OHIO EDITION
Top Agent Tips and Questions for CHOOSING YOUR LISTING AGENT How to Overcome Your WORKPLACE FEARS
COVER STORY
DEB GOLDACH
THINKING OF LISTING? Nine Ways to Get Ready Developing Your PRICING PHILOSOPHY
OHIO EDITION
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DEB GOLDACH
CONTENTS 4) TOP AGENT TIPS AND QUESTIONS FOR CHOOSING YOUR LISTING AGENT 15) DEVELOPING YOUR PRICING PHILOSOPHY
20) THINKING OF LISTING? NINE WAYS TO GET READY 22) HOW TO OVERCOME YOUR WORKPLACE FEARS
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Top Agent Tips and Questions for Choosing Your Listing Agent Now that you’ve decided to sell, it’s time to select the professional to help you market your property. Before meeting with agents, however, consider Top Agent Magazine’s tips for preparing yourself. Frist, ask yourself what kind of relationship you’d like to have with your listing agent. Are you seeking a casual, personable relationship and the latest marketing tools or are you interested in a more formal, traditional relationship and approach to marketing techniques? Next, populate your list of agents by attending open houses and asking for recommendations from recent buyers and sellers. Finally, schedule your meetings at your home, where you’ll be able to gauge the chemistry between you and each agent. During your meetings, expect any Top Agent to ask you several questions, but also consider discussing the following: 4
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Will you please describe your sales experience and local network?
Ask your Top Agent to describe recent listings and sales of homes comparable to your own. Ask about the sellers’ priorities, the original list price, market time and number of offers. Top Agents will also describe how well they are connected with other REALTORS® in the region as well as their contacts with relocation companies, local corporations and chambers of commerce. Be sure to ask about each agent’s knowledge of how your market has changed over time and what has influenced change.
You’ll learn a lot by listening to agents’ opinions.
How will you market the property? Each
Top Agent has a unique set of online or local marketing tools at his or her disposal. Some use lead-generation applications and nearly ever luxury agent take advantage of video. Even video marketing tools vary from agent-to-agent, however. You’ll get to decide if you prefer an agent with higher-end video production and 3D Matterport tours or an agent with more intimate techniques featuring walk-and-talk style video tours. What factors influence your list-price recommendation? Before an-
swering this question, most Top Agents will have several questions for you, including whether you’re more focused on a faster sale or a higher list price. They’ll also educate you on how best to balance both market time and list price relative to sales histories your area. Now that you’ve seen the home, what repairs or improvements do you recommend before listing? You’ll learn a lot by listening to agents’
opinions on your home’s sale potential with or without some improvements. Most Top Agents will also recommend a full professional inspection prior to listing to avoid surprises during buyer inspection.
How will you help with staging? Some Top Agents will pay for part or
all of the staging costs. At a minimum, however, a Top Agent will have a staging professional or two in their partner network. While they’re at it, they may provide referrals for carpet cleaning, painting, gardening and other minor finishing touches. Top Agent Magazine
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What attributes of the property will you want to highlight? Each Top
Agent will have a somewhat different answer to this question, but that’s a good thing! Even if you have your own ideas about your home’s greatest attributes, you’ll glean insight into the current market by considering different agents’ opinions. In learning their views, you may even change your mind about your home’s most marketable features!
What is your approach to Open Houses? How many agent-only Open
Houses will your Top Agent want to host? How many truly Open Houses? Some Top Agents may even reveal a “swankier” approach to the Open House – such as an evening cocktail party or by-invitation “open” hours to which buyers visit along with the agent representing them.
