what actually does make a good agent? Like when you're interviewing an agent, what is the thing that you should be really looking for?

I will defend you. I will protect you. I will be at bat for you. But the best way to do that is to get along with the other party who has your house.

the best way to have a smooth transaction is to be available.

if it takes 30 seconds or less, do it right now.

unless you know that they're really experienced, if you've got, one sitting next to the other, I would use a full time agent. agent feel free to interview a couple of agents if you're not sure who to use.

Welcome back to another episode of millennia. What are we talking about today?

What makes a good agent. Realtors have they've taken a little bit of a hit these past few weeks, months.

yep.

Reputation. I haven't been exceedingly happy about it, but we figured we would get on we've talked a little bit about not hiring your family members. We've talked about not knowing what questions to ask, that type of thing, but what actually does make a good agent? Like when you're interviewing an agent, what is the thing that you should be really looking for?

That could be different for everybody

it can be different for everybody.

Even NAR puts out the statistics of what, like by generation, what each generation finds valuable in an agent. And they vary depending on

you are a dead set millennial, so what do you look

dead set millennial.

are like right in the middle, so what do you look for in an agent?

Tell me what to do

Guidance.

Yeah. communicate with me so I know what's going on and knowledge

Ok

Those are the big ones and it'd be available when I am at least when I was shopping for my house I had probably the one of the most ideal not the most idea but pretty ideal Showing availability because I worked All different hours. So if I went in at two, then I could give my agent all morning, which is like me as an agent, that's my dream. I'm like, Oh my God, I can take you out before two o'clock in the afternoon. That's amazing.

I know. And so I think availability, knowledge, guidance. Communication I think is a

big one. and, collaboration. That's not something as as a client. That I would have thought, but now being an agent is something that's I don't think it's talked about enough and not just collaborative with like between agent and client, but like agent and client agent to agents, like whether it be like listing side and buying side. Cause at the end of the day, you just want, everybody wants the same thing. Everybody has the same goal. There's no use of the people who are saying, I'm going to fight for my clients. Fight for you. I'm not going to fight anybody because that gets, where that gets everybody mad really

It's really great for like HGTV and Bravo,

Like I will defend you. I will protect you. I will be at bat for you. But the best way to do that is to get along with the other party who has your house.

Yeah, I would say somebody, an agent who has a high EQ, meaning an emotional, intelligence because not only does an agent need to know what to say to a concerned, nervous, Angry client, but also there's so many emotions, but also yeah, when you're talking to the next to your counterpart in a transaction, like going in and being super jokey with someone who's been in the business for 40 years, like that's not necessarily the same thing versus being super serious with a 35 year old agent where you've got, where we're similar age. So I think

it was like me when I was in communication with the listing agent of Vassar as in a contract with, and I like crack jokes every now and then, get business done, but still keep it lighthearted. And I'd crack a joke and he didn't laugh. I went to my clients and I was like, I said, I don't have like complaints about this guy. He gets the job done, but he doesn't laugh at my jokes. So it seems a little suspicious.

Yeah, yeah Yeah, no, I call him Seth isms. I've got like 15 to 20 little, kitschy agent specific, little things that I, I say to every agent, and then, but I use them as a test balloon. If they don't laugh, then I know, okay, that's button it up. Be a little bit more, this person wants to be professional because you need to like, there's a book called the five love languages, which is, it's really for like couples, but it really is about emotional connection and you want people want to know that the person across the table are safe knowledgeable. But the people like to work with people who are like them. If you're super buttoned up and if an agent super buttoned up and then the person on the other side is a complete like disaster scatterbrain and vice versa, it can be a, not as great of a transaction.

plus reputation that carries along with reputation and like this might all sound like it's only relative to agent talk, but this all goes into How we are able to represent you and serve you so you know if you get a reputation of somebody who is like difficult to work with or doesn't solve the problems that are coming up or is combative

in the ass

yeah, that's a good way just button up that everything I just said Yeah, if you're a raging pain in the ass that's gonna follow along. So if you're putting in offers for your clients and you know Do the listing agencies, your name, they're not really going to want to work with you. And that's stuff that happens on the backend in this industry. And on the flip side, you could have an agent who networks with other agents and has great standing relationship with other agents, where if you're say I'm listing somebody's house and I can reach out to. The agents that I do know and say, Hey, what buyers do you have for this to be able to like speed up the process and get the best person for it?

