Is a Realtor® a salesperson?

Recently I noticed that someone landed on my web site after searching Google for “is being a realtor a sales job or a customer service job”.

Technically the IRS considers us sales people. I don’t consider myself a sales person even though we say we “sell houses”.

I don’t believe you can SELL a house to a buyer. Buying a home is such a personal thing that a buyer simply can’t be … and shouldn’t be … convinced to buy a specific home. The buyer must be able to SEE themselves actually living in the home. It’s such an emotional thing. A given home may meet most of the criteria a buyer is wanting, but if it doesn’t “feel right”, they won’t want to buy it.

We’re psychologists and consultants. 

Our job is to listen to and get to know what is important to our buyers and their lifestyle. Then we need to sort through available listings and select those that we think may best fit those wants/needs. Once in a while … if the buyer has freely communicated with us … we may even show a home that on paper may not seem to be a fit, but perhaps it has some feature that we know will fit the buyer perfectly.

We’re detectives, mind-readers and confidantes.

For our sellers, our job is to expertly present their home to the broadest array of buyers as possible. We need to be able to price it right, advise them on staging the home to look its best, take high-quality photos, write targeted copy descriptors, design custom sales materials, and advertise the home all over the internet.  

We’re economists, stagers, photographers, copywriters, artists, and webmasters.

When our clients write or get an offer on a home, we need to work on their behalf to represent their best interests. A real estate contract must be a win-win for both parties otherwise it won’t go into contract. It’s our job to determine where that middle ground is with both parties.

We’re negotiators and facilitators.

Once a home goes into contract, we need to make sure all the details of the contract are met. We need to watch due dates, set up appointments, follow-up with vendors for required paperwork, and make sure everyone knows what needs to be done.

We’re administrators.

I’ve also been a maid, trash hauler and pooper-scooper when a seller moved and left the home in a mess. I’ve been a pet-sitter when a seller couldn’t get their puppy into a kennel for their out-of-state home search. (don’t put your home on the market THEN get a puppy!) I’ve been a landscaper when I raked leaves and shoveled snow on vacant homes. I was a water-sucker-upper when an ice maker tube decided to burst for a senior citizen. And hopefully, I’ve been a trusted ally.

So is a Realtor® just a salesperson? NO WAY!!

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