Winning valuations against three other agents on the same day

3 days ago
3 min read

Introduction

A seller inviting three agents to value is running a comparison in which the easiest thing to compare is the number. That creates an obvious and well-known temptation: whoever quotes highest wins the instruction. It also creates the industry's most familiar failure, which is a property that sits unsold for four months and then reduces to the figure the honest agent suggested.

The agents who win consistently and profitably do something harder. They give a defensible figure, explain how it was reached, and win on the plan rather than the price.

That is a more difficult conversation and it produces instructions that actually complete. Completions are what pay, not instructions.

Winning valuations against three other agents means not buying the instruction

Overvaluing is a short-term win and a long-term cost.

Give a figure you can evidence. Comparable sales, actual achieved prices, current competition. A seller shown the workings trusts the number. Bring three comparables, not thirty.

Say what happens if it is overpriced. Weeks of no viewings, a reduction, a weakened position with buyers. Most sellers have seen this happen to somebody. Say it once, without labouring it.

Name a range and a strategy. A guide figure, an expected achievable figure, and what you would do if the first fortnight is quiet. Write all three down. Agree the review point in advance.

Sell the plan, not the price

The seller is buying an outcome, not a valuation.

Explain how you will market it. Photography, launch timing, which portals, how viewings are handled. Sellers rarely hear any of this from the other three. Be specific rather than general. Show examples of your own listings.

Say who will do the viewings. Sellers care about this more than agents assume. A named person who knows the property matters. Say whether it is you.

Explain your buyer qualification. Chain position, funding, proof. Explain what you check and when. Sellers who have had a sale fall through understand this immediately. Ask whether they have had one collapse before.

Be the agent who prepares

Most valuations are conducted with very little preparation.

Research before you arrive. Recent sales on the street, what is currently competing, the property's own history. Arriving informed is unusual. Twenty minutes of preparation is enough to stand out.

Bring the evidence in writing. A short document with comparables and your reasoning. The other agents will bring a figure and a folder of brochures. Two pages is plenty.

Follow up the same day. In writing, with the figure, the plan and the fee. The agent who sends it first frequently wins. Write it in the car before you leave the street.

Handle the fee conversation directly

Sellers will ask, and evasion looks bad.

State your fee and justify it once. Then stop. Discounting immediately tells the seller your first figure was arbitrary. Hold it politely.

Explain what the fee buys. Photography, marketing, viewings, negotiation, chain management. Sellers comparing percentages have no idea what varies between agents. Spell out what is included.

Be willing to lose on fee. An instruction won on a cut fee sets your income for the whole transaction and teaches the next seller to negotiate. Some instructions are not worth having.

Conclusion

The highest valuation wins the instruction and loses the sale, so give a figure you can evidence with comparables and actual achieved prices, explain plainly what overpricing does to a seller's position, and offer a range with a strategy rather than a single optimistic number.

Then win on the plan: be specific about photography, launch timing and viewing arrangements, say who will conduct viewings, and explain how you qualify buyers. Arrive having researched the street and bring your reasoning in writing, follow up the same day with the figure, plan and fee, and state your fee once with a clear explanation of what it buys rather than discounting on the doorstep.