Yeah let's go back real quick to what the client is looking for. There's been lots of studies done on millennials and Gen Z. And this podcast is called millennia, but. We're really talking to them, to Zers because the buyer profile, we meaning like the things that are important to a buyer, the buyer segment and those home buyers are very similar and they really are very deferential, meaning they're just looking for somebody to tell them what to do. They are very interested in engaging. Experts, whether it's accountants or financial planners, I've talked about this before on this podcast where, the whole idea is that they were all going to just click a button and, there was an app for that and they were going to legal zoom and they were going to do this, that, and the other. And that is it is absolutely the opposite. Millennials really want a lot of guidance. There's been a lot of talk about the relevance of buyer agency, which we're going to talk about a little bit in another episode. Yeah. And It's important for an agent to understand who they're talking to. And if we're talking really with anyone under the age of 40, they're busy. They might have a couple kids. It might not be their first home purchase, but it's their first home sale because they're selling their first starter home. I have found that the best way to have a smooth transaction is to be available. Being able to make sure that nobody goes to bed with an unanswered question is, within the, within a reasonable likelihood, within reason is a very powerful thing. And so if I, if it's nine 30 and someone's got a question, like I'm going to answer that question because I don't want someone going to bed. Like not knowing the answer. Now listen, if it's something like, Hey,

I can't get the

What's the account number for the water company? That's different than Hey,

not going to keep you up at night

yes, I can keep you up at night versus Hey do I need to like, Paint the and spackle the holes in my wall because I'm pulling off like paintings and like pulling stuff off my wall like stuff like that where it's logistical. Or Hey, do we know where rates are right now? Or do we know where this is that is a huge remedy. And if I get it at 10 30 at night and I'm asleep, it's like the first thing I do in the morning. And that For me has been a very successful tactic is just being able to communicate. I've just have never understood the agent who just gets a text and then just lets it float. And for me, that's like a first priority. Like that I'm a, I allow my day to be hijacked by a text like that. That is part of what I get paid to do. Plus I just want my people to like have answers. And be comfortable and not worrying about things.

to worry about.

There there is

have you worry about as little as possible.

I get up at the other thing is too, is that especially in this like under 40, under 45 generation, it's like everyone's so busy and whether they're busy. And I always tell you this, whether they're busy or not. They think they're busy and the result is the same. They could be sitting around doing nothing, but they think they're like overwhelmed and stressed. So that emotional aspect comes into these transactions. And I just have always been like, I am their agent. They have a question. And if I have the answer, I'm going to get back to them as soon as I possibly can.

I had a boss one time who had a that I learned this from that I really like. He said, if it takes 30 seconds or less, do it right now. Because he'd be at my store, and we're talking about something, and he gets, he got a text, and he needed, he said, sorry, he said, I don't mean to be rude and text right in front of you or anything. He said, but this is going to take me less than 30 seconds, and if it is, I'm going to do it right

it right now. I think within reason, that's a good advice, but if you're doing something like project work I also don't know about like in meetings. I have a, I'm a phone face down. I'm a phone face

That's different. It's yeah, I mean if

if it's like you're doing like busy work or whatever, and there's something there, you just put, you do it right away. You don't put it at the bottom of your list. I get

like I needed to I think I had to have a quick phone call with somebody yesterday and something popped up, it was going to take me less than 30 seconds. And instead of just like putting it down at the bottom of my list, I was like, I can do this right

Yes, no,

then move along with my day.

