Boise Real Estate Follies – Listing Contests
Ever wonder why there are so many overpriced homes on the market?
One reason is the archaic practice of office listing contests.
Brokers like to have lots of listings.
Why?
Because the more signs a company has up, the bigger their “presence ” in the market.
If they have a lot of signs up, Joe Consumer thinks “Wow, these guys are big and I should list with them”, which in turn leads to more listings and more signs in the ground.
And, listings can be used in advertising to generate buyer inquiries, which results in attracting buyers who ultimately may buy something, even it’s not the listing the buyer inquired about.
So, what’s a broker to do to generate more listings?
You guessed it – have a listing contest!
Offer a little bait to your agents like dinner for two at the Cottonwood Grille, a gift card for Macy’s, etc.
Then, post every new listing on the white board in the work room to stimulate competition between the agents in the office.
The net result?
Agents “close the deal” in an effort to take every listing they can, even if it’s overpriced.
The focus is on the quantity of listings; not the quality of the listings.
I have actually worked in offices where agents listed their own home or their mother’s home just to win a listing contest!
February 11th, 2008 Posted in Uncategorized
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