So what do you do for a seller?

As promised in my last entry, I thought I would touch on the job duties that come into play when I help a seller sell their home. The very first thing I do is take a step back and remind myself that I am not selling a candy bar or a cell phone but rather a place a family has called home. I am selling the home in which children took their first steps or where a young couple began their life together.

There are so many of life's different milestones and emotions that can occur in a home. This is first and foremost the reason I do not take my job lightly and the reason (for those of you who know me well) that I am able set aside my ever present joking demeanor in order to provide the best service possible to my clients. Don't get me wrong, I still like to have fun and there always seems to be a time and place to bring a little humor and light heartedness into the process.

There are many of the aspects of helping a buyer that I mentioned in my last entry that apply to selling a home. For instance, my negotiation skills are a very important part of what I provide for both my buyers and sellers. Just as I do for buyers, I also bring my knowledge and ability to explain addenda, financing options, earnest money, tax proration, inspections and much more.

My use of technology is where I believe I stand out from the crowd when it comes to marketing a home for sale. I use reverse prospecting to market to agents who have buyers looking for homes matching my listings criteria. I also pull up all sales that have occurred within the last year in an area immediately around my new listing and accumulate the contact information for all listing and selling agents who are working in that area. I then contact them to let them know when I am holding Realtor tours, to let them know about open houses, or to simply give them information on my new listing.

When a Realtor lists a home, we are allowed to put a maximum of 10 photos on the multiple listing service. Not only will I post no fewer than 10 photos on the MLS, I also take it a step further and create a separate Featured Homes page containing as many photos as I would like on my personal website NewmanSellsHomes.com. I usually post around 20 photos for a single family home.

I am always looking for new ideas and ways to promote my listings. I am in the process of obtaining a system that will allow prospective buyers who are driving by one of my For Sale signs to send a text message while sitting in front of the home and instantly receive a message back containing information and 4 interior photos of the home.

To keep communication in the forefront for my clients, I incorporate a secure log-on page for each of my clients that gives them a place where they can go to find out what I am doing to market their home and to get feedback on showings.

As you can see, technology is a major part of the tools I use to promote my listings. There are many non-technology related aspects of the selling process as well. I provide all of my seller clients with photos and detailed information on similar homes that have recently sold in their area. In many cases, I also have my sellers accompany me while viewing homes that are currently for sale in their neighborhood. This helps us size up our competition while determining the best price for their home.

Providing clients with key statistics on the market including current supply and demand as well as interest rates so that we can accurately price their home is very important as well. I also make sure my sellers homes are in the best possible condition by giving them staging, maintenance, and condition advice.

As you can see guiding a client through all of the stages of selling a home can be complex and has many different aspects. I could go on writing more but do not want to go into too much detail in a simple blog entry. I don't want to scare you away from visiting my blog in the future! If you are interested in finding out about all of the marketing techniques that I implement when selling a home, feel free to contact me any time by visiting NewmanSellsHomes.com and clicking on Contact Info. All of my phone and email information is conveniently located in one spot.

I hope this information has been enjoyable, useful, and helpful. When you approach your next move I hope to hear from you and will look forward to working with you!