I agree with that. But no, but I think the other thing that a lot of people are looking for is that knowledge base. We had another kind of an experience. We had another conversation about why we don't talk. shit on other agents. And but listen, every business, every industry, every profession has different levels of experience and you don't need a 40 year agent. In fact, if you have an agent who's been doing things for 40 years, there's probably things that they're,

archaic type.

well, you know, They probably have a lot of knowledge, but the way they do business might be, yeah, like a little antiquated and clunky and everything like that. So I think that experience is super important and I, and with this millennial Gen Z

An experience doesn't even need to be tenure either. Look at me. I've been licensed for two and a half, almost three years, but I have a lot of experience because I've done a lot of deals within that time versus somebody who's been three years and it's only done three deals or, somebody could be licensed for eight years, but I've done

been doing it on the side, I don't know. And anyone who's like in this generation, I know they like to hire their friends. They like to use people that they already trust, I think you should use a full time agent. You should work with somebody who is on a team. Because, or they run a team because they have redundancy. And if it's special on the buyer side, if you need like our partner, Julie, she needs me to open up a door tomorrow morning and it's on Saturday morning. And I was able to do that. if Kelly and Chris had worked with just an independent agent, I don't think logistically they'd be able to see the house because there would be no one else to show it. So you want to work with somebody on a team, but you want someone somebody who has a base of knowledge and And does this in a way that is, I think, which is effective. There are a lot of agents who are part time. There are a lot of agents and their fans, some of them are fantastic. And some of them are actually pretty experienced, but unless you know that they're really experienced, if you've got, one sitting next to the other, I would use a full time agent. agent

Yeah, me too. So that is also important.

you used a full time agent when you,

Oh, absolutely.

yeah,

Yes. I had my cousin vet her out though. So my cousin was an agent outside of the state. She was in Delaware. So of course I went to her, but couldn't sell in Pennsylvania. And that's the other thing too. If you are going out of state and you need an agent, don't do it yourself. That goes back to the episode of what things do you not have to do yourself? This should have been on there. Like we can vet out other agents for you.

Yeah, we can interview them and ask them the right

yeah, like we have a lot very large network of agents and ways to get in contact with other ones. We have the questions to ask. We can look on the back end of their volume and the performance and be able to ask the questions, be able to know that you're going to get the same quality and care and attention that like, that I'd give to you. If I was working with

What do you think in terms of research? Do you think Zillow reviews or Google reviews matter?

I do look at them.

That's exactly what I was going to say. I said, to be honest rehearse what they say, obviously

exactly what I was gonna say. I said, to be honest, reverse what they say. Obviously you don't wanna be good, but it actually goes to show how much is this agent putting into showing their experience and paying attention to their business and how it is perceived. And

also it shows people's willingness to place those, cause you can ask for a review. It doesn't mean they have to give it. And like I get I asked for them and people give them. So I have, I think about 147 Zillow, five stars Zillow reviews and like another 45 on Google. And I go and I specifically asked for them because I want people to understand when they research me that I got a whole bunch of friends behind me who've had a good experience. So I think that, you go and you find somebody who's got zero reviews. They're hard to find on the internet. Now listen, they don't have to be some like Zillow Premier agent and they're like everywhere and they're on billboards and everything like that. In fact, I would argue that that kind of advertising is not effective anymore. But you just want somebody who's organized in their business and

it's like the one that I found in Wisconsin Hala Vanessa. I found her through a Facebook group. So there's this huge national real estate masterminds group on Facebook. And you it's like dropping food into a fishbowl when

That's a Sethism. That's a Sethism. Actually, I stole that from my buddy, Bob.

