The Value of a Home

This article describes one of the many important ways that attention should be focused first and foremost on the client and her/his utility.  http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20100226_effectiveprice.htm

To best serve a client whose listing you seek, centering discussions on the value he/she places on his/her home is a GREAT place to start!  When you present price-setting as an exercise in comparing the owner's assessment against the "market's" assessment, it places you alongside your client - looking out at "the market" together.  You are then positioned as the guide who can help find the intersection of what a buyer is likely to pay and what your client can feel good about accepting.

If the client values the house significantly higher than your estimate of "the market", you are in a good position to help her/him consider an adjustment.  If the client would rather keep the house or set the price significantly higher than market value, you have still provided an excellent service by highlighting this difference.  While this outcome does not earn you a commission, it stands a good chance of earning this client's business and/or referral business in the not-to-distant future.