6 Strategies That’ll Help Agents Stand Out to Home Buyers

As a buyer’s agent, you play a pivotal role in one of the most important transactions in a person’s life. You’re a trusted advisor in the often complex home buying process, a hyperlocal expert, a networker and negotiator, a shoulder to cry on, and an advocate who keeps their clients’ best interests in mind. How do you not only share — but show — the many hats you wear? 

Read on for research-backed tips to help buyers understand the indispensable role you play.

1. Lead with what matters most to the buyer and what you know about the market

Start with a conversation about your clients’ specific needs and preferences

What kind of home do your clients want? What are their wants and needs? This conversation is key to unlocking a smooth home buying journey, where your value really stands out. 

Show them the possibilities

Once you know what your clients want, help them make informed decisions, consider their overall budget, and avoid unexpected financial burdens. For example, once your buyers are serious about making an offer, provide them with an easy-to-understand report breaking down the associated costs of the home so they feel informed and empowered to make a decision.

Position yourself as the local market expert

Stay updated on local, state, and federal incentives, and identify opportunities for financial assistance, such as down payment assistance programs or tax credits. This knowledge can help buyers save money upfront or benefit from long-term savings. Stay up to date with the latest reports on the Zillow Premier Agent blog, like our monthly market reports.

Remind your clients to look at floor plans in listings 

Zillow survey data shows more than half of prospective buyers regret wasting time visiting properties they would have skipped if they had had access to the floor plan beforehand. 

Show them 3D Home Tours and Listing Showcase experiences

At the same time, 79% of prospective buyers are more likely to view a listing if it includes a floor plan that appeals to them. As the saying goes, time is money — and informed clients make great clients. Where possible, try to save your clients time and effort by offering up a video tour or a 3D interactive virtual tour through Listing Showcase. 

2. Share a wealth of helpful resources with them

Go through the first-time home buyers checklist 

Sometimes it can feel like finding a new home is a full-time job. Show your value to clients by giving them back the most valuable thing of all — their time. You can start by offering up simple resources at the outset of their search, like this first-time home buyer’s checklist. 

Get on the same page with a Buyer’s Representation Agreement

Once your clients are ready to start their home buying process with you representing them, they should expect to sign a Buyers Agreement. Not only will a written agreement be required as part of the rule changes following the National Association of Realtors (NAR) settlement, but it also sets clear expectations with your client. Key topics to discuss include duration of the agreement, agent responsibilities, compensation, and buyer commitments such as providing prompt feedback on property listings and visits.

Build confidence in buying power

How much do changing mortgage rates impact home prices? What about credit score? Help your clients effectively and efficiently answer these questions with confidence using BuyAbility^SM Zillow Home Loans’s affordability calculator, a tool buyers can use to estimate a comfortable home price and monthly payment based on their current financial situation. Now, knowing the home price they’re comfortable with, you can start narrowing down which homes to tour. 

Give them useful content to peruse in their free time

While you are your client’s most trusted expert, you can also empower them with resources from Zillow’s Learning Center, which offers educational articles on topics like when to get pre-approved for a mortgage.

3. Talk about how you’ll lead them through difficult negotiations

Your client has found the perfect home, knows the financial aspects of the purchase, and is ready to move forward. This is where clients value their agent’s help the most. In fact, these services were ranked among the top three most valuable agent services by both first-time and repeat buyers.

Make clear all the places you’ll take the lead where they likely won’t want to. Research shows these areas include:

• Helped me decide the details of my offer(s): 57%
• Organized and submitted paperwork: 53%
• Led contract negotiations: 43%

4. Make yourself look amazing to future clients 

Optimize your online profiles

Your online presence may be the first place a buyer discovers you. Make yourself stand out by using tools like our recently updated Agent Profile and Agent Finder available to any agent in the industry. Here, you can showcase your expertise to shoppers in your market, highlight your sales history, and show active listings. 

Keep your social media profiles fresh

Your social media profiles are key to making a great first impression on potential clients. At the very least, post regularly about who you are, your expertise, your listings, and more. We also recommend investing in some recording equipment to produce high-quality and informative content. It’s simple to set up, and an up-to-date profile can go a long way in helping potential clients understand your approach, successes, and value.

5. And show that past clients loved working with you

Many clients now start their real estate journey online, and agent reviews are an important piece of what buyers and sellers consider in researching an agent. In 2018, 42% of buyers considered such reviews highly important. By 2023, that number had grown to 63%. Stand out to future home buyers by asking past clients to sing your praises — including on your Agent Profile. 

You can also leverage reviews on your social media platforms. For example, make a goal to feature at least one testimonial a week on your Instagram account. Need tips on asking for a testimonial? Start here.

6. Lastly, be upfront about the value you provide

You know your value, now share it with your clients. By highlighting what you provide as a buyer’s agent, you’ll help to educate your clients on every aspect of your role as a trusted and dependable partner — and make it clear that your commission is money earned. After you’ve proven that you’re able to ease the often complex and stressful home buying journey, you’ve built a strong relationship with a client who can vouch for you to future home buyers. 

Here are some final tips for being loud and clear about your value:

• Share stories of how you’ve helped other clients avoid pitfalls
• Talk about the things you know or can do that they don’t know or don’t want to do
• Emphasize all the worries they won’t have when they work with you 
• Ask for compensation that reflects the full value you’ll provide

Explore our Industry Support Hub for more tools and resources designed to help agents navigate the NAR settlement.