Who will be our primary point(s) of contact from your office? This
important question will help you understand the scope of your agent’s practice. You’ll get to see if your agent runs a robust team with many hands on deck or if he or she works by close, one-on-one contact with each client. Either approach is wonderful; you get to decide what suits you. Now, let’s list! 6
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DEB GOLDACH Top Agent Magazine
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Buyer Representation
DEB GOLDACH Deb Goldach is consistently ranked among the top Real Estate agents in the Ohio Valley Region for Keller Williams Realty and has won numerous awards for her achievements. Deb Goldach hadn’t initially considered a career in real estate however while attending Ohio State University and working for a property management company she quickly became hooked. “ It became very clear to me that helping people with one of the larg8Copyright Top Agent Magazine
est and most important investments in their life was my calling and I got my license in 1987. After taking some time off to be a stay at home mom, in 2006, I got back into the business on a full time basis and have never looked back!” Top Agent Magazine
Buyer Representation
Deb is consistently ranked among the top Real Estate agents in the Ohio Valley Region for Keller Williams Realty and has won numerous awards for her achievements including being named a Five Star Real Estate Agent, one of the industry’s highest honors with fewer than 7% of Realtors® recognized in North America. Deb currently leads a small team, which serves Columbus and the surrounding areas, with a business that is 90% referral based. She goes Top Agent Magazine
wherever her clients preferred areas of interest are. “Because I don’t limit myself geographically, I’ve taken great care to have an in-depth knowledge of Columbus and all of the communities within a 45 minute radius of the city and work to keep up on those daily.” The key to Deb’s remarkable success has been her absolute devotion to putting her clients’ needs first. “I have been very customer service oriented from the start. I’m not out to sell my Copyright Top Agent Magazine9
Seller Representation
client just any house, I want them to love it! I have worked incredibly hard to build my business and feel extremely fortunate. It’s all about my clients for me. I’m always honest and work on my clients schedule & time frame. They know I have their best interest at heart.” Although Deb’s business relationships begin just as that, all of her clients are truly special to her with most relationships turning into lifelong friendships. “We spend a tremendous amount of time together during the purchase and sale process, you just can’t help but get to know one another on almost a family like basis Copyright Top Agent Magazine 10
and I really like all of my clients! The greatest satisfaction to me is hearing repeatedly from my clients, “I know I am not your only client yet you always made me feel that way”. This is why I do what I do. There is nothing better than knowing I gave my clients a memorable and positive experience. Not even a paycheck compares to hearing this.” Deb believes strongly in educating her clients on the market so she that she can get her listings sold for top dollar in the quickest amount of time possible and helps her buyers understand fair market value. “I am a huge believer Top Agent Magazine
Buyer Representation
“Because I don’t limit myself geographically, I’ve taken great care to have an in-depth knowledge of Columbus and all of the communities within a 45 minute radius of the city and work to keep up on those daily.” in holding open houses. I do one almost every Sunday, as I have found it to be my best marketing tool to this day. Even with all of the technology, real estate is a “relationship business.” I prefer meeting people face to face and find it to be the most informative way to learn about prospective buyer needs, time frame, preferred criteria & gain trust on the spot. HowTop Agent Magazine
ever most importantly, I know that over 95% of people coming through to my open house are there because they saw my online ad, my print ad or social media posts. I know because I ask. This immediately tells me they have an interest in this particular neighborhood, at this price point and something about this home has piqued their interest. I enjoy developing a rapCopyright Top Agent Magazine 11
Seller Representation
port, am always completely respectful if they are working with another agent, contacting that agent to let them know their client stopped by.” Deb couldn’t be more thrilled with where she is in her career and remains as excited and as passionate about Real Estate as she was when she first started. “I’m always looking to top where I was the year before, however my business really is all about building lifelong relationships with
my clients. I love what I do! There’s no better moment for me than when a buyer client & I walk into a home and I see the look on their face and know it’s the one or when that offer comes in at list price or above, seeing my seller’s so happy! If I have had an unsatisfied client, I have certainly never been made aware of it. My goal is to keep it that way and continue to grow my business & relationships for many, many years to come.”
To learn more about Deb Goldach call 614 -395 -8029, email DebGoldach@debgoldach.com or visit debgoldach.yourkwagent.com www.
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Talon Title is proud to congratulate
Deb Goldach
on being featured for the state of Ohio in Top Agent Magazine!
614-273-0421 | 614-273 -0460 (fax) 1720 Zollinger Road | Columbus OH 43221 www.
talontitle.net
BONNIE LUSTNAUER BLustnauer@TalonTitle.net Top Agent Magazine
AARON BARONE ABarone@TalonTitle.net 13
James McBain and Liberty Capital are proud to congratulate
Deb Goldach
on being featured for the state of Ohio in Top Agent Magazine!
James McBain | President Liberty Capital Services LLC dba Liberty Loans NMLS #917485 | MB.804089.000 438 E. Wilson Bridge Rd - Suite 105 | Columbus, OH 43085 Phone (614) 505-0620 x206 | Toll Free (877) 505-0620 jmcbain.mortgagemapp.com/# james@golibertyloans.com golibertyloans.com facebook.com/LibertyLoans https://
www.
www.
OH-MB.804089.000 NMLS-917485 FL-MBR1457 OH-LO.005075.00 -NMLS-3889 FL- LO21451 14
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Developing Your Pricing Philosophy By Dirk Zeller
Ask a dozen agents to explain their home pricing philosophy, and you’ll
hear a dozen different approaches. And if the talk reveals frank responses, you’ll also learn that the most common pricing strategy is no strategy at all. Here’s my advice: Break out of the ranks by establishing and following a specific strategy for arriving at the ideal selling price for each home. Adopt the philosophy that, in real estate sales, price is king. Price trumps all other factors—including marketing approaches, home condition, market competitiveness, and sales approach. I believe that, in the end, marketing and condition of the property are controlled by the price. The alternative, advocated by many agents, most sellers, and even some sales trainers, is to emphasize marketing over pricing. Rather than working to set the ideal price, they believe success will come from optimizing the home’s condition and presentation and then marketing it with skill and savvy.
