A credible real estate consultant
Best selling author Ryan Holiday tells a real-life story of how a real estate agent he had not previously met gained his trust — because the agent undervalued the investment potential of a property he had expressed interest in.
When Ryan obtained the rental income range, he didn’t trust this report, so he did his own research. He called two other rental agencies who managed units in the same building and got actual numbers for what the property earned.
Much to his surprise, the actual rental income was higher than what the agent had estimated.
“The agent I was speaking with could have stretched the truth. He could have given me optimistic numbers about the rental prospects of the property. I trust him implicitly now as I know he is not the type to make a hard sale. I am now comfortable that the investment works even with this conservative math. And, most of all, one of the excuses I was looking for as a buyer — one should always look for reasons not to do something they are excited to do — has evaporated.”
Agents can over-promise on price and oversell their abilities because they don’t want to come across as not being good enough. People don’t care how much an agent knows unless they know how much they care. An agent doesn't have to be the dominant agent in the area to get the listing, but they do have to know the marketplace incredibly well and be the “Google” of that area. That’s how an agent demonstrates their credibility.
When an agent is conservative, they can over-deliver. But when an agent over-promises, they open themselves up to under-delivering to the customer.
“We didn’t just want an agent who would tell us what we wanted to hear, we wanted an agent who listened to our needs. Shannon ticked all those boxes and more from our first meeting.”
— Scott Radcliffe