What does a real estate agent do.

We hired an agent, and it seems like she's sitting on her butt.
I guess my question is more on the lines of: What should we expect?

There's good ones and not so good ones. I once spent six months trying to sell a property and got nowhere, except bills from the newspaper for advertising. I contracted with a local realtor who raised the price and sold the property within two weeks. Go figure! Good agents know the market and the prospects; unfortunately, in many areas, we are living in a buyer's market.