I take the opposite belief, based on years of experience working with sellers who wanted unrealistic prices for their homes and who experienced firsttime sales failures as a result. Over my sales career, I resurrected and re-listed more than 600 expired listings—nearly 75 a year. Among all those transactions, I never met an owner with an expired listing who thought that an unreasonable price had anything to do with the home’s failure to sell. They all blamed the previous Top Agent Magazine Copyright Top Agent Magazine
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agent and that person’s approach to marketing. Each sought some magic marketing strategy to change the reality of the law of supply and demand. There is a magic strategy: Price the home correctly. Price is the only factor that can overcome sales obstacles, compensate for a home’s deficiencies, and motivate a purchaser even if the condition of the property and your marketing approach is less than perfect. Getting the listing at any cost Does this scenario sound familiar? An agent (usually a newer agent) is short on business or maybe even desperate for the chance to stake a sign in someone’s yard. The agent wants a listing at any price – even if the chance 16
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to seal a deal erodes the likelihood of selling the property. To gain a seller’s nod of approval, the agent makes a flatteringly high pricing recommendation, throwing out a number the client wants to hear and then hoping something good will result from the bad situation. I can think of few examples, if any, where this philosophy works. Hope isn’t a successful pricing strategy. Worse, the please-the-client mindset is a hard one to abandon. Agents who achieve listings with unrealistic prices find it hard to later counsel their clients honestly.
If you take and price a good listing competitively, it will sell. You can’t keep a good price a secret! The pitfalls of a “please the buyer” approach are many and significant. By overpricing, you can practically count on a reduction in your productivity, profitability, and salability, and here’s why: It’s impossible to keep your productivity high when your time is spent in conversations with an unsuccessful seller who lacks motivation to take corrective action. The seller’s negativity, concerns, and phone calls will only increase with each week or month the house remains on the market. Top Agent Magazine
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As time goes on, you’ll devote more and more time unsuccessfully trying to create a sale not only for your seller but also for yourself. This will pull you away from activities that are more likely to deliver income. The ensuing frustration will de-motivate you and stunt your ability to secure better appointments that create other income opportunities. An unsold, overpriced listing negatively impacts your profitability because it costs you time and money to service while it delivers no revenue to your business. And the situation only gets worse the longer the listing languishes on the market. You’ll end up deducting the expenses of this in-limbo listing from the proceeds generated by any revenue-producing deals you manage to close in the meantime, reducing your net profit and business success. Unsold homes that linger on the market seriously diminish your salability, which is the term that describes your sales success track. Your salability is based on such key statistics as your average ratio of listing price compared to sale price and the average number of days your listings are on the market. Obviously, these statistics, which prospects rely on when choosing one agent over another, can be crushed by a “get the listings at any cost” philosophy. They’re also harmed by the “start high and reduce later” tactic. If you take and price a good listing competitively, it will sell. You can’t keep a good price a secret! Dirk Zeller is an Agent, an Investor, and the President and CEO of Real Estate Champions. Copyright© 2014, Dirk Zeller. All rights reserved.
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Thinking of Listing? Nine Ways to Get Ready The less time a home spends on the market, the more likely it is to sell at or above list price. That’s why our Top Agents recommend getting a property ready for marketing well before listing. Anyone who is even just starting to think about listing will benefit from some basic upkeep and pre-staging work. Even if you decide now is not the time to list, you’ll enjoy these simple improvements around the home. With the right local resources, most pre-listing preparations take less than a week and will make the formal staging process simpler for all involved. Ask Top Agents in your area for referrals of local pros to hire. Once you’ve selected your Top Agent, keep yourself open to his or her opinion on other TLC to help decrease your home’s market time. 1. Inspection: The last thing a seller or buyer wants is a surprise at
inspection. That’s why a complete inspection before listing is so valuable. Many necessary fixes, such as minor roof or appliance repairs, can be discovered and repaired in less than a week. If inspection uncovers a major issue, any Top Agent will tell you that this knowledge is power; disclosing and expecting to take responsibility will increase buyers’ trust without affecting market time. 2. De-Clutter: Take a little time to pack away surplus furniture items and
extra knick-knacks, papers, books or occasional-use items throughout your house. Remember this may require boxing away video game supplies or packing up comfy throw pillows and blankets. Move these items temporarily into closets, the garage or attic with the assumption of possibly renting a storage unit just before listing. 3. Paint: Whole-house painting is likely not necessary, but consider touching
up baseboard moldings and doorways and open wall spaces in high-use areas 20
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such as bathrooms, the office, family room and indoor recreation spaces. Also consider a little varnish on the front door or banister. 4. Artwork and Decor: Take a neutral look at your décor. Better yet, ask a
Top Agent to do so. Buyers should be able to picture themselves living in your home. While your Top Agent may not advise you to appear generic, you’ll likely need to thin out any shrine-like displays to family, hobbies or cultural interests.
