Are You Interviewing Your Listing Agent, or Just Choosing Someone You Know?

A surprising number of sellers pick their listing agent because of a friendship, a family connection, or a name they recognize, without ever interviewing anyone. Your home is one of your largest financial assets. The person who prices it, markets it, and negotiates it deserves the same scrutiny you would give a new hire at work. Here is how to interview listing agents properly.

Ask how they would price your home, and why

A real answer includes comparable sales, current competition, and what is unique about your home. Be suspicious of a number picked to win your listing, and equally suspicious of a vague range with no reasoning. Ask what happens if the market does not respond to that price.

Ask about their marketing plan in detail

Anyone can put a sign in the yard and push the listing to the major portals. Ask who takes the photos, whether there is a video and floor plan, how they use staging advice, and how they generate buyer traffic beyond the MLS. The marketing plan is where the outcome is actually decided.

Ask who you will actually work with

Will it be the agent you are meeting, or a junior teammate? How fast do they respond to calls and texts? Who covers for them on their days off? In my case, you work directly with me and my sister Casey. Our clients know our cell numbers and use them.

Ask about their negotiation style

Selling a home involves offers, counteroffers, inspections, and last-minute surprises. Ask for a real example of a tough negotiation they handled and how they protected their client's position. The answer reveals far more than a list of credentials.

Ask about experience with homes like yours

Historic Victorian in Albany, acreage near Dallas, or a home that needs work? Every property type has its own buyer pool and its own quirks. I have spent 29 years selling across the Mid-Willamette Valley, including complicated sales, estate situations, and homes that needed careful preparation. Ask any agent how much of your situation they have actually lived through.

“The best listing agent is not the smoothest talker. It is the one whose plan you understand and whose judgment you trust.”