A friend had her house listed last year with an agent who is a lifelong friend of hers. It didn’t sell, and one day last week we were talking about the market.
“You know, if you are wanting to try it again, we’ve seen a lot of houses sell quickly this year that sat on the market last year. You should give her a call.”
She said, “Honestly, I don’t know if I can go through that again. It was hard.”
That conversation led into her sharing some frustrations she was feeling. She asked why I thought it didn’t sell. I haven’t been inside, so I wasn’t sure offhand. I know she had a ton of showings, so I asked her what the feedback was saying.
“We never got any feedback.”
WHAT??????
As an agent, this DRIVES ME INSANE. How hard is it to give a homeowner feedback from a showing? Not only have most companies automated this process using various programs such as Showingtime, but as a human being wouldn’t you care enough to make that a priority; to give your client the common courtesy of letting them know what the strangers in their house thought?
I mean, your seller has spent the day cleaning the house, making arrangements for kids and pets to be gone, and probably eating dinner out all to make this showing possible. And then they never get to hear about how it went or what the buyers thought? Really?
You’ve GOT to be kidding me.
Communication: The number one complaint we get from customers in our industry.
And this is the number one thing you can do to increase business and increase referrals. And it’s the easiest and cheapest thing you can do starting today.
Do it.
Contact your clients with feedback. Keep them in the loop on progress. Reassure them that you are in control and on top of everything. Ask them if they have any questions. Let them know what the next step is in whatever process you are in- marketing, financing, closing, whatever. 
It’s not hard. A text or non-automated email is better than nothing. A phone call is ideal. Stop leaving your clients hanging out there wondering what is going on. Forcing them to guess will never work in your favor.
Communicate. It will make you look better and make the industry as a whole look better.
So just do it.
Or don’t.
Let your competition do it. And we’ll be sure to thank you when we take your client and all their future referrals, too.
Amy Gilpin, Associate Broker, Manager, ABR, SRES.
Fifteen years of helping clients. Seven years of helping agents. All for this crazy thing we call real estate.
Production Realty 517-879-4141 Jackson, MI Amy@ProductionRealty.com
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additional comments on "Feedback? Nah"
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This is NOT the fault of the listing agent!!
Here are the issues:
1-Sadly, many showing agents seem to believe that it is somehow a disservice to their buyer to provide feedback.
2-A agent who hopes to pick up the listing on the rebound does not want any comments viewed as negative by the seller to be associated with their name.
3- the buyers agent does not know what their buyer thinks because they are not listening or they did not bother to attend the showing (yes horrible).
But none of that matters because in most markets (right now) a house that is priced right and in good condition will sell reasonably quickly. If you don’t have interest in at least 14 days (including 2 weekends) DROP THE PRICE!
I have been on both sides of the table. As a listing agent it is my job to look at each property and have the seller do what is needed to have it “sale ready”. However often this doesn’t happen. Getting feedback from a buyers that has seen the property is critical as it allows the listing agent to reinforce in the mind of the seller what needs to be done to make the sale. However when I represent the buyer, providing feedback can also be critical as it could make a sale happen that may have not taken place. I once showed a home to a buyer that the buyer liked but they had concerns and decided not to make an offer. I expressed these concerns in the form of feedback that the listing agent responded to. Our conversation after that feedback got us both to the closing table.
It is not the job of a buyer’s agent to tell the listing agent how to make a property more salable. In fact as the buyer’s representative, my job may be just the opposite. Feedback telling the seller how to improve their property and attract other competing buyers is not in my buyer client’s best interests. If a listing agent does not have the knowledge or skills to communicate with their seller client, refer them to someone like me who will speak truth.