I am very much willing to throw away these two real estate terms! Here’s why I don’t agree with them and the mindset shifts I have made to make sure I still thrive in the real estate industry even though I do not swear by on these terms.
If you’ve been in the business for .3 seconds, I’m almost certain you’ve heard this saying. The real estate industry pushes this hard. Books, seminars, team leaders, brokers, podcasts—everyone seems to throw this phrase around.
Let’s break it down and question it.
When this phrase is used, it implies that you must get listings/have listings in order to make it, or “last”, in the real estate industry.
Back before the internet (was there a time???), buyers would search for houses in newspapers/magazines and by driving around and seeing signs. If they didn’t already have an agent, buyers would call the number on the sign or in the newspaper—the listing agent’s number! So, it was very common for an agent to get multiple leads from having listings.
Nowadays, the number one way buyers search for homes is through the internet.
When they find a home they are interested in, they may request to see it but instead of directing the lead to the listing agent—these leads are directed to the agents paying for leads in that zip code. So, the listing agents no longer get a multitude of leads from listings.
I will note: when done right, you can certainly still get leads from your listings by circle prospecting around your listing, holding mega open houses for the neighborhood, and running ad campaigns. BUT, for the most part, it’s very different from pre-web listings.
Another reasons this is said: listings, especially in a seller’s market, can take way less time and effort compared to buyers —𝘚𝘖 “𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘠” 𝘚𝘈𝘠.
Here’s why I don’t like it. By putting so much emphasis on listings, it diminishes the amazing-ness of getting buyer clients AND it implies buyers are so much more work. I’ve heard so many times that if you’re not listing heavy (60% or more of your business is listings) that you “won’t make it long”
Here’s the truth: If you have clients - you are succeeding in business and you will succeed!
Celebrate your wins.
Celebrate your clients.
Celebrate your success in real estate.
And guess what?! Buyers turn into listings and buyers again in a few years!
Let me show you why we should throw this phrase away:
People use this phrase to mean that buyers told them that they wanted one thing and the buyers chose or did another.
Because so many agents get so frustrated with buyers—saying they wanted one type of house and then they buy a completely different type.
Or buyers say their financing will be one way and it may turn out to be another (or none at all!).
So agents end up showing 50-100 homes, spending way too many hours, only to find the buyer was looking for something totally different than they “said”.
That would be frustrating if you believed this phrase!
It puts all the blame and responsibility on the client!!
It is our job and responsibility to work with the client to find out exactly what they need, what they want, what they dream about and what they don’t want.
We do this every day, they don’t.
It’s our job, not theirs.
Do you think they actually want to drive around and see 100 homes? No way! (Okay, some might be addicted to HGTV and want that, but their next step is to become a Realtor 😅)
It’s time-consuming and the more houses they see that doesn’t fit their criteria becomes discouraging and lessens their overall home buying experience.
Buyers are not liars.
They’re just overwhelmed by a big purchase and they need the right person to guide them, understand their needs and show them the right houses to fit those needs. If you think you’re supposed to show them a bunch of homes and they end up picking one totally different and you’re left thinking “what the heck did I do wrong?!”—IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!
Unfortunately, the real estate industry doesn’t do the best job at teaching how to excel with buyers because, as we talked about earlier, they are so focused on listings.
Do you share the same thoughts on these two terms?
What other terms in the real estate industry would you like to throw away?
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