Beyond the expensive car or fancy clothing, a good listing agent lives and dies by marketing. Marketing sells homes. Ask to review a complete copy of the agent's marketing plan. Precisely, what is the agent going to do to sell your home?

When you need to sell your home, you need a real estate agent who can act quickly to the ever changing marketplace. If you are interviewing agents, here is the bare-bones minimum you should expect:

• Professional signage, including agent's cell phone number.
• Lockbox. 
• Daily electronic monitoring of lockbox access.
• Follow-up reports on buyer showings / feedback to the seller.
• Broker previews.
• Incentives for broker / office previews.
• Staging advice.
• On-line advertising with a major newspaper site.
• MLS exposure with 8 to 12 professional photographs.
• Virtual tour.
• Distribution to major Web sites.
• 24 Hour Informational Voice Mail.
• Financing flyers for buyers.
• Minimum of 1 open houses, providing its location is a candidate.
• Feedback to sellers on buyer calls and home viewings.
• Updated CMAs after 30 days.
• E-mail feeds of new listings that compete.
• Updates on neighborhood facts, trends and recent sales.

Remember, no single tactic sells homes. It's a combination of all those methods that sell homes.