Leigh Thomas Brown tells agents to listen to each seller's situation before pitching market data. Sometimes that means advising them not to sell when rates are high. Understanding what's actually happening in their life leads to better listings and realistic expectations.
Too many agents walk into a listing opportunity and they bring their information, they print it from the computer and they bring the company's marketing folder and then they treat the seller like it's every other seller on the planet. That's just not how selling a house goes, y'all. If you want your sellers to lean into the realities of the market, you need to lean into the reality of what your seller is dealing with. If they're in the middle of a very contentious divorce, Honor that by listening to the scenario and helping them figure out how they can navigate their way to the other side of that house. And that is only going to happen when you've listened first and then provided your information. And then also, when you start talking to people about selling the house, you may occasionally find somebody who does not need to sell. And you can tell them, "Look, you've got a 3% interest rate, and there's nothing that you want remotely close to this on the market, so stay put and give it a year." The best way sometimes to get your sellers to reality is not just the data and the listening, but the honesty. So if you want your sellers to have a successful time on the market and know more about how this process should actually work, then be the professional who's going to bring them the full picture.
