You'll need to narrow the funnel first. I'd start by looking at listings that are well staged and have good looking photos. Anyone who can't even do that have no business selling. I'd then narrow the field by looking at the number of views / saved homes on redfin / zillow for the property. Lastly, I'd look at their recent sales to see location of their recent sales, offer to list ratios, days on market, and number of properties moved in last 90 days. This should give you a pretty comprehensive idea of who to actually interview in person.

I LOVED my realtor - Sue Jin Song. She is a machine, she is very sharp, she will move mountains for you, and she is also a really pleasant person.

Here's her contact info - https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/va/arlington/agent/sue-jin-song/aid_22647/

If you're actually in Arlington (not sure if that was just a hypothetical), I personally had a great experience with Meg Ross, who was referred to my by a friend who also had a fantastic experience (and she also got a personal referral). This realtor sold homes just like mine in my neighborhood, and did it quickly. I think a referral from someone you trust who had a good experience (and can tell you the good and bad) is worth way more than a fancy website or whatever hits google brings up.

Talk to friends and get referrals.

Before meeting with them:

Ask them for their stats over the last year. Tell them you want a link you all current, pending a sold listings for at least the past year, if not two. Asking them to give you info as the listing agent.

Ask them about their familiarity with your neighborhood and the market in your direct area.

Invite whomever you like after review this information to meet with you. First you need to make sure your realtor is good at pricing and knowledgeable about your area, then you need to make sure you like and trust them - if you do not like and trust them, it is not a good fit.

Be careful, OP. It's actually illegal to sell realtors.

Talk with your friends and neighbors for a personal referral. I would refrain from calling off signs and google. Most Realtors work with both buyers and sellers. As the previous poster stated, talk with a few and see which you feel most comfortable with. While one agent may sell many within the development, you may want someone more focused on getting your home sold.

Invite three to make presentations to you. Just because you see one extensively doesn't actually mean they're any good.

And ignore the fools who will urge you to focus on the agent compensation by urging you to use a discount broker. That's worth considering, but what you need to focus on is acumen and track record, not commission percentage.

I feel like it's a stupid question, but I honestly don't know how. Just start calling ones I see signs for?

In my condo community, I see signs for really 1 person all the time, I've reached out twice via their website "contact us" and had no response. So, how else? And does it really help to have somebody sell that specializes in the area (should I give this local a break) or not really matter? Do I just google "south arlington realtor" and see who comes up? We have many friends that have bought and who say their realtors were helpful, but I'm not sure being helpful during the buying process equates to the selling.