Every sailor knows the story.
A song so beautiful it feels safe. Familiar. Reassuring. Until the rocks appear too late, and the ship breaks apart beneath the hull.
In real estate, the danger isn’t deception. It’s persuasion that feels comforting at the time. At an initial appointment, sellers are often drawn not by what’s most accurate, but by what resonates — especially when uncertainty is high and decisions feel consequential.
The challenge is that most agents understand this instinct well. They’ve learned what sellers want to hear. And naturally, they pitch to it.
The first meeting sets the tone. It’s where confidence is established, narratives are shaped, and possibilities are framed early.
This is where persuasion carries the most weight — not because information lacks substance, but because it’s delivered in a way that aligns closely with hope. A number that excites. A strategy that sounds effortless. A sense that the hard parts may already be resolved.
It’s compelling.
And often, it’s incomplete.
Price is the most powerful note in the song.
A higher figure creates excitement and reassurance. It signals optimism, confidence, and alignment. Sellers naturally gravitate toward the agent who sees the greatest potential.
But pricing isn’t prophecy. It’s positioning.
When price becomes persuasion rather than strategy, expectations can be anchored before the market has had its say. The difference between a considered range and an aspirational figure is subtle — yet its impact on momentum, buyer behaviour, and eventual outcome is significant.
Off-market sales do occur. They’re real, and in the right circumstances, effective.
But their likelihood is often misunderstood.
Even with a strong database, several conditions must align: the right buyer, at the right time, prepared to pay a premium without competition, and without the seller first testing the market. In practice, this represents closer to a 10% outcome — perhaps stretching to 15% for the most disciplined database operators.
It’s possible.
It’s just not common.
Numbers carry authority.
High sales counts, prominent director titles, and expansive teams can create the impression of scale and dominance. But volume doesn’t always reflect individual involvement.
Sales are frequently shared, inherited, or attributed through team structures. An assistant lists and sells. A director’s name is applied. An agent moves offices and past results follow a new banner.
None of this is unusual. But without context, volume can obscure more than it reveals.
Days on market has become a popular indicator of performance, particularly as portals and rankings give it greater visibility.
But speed, like volume, is shaped by how it’s recorded. Backend adjustments, exchange date changes, and listing amendments can all influence how quickly a sale appears to have occurred.
The result isn’t always misrepresentation — it’s compression. A cleaner number, a stronger ranking, and the impression of momentum, even when the lived experience was far more nuanced.
Speed matters.
Understanding how it’s measured matters more.
Awards, too, deserve a measured look.
Internal franchise awards can lift profile and confidence, but they’re often designed to motivate rather than independently assess. External recognition from reputable third-party organisations tends to carry greater weight, particularly when criteria and methodology are transparent.
More importantly, recognition should be relevant. A faster sale or higher volume doesn’t automatically equate to a better result. Weighting matters. Strategy matters. Context matters.
The most compelling presentations are rarely misleading. They’re simply well-tuned.
The smoothest pitch doesn’t set the course.
Clear judgement does.