Ha. It's Bism, It's Bob. But yeah, and then all of a sudden it's just like feeding frenzy of ah, help, I'll help, I help all this person's, but like I did pay attention to how many times an agent would be recommended in there. It's oh, okay. Like most people have something to say about them and. Also like quickness to get on there to reach out. I had interviewed a cop, quite a few, and she was great. And she ends answer all the questions that I wanted to hear. And I was like, okay, cool. I looked her up,

saw when, whenever I do that.

I was going to say more of the same. Go ahead. What?

No I actually don't do that anymore. 'cause I don't need to. I find people through the re max network now. I don't have to go to the Facebook like the, are you talking about like this, these Facebook, these national facebook accounts that they're filled with spam and nonsense. It's not

as bad. It's they are sometimes really fun to watch people go ask the questions that they should be asking their

yeah, yeah, definitely. It's like, how do I fill out an agreement of sale? It's call your broker. No, but I I would only use the people who engage me by DM.

Yeah. Oh,

the, the agent who like took the time to pop out of the Facebook and into the messenger app. And then they would say, Hey, and then I could have a private conversation with them because some of these brokerages, they will instruct all their agents to pile on and be like, Hey, Susie's great. Hey Susie. Oh, Susie's the only person I'd use. Susie's the best. Susie helped me. Susie

referencing to see how does you and I know each other? And is this are they in the same brokerage? Cause that's not.

if you are going out and looking for an agent. In another state your local agent that you're using, if you have a house to sell, who's selling, you can use them to go out and vet that agent because they know the questions to ask them to make sure that they're the right way and everything we've been talking about, are they the right fit? Are they full time? do they have a pretty good personality? if your agent here in pa call someone in Tennessee, and then you get on the phone and it's some super serious, like 65-year-old guy versus a 30 5-year-old,

and we know your personality. Like we know you and their whole, it's like me interviewing somebody to fill a position in a company. you want to make sure that you are the right fit for these people. and we do get a referral fee from it. So yeah, I get paid on that referral. I'm not going to hide that part, and because I do, I take it very seriously that I, and after I do get you guys connected and you start working with them I want to keep following up and make sure everything is still like going smoothly. I'll be checking in with the agent and checking in with you guys and cause I don't want to be putting my name on somebody who's going to be treating, who's not going to be doing a good job. Yeah. So

listen, I think we can wrap this up with just the idea of, definitely find somebody who has experience who's organized on a team. But also somebody who's got like the right personality, the person you think is going to be able to guide you. Hold your hand and make sure that you get through a transaction in a smooth way. And we said this in another episode, feel free to interview a couple of agents if you're not sure who to use. I don't think we really get, we won, we've gotten pretty good at winning

think there's, I haven't really been shopped much. There was that one, but.

And then we're under contract with what we should call them, Sammy and Lindsay.

We could do something better, but sure.

Okay, but yeah yeah, we always wanted to protect people's identity on this podcast, but at the end of the day yeah, we were shopped and I think we sent them this podcast and

Sven and Lisa. Sebastian. Oh, that's better. Yeah.

But we were shopped and they said where they were interviewing a few other people and, we got on and then they went dark and for what, 10

so did Seth. Yeah. Seth got real dark. He was like, Oh man. He's we lost it. We beat it. We got beat out. I messed up. I should have

I didn't.

him forever. And then literally a couple of days later, he was like, Oh, I

I didn't feel that. I did that. I did that call from like my car. I know exactly where I was, I was down the street and it was like the middle of the winter and it was like the 50, 000th thing I had done that day.

You beat yourself up bad

did, but listen, that's how I got better. That's how I got better. And I took the lessons and moved on. But no, I think the clincher and I asked them outright, I think it was like on our third or fourth showing, I was like, how did, what was the deciding factor? It was this podcast. So there you go. If you guys have any questions about an agent even if you're not in the Philadelphia area we're happy to run down those details, but yeah, definitely use somebody who you are looking to connect with and

has a podcast.

and who has a podcast, that's always a bonus. good luck out there and

Catch you next week. See ya. Bye.