Really? That Makes Me a Great Agent?

Just had to share something that's been on my mind for a couple days as well as being something I bet most of you can relate to.  I got a message from a buyer's agent the other day.  She had a basic inquiry about a listing I have.  I called her back and left a message giving her some details. Pretty routine, right?  The next day, my Seller happens to call, saying he is ready to lower his price.  So, after getting the price changed handled, I called that same buyer's agent and shared the news with her that there had been a price reduction.  As we got off the phone she said something to the effect of "You're a great agent".   I responded  ''Thanks.  Why do you say that?".  Her answer caught me off guard a little bit.  "You called me to tell me about a price change.  Most agents wouldn't have returned my first call."   Really?!  Is the bar so low that it is impressive if you return a call from someone trying to buy a several hundred thousand dollar home from your client?  She was just being polite and I really appreciate that.  Anytime we run into a polite, professional agent is a good thing.  It is just suprising to me at times that expectations of basic professional practices can be so low between agents.

I bet that most of you have a similar story or two. Robert Masse spoke about part-timers and not getting responses from agents in his blog on April 4th.  To add to his thoughts, I think this is more widespread than being limited to just part-timers. There are plenty of agents that are swamped with too many REO's, maybe are just plain lazy, or whatever. But, if you can't service a listing, please don't take it. I realize I'm preaching to the choir here. From what I have seen these blogs and the REW forums are filled with what seem to be some darn good agents

One last thought about another professional courtesy that's been sticking in my craw.  It would be great if there were more emphasis on providing feedback after showings.  Again, likely preaching to the choir here, but there are few things more frustrating for sellers than having them get excited, leave their home for a couple hours only to get zero feedback.  We send e-mails, simple forms you just have to click on, call, beg, plead...nothing. My favorite example was from a pretty big-time agent here in the Denver market who ignored my feedback requests for days.  For some reason I got stubborn on this one and kept pushing.  She finally responded with "it has been so long I no longer remember the property."  If she had just taken the 5 seconds she spent on that response a  week earlier, it would have helped me and my seller. 

I cannot claim to have never shown a property and failed to provide feedback.  I imagine over the years a couple have slipped by during a "marathon" showing weekend or whatever.  But, I do make a sincere effort to provide feedback on every property I show. Who amongst us cannot relate to the frustration of a listing agent having to tell their sellers "Sorry, still haven't gotten a response."  It makes the listing agent look bad, no matter how well they've prepped their client.  A lot of what we do as agents is out of the eye of our clients. However, just because they don't see it, doesn't mean professional courtesy should stop.  What's that saying - "Character is what you do when no one is watching." (or something like that). 

Don't mean to sound too negative here, and really don't want mean to sound "holier than thou".  There are some great agents out there.  I have seen many over the years who are unbelievably professional, really good at what they do and who give me new ideas on how I can improve professionally. Maybe in the future I'll blog about some outstanding things agents do, just to put a little yin to this yang.

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