that there was no answer from the client.  We showed up.  No key, no lockbox, and four very large dogs at the door.  No dice!

Guess what?  No surprise, the house is still on the market.

For the record, this is not a “mistake.”  It’s much simpler than that.  Any homeowner that stands in the way of showing their property is not serious about achieving the best outcome.  Why would any agent choose to work with an owner whose actions dictate they are unwilling to follow the prescription for a successful home sale?

I cannot imagine any agent, especially one who cares about his or her reputation, wanting to go down that rabbit hole.  Then again, I suppose some agents may reconcile that a poorly sold home, even at an inferior sales price, is still a commission check.  And any commission check, even if it comes by way of a botched home sale, is better than no commission check.  I can only speculate.

In last month’s newsletter, I wrote in detail about the recently commissioned D.A.N.G.E.R Report.  I think that report spelled out succinctly for all of us.  The number one threat to the health & credibility of the real estate industry is the mass of marginal – untrained, part-time, unethical or incompetent – agents that are soiling it’s reputation.  In other words, there are a number of homes being listed by marginal agents who enable marginal home sellers.  We know how that story ends.

Solution for a “Cluttered Space”

The solution to a “cluttered space” is simple, really.  We take all of our clients through a process known as scientific-staging.  Staging is a buzzword you’ll commonly hear tossed around home listings.  But for most, “staging” amounts to little more than stashing the kitchen toaster and rearranging some furniture.

On the contrary, we’ve found the process of scientific-staging tends to generate a much higher ROI (return on investment).  That is why, as step one, almost all of our home-seller clients are required to go through that process with our staging professionals.

At this point, if a prospective client hesitates or indicates an unwillingness to execute any of these strategies, then we sit down and walk through the investment numbers.  I ask, “How many times would you like to exchange $X, for $2X, $5X or $10X?”

I have found the reason that most home sellers do not initially buy–in to certain philosophies is because they don’t fully understand how it correlates to them making more money.  Once they understand, though, by looking at the case studies, we are almost always off to the races.

Over the years I have formulated a prescription for a successful and profitable home sale.  I tend to adhere to that process like a religion.  It is no different than the way that Warren Buffett commits to his investment philosophies and adheres his “10 Rules,” which have been his foundation for massive success.

If I didn’t believe in my approach and it didn’t deliver a superior result, you can bet that clients would not refer my services to their friends and family members.  The fact that year in and year out over 70% of my personal real estate transactions come by way or referral or repeat circumstances is testament to a sound and profitable (process) methodology.

The real secret though, as we discuss in Chapter 8 of our book – The Value-Driven Approach to Sell Real Estate, is getting an accurate and comprehensive Real Estate Diagnosis – first – before putting a home on the market.  It sounds like common sense but trust me, it is not.

Maximum profit doesn’t just happen, it must be engineered.  How can you start performing “surgery” and get the best results if you skip the diagnostic consultation, meant to investigate the best course of action?

You Can’t!

You would be surprised, though.  Many agents and/or homeowners are in such a rush to get the home ‘on the market’ that they start knocking over dominoes in the wrong order.

Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.  And this is why homeowners end up with “botched” home sales.  It is also the reason why so many real estate agents, like those surveyed in the ActiveRain study, ultimately end up blaming clients (you) for their own mistakes and oversights.  That, in my opinion, is simply poor form.

I’m sorry but if you are the professional, I believe any substandard outcome is your fault – not the homeowner’s.  The agent should own the process and own the result.

In almost nine years of practicing real estate, I’ve never come across a rule stating that a real estate agent must list every property or work with every potential client that solicits their services.  On the TV show, Botched, Doctors Dubrow and Nassif end up turning away just as many, if not more, patients than they actually accept.  In other words, they have a methodology for selecting clients they know will comply with their instructions. That, in turn, virtually assures their success.

I am reading a book right now called Winners Never Cheat.  The author, John Huntsman – a billionaire business tycoon, tells a story about a time when he was a 23-year-old Navy lieutenant.  It was 4:30am and he was the only officer on the deck, directing a formation of ships.

He called out a command to the helmsman to change course.  As was tradition, the helmsman shouted back confirmation of the order.  However, he made an error in his response / understanding.  They took a wrong turn and Huntsman didn’t catch the error until the entire formation was off course by 20 degrees.

Some of the ships recognized the mistake and corrected course but others did not.  The entire formation was in disarray, causing a massive entanglement.  Learning of the debacle the ship’s captain came running to the bridge, still dressed in his bathrobe, to take back control.

Later when the seas were calm and order had been restored, the captain called Huntsman to his cabin.  Huntsman professed his sincerest embarrassment and apologies.  The Captain responded, “You learned a valuable lesson today. This will be a lifelong learning experience for you.  But I am the captain and everything that happens is my responsibility.  You may not have caught the helmsman’s mistake but I am responsible for it.”

You see, the professional (the competent leader) will always accept responsibility.  The client is hiring the professional to get a result through implementing a tested and proven approach.

If the professional cannot articulate a tested and proven approach then you must ask, “Is this person really a professional?”  Those who make decisions based on what they hear rather than what they see (action), in my experience, often end up regretting their decisions.

Remember, while your ears may deceive, your eyes always have the ability to see the truth.

For a more in-depth discussion on these topics, go to: Request a FREE Copy of our latest book, “The Value-Driven Approach to Sell Real Estate: How to protect yourself from Real Estate Greed and bank extra profit by thinking like the great Warren Buffett.”