5. Deep-Clean Housekeeping: After you’ve de-cluttered and touched up
the paint, request a deep cleaning from your housekeeping service and weekly cleanings thereafter. Make sure they pay attention to details like dusting or vacuuming window treatments and lampshades or wiping smudges off door jams and baseboard moldings. 6. Carpets and Rugs: Bring in the pros, but don’t just clean the carpets.
Because the cleaners will be moving furniture anyway, ask them stretch and tighten any buckled areas of carpeting. Doing so now saves the trouble of having to credit your buyer for this following final walk-through. Also consider removing small area rugs to let the beauty of your hardwood floors shine.
7. Look at the Loo: Buyers may not notice a brand-new toilet seat, but they
will turn up their noses at the one with the broken hinges. Freshly replaced toilet seats, faucets or doorknobs in heavily trafficked bathrooms can go a long way in first impressions.
8. “Mow & Blow”: Consider buyers as guests you want to feel welcome
as they ascend the front walk. If you don’t already have one, hire a weekly gardening service to keep up with the mowing, weeding, pruning and basic maintenance outside so you can focus on other things. 9. Staging: Once you’ve selected a staging professional for the finishing
touches, ask them and your Top Agent for final recommendations on day-today upkeep, storage options and what-to-do (or what not to do) while your house is on the market.
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How To Overcome Your Workplace Fears Fear is something that can help protect us from danger, but it is also something that can be a hindrance to us in our lives, especially when it keeps us from potentially thriving and growing as a person. This is especially true in the workplace. Here’ a look at some proven ways to overcome common workplace fears.
your head, what exactly you’re feeling and why, it can help deflate the fear. Think of it as releasing some of the fear into the ether. Yes, you’ll still be nervous about your presentation, but a lot of what was holding you back is gone. You’ll feel lighter, and hopefully have just enough butterflies to make your soar.
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Really owning the emotions that are putting you in a place of fear, is the first step. By just naming it and then talking it out in
Nothing can make you feel more isolated than going down the path of “This is something that only happens to me.” Trust me,
ASSESS THE FEELINGS BEHIND THE FEAR
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TALK ABOUT YOUR FEARS WITH A TRUSTED CO-WORKER
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it doesn’t, and you might be surprised to find out that some people have had it even worse. Talking to someone you trust and admire, hearing their own fear horror stories and how they overcame them, will help normalize what you’re feeling. Releasing yourself from the idea that it’s something about you, will be an enormous relief.
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THINK OF THE WORST CASE SCENARIO
Although it might seem counter-productive, truly assessing what the worse outcome of the situation you’re afraid of serves two purposes. It might lead you to realize the worst case scenario isn’t that bad after all. Of course it could also lead you to a really uncomfortable thought, you could lose your job. As bad as that is, it also gives you an opportunity to start focusing on what really matters, and how you might grow from the experience and possibly end up better off. Countless people in their dream jobs now, were once fired and thought it was the end of the world. Hopefully, that won’t happen to you, but learning to have confidence in your abilities to always find a way, will be a great tool in overcoming fears.
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COMPARTMENTALIZE
If you’re a super-organized type, you might try actually setting aside time in your day to focus on your fears. It might seem odd, but it will let you NOT focus on your fears during the other hours of your day. Think of it as a task, you aren’t just sitting there worrying, Top Agent Magazine
Start thinking of fears as challenges. As scary as it might seem to face them, for the most part they are things that can be fixed.
you’re taking in your fears and figuring out ways to overcome them.
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START THINKING OF YOUR FEARS AS OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH
Start thinking of fears as challenges. As scary as it might seem to face them, for the most part they are things that can be fixed. A lot of fear is based on inexperience which leads to a lack of confidence. A common fear is workplace evaluations. Instead of looking at it as hearing everything that is wrong about you, think of it as an opportunity to see where you can improve. Going into it with a positive attitude rather than a defensive posture, will make the whole thing better for both parties. Overcoming fears is oftentimes about a simple attitude adjustment. Like anything it takes practice, but the results of that practice will lead to a life that you’re able to thrive in both personally and professionally.
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