The non-listing camp has honed its talking points, writes coach Darryl Davis. Here we will explain point by point how to deal with them.
You’ll probably hear it when listing your plans. A seller sits across from you and says, “My local agent told me I should list it privately first. Shouldn’t I do the same?”
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The private listing camp has become better able to make its case. They have analogies, talking points, and well-rehearsed arguments. The problem is that none of them are sustainable.
What to say when a seller asks about private listings
Here’s what they say and how to specifically respond.
“We should test the market before going to MLS.”
Being located within one company’s network is not testing the market. That’s a focus group. The market is all agents representing all buyers of all companies. Test it by putting the house in front of everyone and asking them to tell you the answer to the offer.
An agent who says you need to “test” pricing is the same as saying they don’t know how to price a home. When a bank sends an appraiser to value a property, they are not “testing the market.” They examine comparable sales and determine value. If pricing requires a trial, that’s not a strategy. That’s a red flag.
Additionally, failed private tests are not reset. Its history continues with listings on the MLS, and the first question every buyer agent asks is, “If it’s so great, why didn’t it sell?”
“It creates buzz like Apple releasing a new product.”
Apple’s launch strategy works because they have 1.4 billion active device users ready, loyal and waiting. Your seller’s home has no fan base, no waiting list, and no 10-year brand loyalty. No one knows about its existence until it goes on the market.
Apple doesn’t quietly unveil a new product to 30 people in a back room and call it a launch event. They broadcast simultaneously to the whole world. The private list is in the back room. MLS is broadcasting.
“It’s like a movie trailer, a teaser before the big release.”
Authentic movie trailers flood theaters, streaming platforms, and televisions across the country, reaching millions of people at the same time. Private listing “teasers” are given to only one company. That’s not a trailer. This is a private screening for staff only.
Real equivalent? Put it on the MLS to let the entire market know that your home is for sale, but that you will hear offers at a later date, perhaps a week or two later. That’s the trailer that’s getting a lot of attention.
“Luxury brands like Rolex and Hermès capitalize on scarcity, and your home should too.”
All luxury brands produce hundreds or thousands of identical units. More will roll off the assembly line tomorrow, potentially limiting supply. The seller’s home is one of a kind: one lot, one floor plan, one view. Scarcity already exists naturally. You can’t create something that is already irreplaceable.
This analogy omits: Rolex does not limit the number of people who know about its existence. Rolex is known to people all over the world. Coach also launched an official Amazon storefront to reach more customers on the world’s largest marketplace. If luxury brands understand that more visibility means more revenue, why should they accept less visibility of their most valuable assets?
It is not artificial scarcity that determines the price of rare properties. It’s buyer competition, and competition only happens when buyers know your home exists.
“Builders sell hundreds of thousands of homes without MLS.”
Small and medium-sized builders always use the MLS. That’s the first place they go. The builders ignoring it are state-owned companies with advertising budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars, television campaigns, and field sales teams working seven days a week.
Your seller already has a multi-million dollar marketing platform called MLS. It gives companies the same massive exposure that they spend huge amounts of money to create. MLS fills that gap perfectly.
“Ninety-four percent of the homes we sell end up on the MLS anyway.”
Keywords are selling. This statistic is calculated only from listings that were sold, not all listings were retrieved. Failed, expired, and withdrawn listings disappear from the equation.
Think of it like this: 100 people enroll in the weight loss program. Only 50 people lose weight. 94% of them subsequently go to the gym and maintain their weight loss. The company touts that “94% of people who lost weight kept it off.” Technically correct. It’s horribly misleading, because only 47 out of 100 people who started actually continued to lose weight.
The same calculation applies here. “94 percent of homes sold went to the MLS” could mean that out of 100 listings, only 47 actually sold. The rest were tested privately, but were not sold and were not factored into the calculations.
last point
There are many studies that prove that MLS listings sell for more money, but there are no studies that show that private listings sell for more money. Don’t get defensive if the seller makes claims such as: Recognize that the analogies sound appealing, and calmly explain why each fails. The data is on your side.
This finishes:
“What the other agent wants to do is limit your exposure. What I want to do is stand on top of a mountain with a megaphone and make sure every buyer within earshot knows your home is for sale.” When Christie’s puts a one-of-a-kind masterpiece up for auction, they don’t take it to a basement with 12 bidders. They take it out into the world. MLS is your Christie’s. Take advantage of it.”
