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Selecting the right broker/sales representative is vital to selling your house successfully.

There are a number of factors to consider.

Qualifications

Selecting the right sales personBeginning April 1, 2016, aspiring Ontario registrants will have to complete five courses before they can register to trade in real estate.

Those aspiring to outstanding performance will add to their real estate education.

For example, I acquired the following qualifications in addition to the basic real estate course:

FRI-Fellow, Real Estate Institute-Successfully completed advanced-level university courses in real estate, including urban development and economics.

CMR-Certified in the Marketing of Real Estate-Satisfied the professional, educational, and experience requirements for membership in the Real Estate Institute of Canada.

CRA-Certified, registered Canadian Residential Appraiser-Passed all examinations and requirements of the bylaws and regulations of the Appraisal Institute of Canada.

Broker-Passed all examinations to be registered as a Real Estate Broker by the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations, 1976 (presently administered on behalf of RECO by the Ontario Real Estate Association Real Estate College).

Varied experience

Experience with a variety of market conditions over several years enables a broker/sales representative to spot trends and adapt marketing strategies to cope with different situations.

Intimate knowledge of the community

Thorough knowledge of the various home designs in Kanata comes from working with a large clientele over many years. This makes it possible to market a particular house more effectively, or find exactly what a purchaser is looking for.

Skillful price setting

Having the right training and experience makes it possible to analyze the sales of comparable houses and determine how the particular location and characteristics of your home should affect the price and our marketing strategy.

Resources to do the job properly

Today, most brokers/sales representatives function independently under the umbrella of a real estate broker. This means they pay for their office space and services. Accordingly, they must be successful enough to have a surplus that enables them to market their listings successfully.

Apart from listing a house on the computerized Multiple Listing Service® for the region, effective marketing means advertising on a regular basis in all the appropriate media for the entire period your house is listed.

It is important that your broker/sales representative have associates who are able to obtain good photographs of your house, draft effective feature sheets, answer questions about listings, and obtain reactions from those who have been shown your house so that any significant concerns can be dealt with as soon as possible.

Full-time effort

Today, marketing real estate successfully is a very demanding endeavour that requires full-time effort.

Brokers/sales representatives who list a large number of houses of different types in various price ranges are able to attract a variety of people looking for different kinds of houses, and are much more effective marketers because they are able to put together many more winning combinations — in other words, they are able to cross-sell.

For example, if a potential purchaser attending an open house isn’t attracted to that particular property, his or her attention can be drawn to other properties the broker/sales representative has listed.

Obviously, with a large clientele, effective time management is critical. Timing is important, too, because a sale lost today may represent the only opportunity for that house over a considerable period. Many hours of effort are required for successful marketing, and every minute must be productive.

Marketing and advertising

Royal LePage’s marketing department carries out local and national research, and communicates its analyses and forecasts across the country.

The marketing strategy for a property should include an advertising plan that will make the greatest number of purchasers aware that your property is for sale.

We give your property local and worldwide exposure within 48 hours through:

  • Direct contact with our large network of potential purchasers and clients
  • Advertising on many web sites & social media (Joan Smith, realtor.ca, Royal LePage, Luxury Homes, many targeted property web sites, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter)
  • On-line & print advertising (Google, Facebook, Ottawa Citizen, Community Voice, Homes and Land, and targeted promotional materials).
  • Open houses advertised in all mediums and direct follow-up with all attendees
  • Listing your property on the Ottawa Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS® / realtor.ca) which enables all brokers and more than 3,000 area Realtors® in the area to be aware of your property
  • Well-designed lawn sign – this tool works 24 hours a day
  • Professional virtual tour of the home on-line including a video walkthrough, 360 degree panoramic scenes, full gallery, feature sheets in the home
  • Descriptive Feature Sheets with photographs, available on-line, in the home, at open houses
  • Direct mail promotional material advertising “just listed” and “just sold” in your neighbourhood

Some brokers/sales representatives claim — erroneously I’m afraid — that classified advertising does not work. They may ask you to pay advertising costs, or want to raise their commission to pay for advertising, if not at the time of listing then perhaps after a certain number of weeks if the property hasn’t sold. Before signing a listing, find out if the broker/sales representative will advertise and cover the costs. I do.

Record of success

The bottom line in considering a real estate broker/salesperson is, “What is his or her track record? What has his or her education, training, ability, talent, energy, judgment, use of time, and experience enabled that person to accomplish?”

Joan Smith as an individual broker and in combination with the sales of the Joan Smith Team, have sold more homes in Kanata for Royal LePage than any other stand alone salesperson or salesperson team, based upon sales from 1971 to present.*