I listed my manufacturing business six months ago. The first three months, my broker would go two or three weeks without a peep. I'd have to chase him for any scrap of information. Finally I sent him a blunt email saying I expected a written update every Friday by 4pm, covering who viewed the listing, any inbound interest, and what he planned to do the following week. He pushed back at first, said it was unrealistic with his workload. I held firm. Now I get a short email every Friday like clockwork. It's not much, but at least I know he's alive and I'm not being ghosted. Anyone else had to do this?
Broker Communication
How I forced my broker to start giving me weekly updates
Weekly is aggressive. I asked for biweekly and got it. Sellers need to remember brokers juggle a lot of listings, and constant reporting eats into the time they should spend actually selling.
I did something similar but framed it as a shared tracker. I set up a simple spreadsheet with columns for date, buyer name, stage, and next action. I asked him to fill it in weekly. Took about two minutes of his time and I could check it whenever. Much less friction than demanding an email.
Six months with no real updates would have me reviewing the engagement letter. What does your contract say about communication obligations?
I think the deeper problem is that a llot of brokers treat selers as passive. They'll call when there's an offer and otherwise leave you in the dark. Forcing a schedule is a reasonable fix, but it only works if you're willing to enforce it. Did he ever miss a Friday?
OP, how did you phrase it exactly? I'm in the same spot and don't want to come across as a nightmare client.
Been on both sides of this. As a former broker, I'll say that sellers who demanded weekly updates often got less effort, not more, because the reporting became a chore. The best clients were the ones who understood that a quiet week usually means nothing is happening. Not saying OP is wrong, just that there's a cost.
My broker sends a Monday morning summary without being asked. Two paragraphs, sometimes just 'no news.' I didn't have to force anything. Maybe the issue is the broker, not the schedule.
HalcyonBrick, that's a fair point about the cost. But if the broker isn't doing much anyway, at least the weekly update forces some accountability. In my case the tracker actually prompted him to follow up on two stale leads.
The update itself is less important than what's in it. If Friday comes and there's nothing but 'we're still waiting,' that's useful too. It tells you the listing is stale and you need to change something, price or broker.
MiddleRoadFarms, he missed one Friday in four months. I sent a one-line note asking if everything was okay and he replied within an hour with the update. QuietFerry, my email was three sentences. I said I needed a regular cadence to feel confident in the process and proposed Friday afternoons. I didn't threaten or lecture. I just made it clear the silence wasn't working for me.