RISMEDIA, February 16, 2009-RISMedia’s Top 5 in Real Estate Network®, the country’s newest and fastest-growing membership organization for North America’s finest residential real estate agents, is conducting a coast-to-coast tour designed to educate prospective Top 5 Members on how they will succeed if they concentrate on offering their skills to consumers.
Skills, as opposed to services, are what set the most effective agents apart from the rest.
Recognizing that home sellers will benefit from understanding what these skills are, the Top 5 in Real Estate Network® is making available to its members an important new guide: “What Every Home Seller Should Demand of Their Real Estate Agent.” Written with the home seller in mind, the guide will help consumers ask an agent pertinent, specific questions designed to reveal if he/she has the professional skills required to enable the seller to realize the best possible price in a reasonable amount of time.
Highlights of “What Every Home Seller Should Demand of Their Real Estate Agent” include:
• Demand a marketing agent not just a real estate agent-someone who is dedicated not just to selling your home, but for selling it for more.
• Expect your agent to be an expert negotiator. Negotiations take preparation, strategic thinking and persistence, requiring the agent to devote time throughout the selling process.
• Find an agent who is a property promoter, not a personal promoter. It’s great for an agent to claim a top ranking but meaningless unless that agent is promoting your property and not his own prestige.
• Ask for proof. Your agent will have record of her sales and should be asked to point to those that exceed market average.
• Insist on an agent with capable information technology skills, including online and database understanding. Real estate sales move at the speed of light and you should expect your agent to handle complex Internet searches and manipulate secure databases.
• Favor agents who are leaders in their communities and who have a record of giving back. Agents who invest in where they live will use their skills in your favor as they will remain in that community long after you’ve moved away.
“Consumers deserve a great measure of transparency when it comes to identifying the most proficient real estate agent,” states Allan Dalton, President, Top 5 in Real Estate Network®. “Far too often, consumers believe all agents are the same and the inevitable result is that they settle for less.”
By taking the simple step of expecting more, the empowered home seller can now demand more. Top 5 believes that if agents know they’ll be measured on the skills they provide, they will, in turn, become better at providing what their clients deserve.
The next Top 5 event will be taking place will be in the Greater Atlanta area on February 17, 18 and 19, 2009. Allan Dalton, President, Top 5 in Real Estate Network® and former CEO of REALTOR.com, will be presenting a comprehensive overview of the program. To learn more about this free event or to register to attend, visit https://www.rismedia.com/events.
About Top 5 In Real Estate :
Top 5 in Real Estate Network® is a membership network of leading real estate professionals dedicated to providing real estate skills, service and information to consumers. To qualify for membership in the Top 5 in Real Estate Network®, agents must meet area-specific criteria in five key categories: experience, results, professional and continuing education, information technology and commitment to community. Detailed information may be found at www.top5inrealestate.com.
Top 5 in Real Estate is a division of RISMedia, the leader in real estate information systems, which has been providing the industry with news, trends and business development strategies for nearly 30 years through its flagship publication, Real Estate magazine, its leading website, RISMedia.com, and its renowned networking and educational events.
