Why hire a Realtor?

I was asked by a lead, Why should we hire a listing agent when we can go to a discount mls service?

So I made a list to share:
1. Education and Experience~ Many of the people on Windy City connection have sold 30 homes a year and have been in business for 20 years. That's a lot of experience. Most of us are Brokers, with our CRS, Certified Residential Specialists, as well as ABR designations. All of us take not only the required Continuing Education required by our state and license, but we take additional seminars, and courses to make sure we are at the top of our game. So I ask you? Why not hire a professional Realtor who most likely has more education and experience than you?
2. Agents are buffers~ We can filter all those phone calls that lead to no where from lookie loos. We also can induce serious buyers to see the house immediately without looking like an anxious seller.
3. Neighborhood knowledge~ We can show you the facts about your neighborhood, demographics, data on schools and what other homes have sold for. At that most of us tour our area so we have a good idea of the upgrades that house could have had.
4. Price guidelines~ a good REALTOR guides a seller to make the right choices of listing price s0 that the house is in-tune with the comparable homes. Nothing can hurt a marketing effort more than an over priced home.
5. Market conditions information~Many factors determine the price you can ask. Is it a buyer's market, a sellers market, easy financing terms, restrictive financing terms, what is the climate of the economy, what are the current days on the market, what is the list to selling ratio? All of these factor affect pricing.
6. Professional networking~ Real estate agents and Realtors promote their services or listings to each other. One of the reasons we go to seminars is to network and see what's going on with other companies.
7. Negotiating skills and Confidentiality~ Top producing agents negotiate better because they can remove themselves from the emotional aspects of the transactions.
8. Our marketing is paid by us in bulk pricing. Since we are in the business, we have vendors that give us better pricing than you can ever receive.
9. We are in tune with our sellers so we can understand and know how certain terms on a contract will affect them in the future. Making sure all the contingencies are met on a contract, making sure the people who are part of the team ( attorney, home inspectors, vendors) are in the loop of what is going on.
10. Questions come after closing, and we're there to help answer the questions. Because this is a relationship business we want happy clients who will refer us to their friends and family. Keeping you informed about what is happening in the market, or neat new trends, just makes your values stronger.