The one thing you always need more of  is time. I have yet to meet a business owner who is content with the amount of time they have to do everything they need to do. The greatest value brokers can bring is that their expertise creates more time for you to do the most important tasks that you need to do to run your company.

When you interview a broker to list your property, you want to look for traits that tell you the broker is the type of person who is going to create time for you and maximize the value of your real estate. Here are a few of these traits to look for:

1. You want a broker who #1 generates leads: In order to save you time, you need a real estate broker who is going to go out and get your property in front of the right people. Every broker is going to list it online, and maybe in 2002 that was cutting edge, now all it means is that yours is one of a hundred online listings a prospect may or may not see. You want the broker who has a network of the right people and is going to pick up the phone and generate qualified leads. So when you are interviewing brokers, ask them what their process is for generating leads and then hire the person you believe is going to take the most aggressive approach to get the job done.
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2. You want a broker who knows how to #2 maximize price: Any broker can pick a price and see where the offers come in. The best brokers know how to create competitive situations and a sense of urgency in buyers to get them to submit the highest possible price. During an interview, ask the broker to talk about their strategies and ideas for how to test the market and stretch each buyer’s price point. You should also ask what the broker would say when in competitive bidding situation to get all the buyers to submit their highest offer.
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3. You want a broker who is maniacally #3 focused on the next steps: When you have a buyer who will pay the right price, you want your broker to compress the timeline to close the deal as soon as possible. So when you are interviewing a broker, pay attention to how regularly and persistently they follow up with you. Remember, the way they communicate with you before they list your property is the same way they are going to communicate with prospects for your building. Are they attentive to detail? Do they push for a clear next step? Are they organized in their presentation?
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4. You want a broker who #4 communicates in your language: It is critical that whoever you hire understands the role you play in your business and communicates with you accordingly and recognizes your priorities. You aren’t running a real estate sales organization, you have your own business with your own goals, so you need a broker who gets that and engages with you when and how you want to engage. When you interview brokers, observe whether or not they understand your priorities and objectives and then adjust the way they work with you according to those things.  
   

The 4 traits to look for in a broker who you can be sure will save you the most time:

1. They #1 generate leads
2. They know how to #2 maximize price
3. They are organized and #3 focused on next steps
4. They #4 communicate at your level
   

We created a free printable download with a list of questions and spaces for note-taking during listing meetings to help organize your thoughts and consistently evaluate everybody you interview.

At the end of the day you all you have is time, and the right real estate broker will enable your business while they hit the ground and maximize your real estate deals.

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