What makes a great real estate agent?

Top questions real estate agent should ask to improve the sales process

There are many tools for Realtors® to improve productivity, sales processes, and increase leads. However, most of those tools don’t help real estate agents refine their selling skills, or become a better agent.

You may have noticed that great agents are a salesperson, a marketer, a buyer’s advocate, and project manager all in one. They have the hustle and tenacity to keep their clients happy, and they are always trying to exceed their clients’ expectations. Outstanding real estate agents give their clients confidence that they will find the best home for them or negotiate to sell their home at an amazing price. Lastly, great Realtors® have strong attention to detail and ask the right questions to learn about the buyer or seller’s needs and wants. Being able to ask thought-provoking questions is one of the most critical skills to possess as a Realtor®. Having a consultation between you and the buyer or seller will drastically improve the sales process.

During the consultation, you want to find out what your client is looking for in their next house, their budget, or the asking price they want to sell their current home. Ask questions to find out their likes and dislikes to show them homes that fit their needs and wishes. Then, once you pinpoint their must-haves, deal-breakers, and compromisable elements, you can start to show them houses that they are likely to buy. Therefore, speeding up buying or selling their house. We interviewed some of the Greater Toronto Area and surrounding area’s top real estate agents to discover consultation questions they use to sell homes, find dream properties quicker, and keep their buyers and sellers happy.

Keep reading to learn the questions these Realtors®  use to receive outstanding information from their clients.

Best Buyer Consultation Questions Realtors® Need to Ask to Sell Better

• Top Questions to Ask to Sell Homes Quickly 
• Top Questions to Ask Towards Listing the Selling Price High 
• Top Questions to Ask Buyers and Sellers Related to Showings & Listings

Top Questions to Ask to Sell Homes Quickly 

First, we spoke with Realtor® Ryanne McGee, a sales representative at Chestnut Park Real Estate Limited,  to learn the questions she uses to meet her seller clients’ needs successfully. We wanted to speak with Ryanne because she is a Master Certified Negotiations Expert (MCNE) & Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR), so she knows her stuff. Here is her response below.

Questions I ask my seller clients to ensure I understand their need and successfully sell their property:

• Why do you want to sell?
• When would you like to close? [What offer would make you close immediately?]
• What are the qualities you’re looking for in a real estate agent?
• What improvements have you made to the property since ownership? Are there any known issues with the property?
• How do you like to be kept up to date with the listings’ progress? By text, phone call, real estate app, email,or in person?

By asking these questions before starting the selling process, the selling agent and the seller understand how they want to work together, how they want to stay in contact, and how soon they want to close. These discussions allow for complete transparency between the selling agent and the seller, so there are no hidden surprises later.

We also spoke with sales representative Jordan Sterling Clarke from Dream Maker Realty Inc. Brokerage. He uses his unique zero hassle, zero risks, minimal sacrifice approach to help hundreds of clients find their dream home in the Toronto area. 

One of his favourite questions to ask home sellers is:

• Are you aware of your home proximity to potential environmental hazards?

He states, “As more and more homebuyers are waking up to the potential dangers of environmental hazards when selling your home, I find it may be wise to highlight your home’s distance from such things as cell phone towers.”

Top Questions to Ask Towards Listing the Selling Price High From Property Matchmakers

Next, we spoke with the Property Matchmakers Sales Team from Sutton Group-Heritage Realty. Inc, Brokerage

Information to ask for when your seller wants to list high 

• To the buyer: Is the inflated price too high? 
• To the buyer: Is the price just right?
• To the seller: Are you willing to adjust your selling price to accommodate the market?

The Property Matchmakers said, “These questions help our seller clients realize that to get their house sold, they need to listen to the feedback, and adjust their asking price accordingly. If the feedback that is received shows us a consensus that the price is right (for whatever finishes and features that the property has), then we know that the right buyer will come along sooner rather than later!”

Top Questions to Ask Related to Showings & Listings 

Top questions listing agents should be asking buyers after property showings

Here is what the Property Matchmakers had to say in terms of the best questions to ask the listing agent after a property showing.

• To the Listing Agent: Please let us know how you and your buyers felt this property/listing compared to other similar homes for sale in the area at the same price point. 

The sales team stated that “This feedback is crucial as it allows us to let our seller clients know if their asking price is reasonable in the eyes of buyers and other Realtors®.”

• To the Listing Agent: Pay attention to feedback at showings. Please let us know the negative and positive feedback from potential buyers. 

The Property Matchmakers suggest working with sellers to turn around any negative feedback and make any possible changes. However, for positive feedback, they always promote the heck out of it! Every buyer loves to know the star features and benefits of a property listing, and they will make sure they know about them.

Environmental questions to ask the buyer before booking any listings 

When we interviewed sales representative Jordan Sterling Clarke from Dream Maker Realty Inc. Brokerage, his number one concern was environmental hazards and their proximity to the future home the client wants to purchase. Here are some of his favourite questions to ask the buyer.

• Are you aware of your [future] home’s proximity to potential environmental hazards?
• Are you willing to pay a premium to live farther away from any potential environmental hazards due to health risks?
• How important is the proximity of ecological hazards to your future home vs. the purchasing price?
• What are you ready to give up to live in an environmentally safe area?

Clarke states, “Though the possible side effects that cell phone towers may cause aren’t highlighted on any major news outlets yet, I’ve had quite a few families, especially mothers, asking me to search for homes at a comfortable distance from these towers. Some families are not taking any chances. To assist those with more specific search criteria, I’ve included a link to a Canadian cell tower map to provide some relief.”

Strong consultations between listing agents, buyers, and sellers will lead to more transparent communication and a smoother sales process

Integrating these questions and an initial consultation into your sales process will improve client satisfaction and speed up selling a home or finding a home for your buyer. You will learn how your client wants to communicate about listings and showing, their asking price, their closing terms, environmental concerns, and their must-haves and deal-breakers.