9 Smart Interview Questions to Ask Listing Agents 
Salt Lake Realty Group’s answers

Here are some pro tips for interviewing agents and questions to ask agents that you interview.

1) How long have you been in the business? Can you tell me about your career?
Robert was licensed in early 2010. Primarily listed and sold short sales from 2010 to 2013. 2013, and growing every year since then, served equity resale sellers and buyers. After operating as a sales agent for five years, became a licensed Principal Broker and started Salt Lake Realty Group in 2015. 

2) Can you tell me about each step of your seller process? 
Step by step here: saltlakerealtygroup.com/sell

3) Do I work with you? Or will I be pawned off on lower level agents and assistants?   
My team exists to help me on the back end to help you. You work with me. I am the contact. You don’t get pawned off.   

4) Do you use professional photography? 
Professional “magazine ready” photography and Video Tours so buyers can tour the home virtually.   

5) What do you do to market my home beyond putting a sign in the yard and posting on the Multiple Listing Service?   
I partner with a marketing agency - Digital marketing constantly evolves so I employ a marketing agency to ensure that my marketing is and remains second to none. That agency is called Curaytor, they are amazing, I have employed them since 2014, since before digital marketing for real estate listings was really even a thing. The purpose of this marketing is to make sure your listing reaches more eyes than our competitors and to create opportunities from the leads we create. We aren't just showing pretty pictures on social media to build a following. I am not an influencer, I market and sell homes. These earned audiences are in place to sell your house. I will show you examples of recent marketing campaigns and the results procured. 

6) What marketing channels do you have beyond the Multiple Listing Service and search portals? 
Instagram (@saltlakerealtygroup): 13,000+ followers
Facebook (@saltlakerealtygroup): 1,400+ followers
YouTube (youtube.com/saltlakerealtygroup): 200+ subscribers
Email Database: 13,000+ 

7) What do you do to actively sell my house beyond marketing? 
Marketing is great, but it is passive. Real estate is a sales business and you are hiring a sales person. Through demand satisfaction and primarily demand creation the volume of leads generated is a lot. I don't leave it to just email drips or our AI assistant bot to have text conversations with prospects. I pick up the phone and talk to them. This is outbound, not just waiting for people to call us.   Also crucial is what happens with the handling of hot prospects by yours truly and aggressively following up to get traffic through your home. Most showings will be buyers represented by a buyer agent. Post showing follow up to ensure that buyers looking at many homes are writing offers here and not somewhere else. 

8) How would you describe your negotiating style? 
Tactical empathy - Understanding what is important to the other side of the negotiating table and speaking directly to those items. Keeping deals together during escrow without giving away the farm in post contract renegotiation requires skill. Sometimes the ability to know when to say take it or leave it on a request for repairs or appraisal renegotiation attempt.   

9) Deals typically try to die at least three times. Tell me about possible problems in the transaction, how you have successfully handled those problems in the past, and what you do to handle those problems before they ever come up.   
I will share some recent examples with you from the last few months. 

Why are these questions important?  
It's fun to talk about the sexy marketing. It's what people like to hear and it is what consumers think is the only differentiator among agents. I recommend viewing your hiring decision as hiring an agent that creatively sells, has the audience to do so, handles agents and offers with skill, mitigates your legal risk, and solves problems before they ever become problems.   Exploring the idea of selling your home can be stressful. There are many types of agents and experience level and brokerage capabilities vary massively. Experience matters. Make sure they have happy past clients. Search agents on Google and Zillow. Also look at their website. SaltLakeRealtyGroup.com A Realtor's website says a lot about their operation.