Would you do business with this vendor? Today I received a call from a former client saying that she has her sister’s estate who needs to be liquidated. She lets me know she got her number from her sister. She makes it very clear on the phone call that she already knows what real estate agents do and their commission rates, so why shouldn’t she use a flat fee brokerage.
I explain to her how the process works with me and why it’s a bit different than working with a flat fee brokerage. However, I was never able to get clear answers.The responses I received after that were always the same: “Well, my husband knows this broker, that broker, and this agent over here.” In the end, I told them that I had developed my company over the previous 13 years based on relationships, my knowledge and what I could contribute with marketing—those are my areas of specialization.
I also had a lot of conversations about my processes, the foundations I have for my procedures and listings, and how marketing fits into every aspect of what I do with her. She let me clearly know that her sister asked her to call me and that she was just doing this out of obligation.
As we talked further and I tried to get some information on the property, she kept answering my queries by asking, “Well, what’s your percentage?” I let her know I’m eager to cooperate with you folks because I just indicated that I have a goal number I’m working toward while they have many properties.
My business is not everything or nothing. I let her know I’m not an all-or-nothing brokerage. I’m not an all-or-nothing business, but I am aware of the marketing strengths I possess. I am aware of the value I will bring to the relationship that I proposed to her.
I let her know I understand that you think I’m the same as everyone else. Furthermore, I haven’t even been given permission to speak with you about these traits or the distinctiveness I want to emphasize about them.
Some of the real estate properties have tenants, and we’ll have to market to different groups of people depending on who lives there. Those tenants will necessitate discussions. As a result, I’ll have to work not only with you as a seller, but also with the tenants who live in those properties and we’ll have to look at each property individually and answer the questions on a case-by-case basis. But, at this point, I’m not sure there’s a chance for us to collaborate. That is where I left it.
I called a client I’ve worked with several times before to inform her of the situation, and I apologized profusely because I truly, truly try to go above and beyond, but I also recognize when my value is not accepted, and I hope you guys understand where your value is. It’s important to remember what you do to bring to the table, and at what point you’re unwilling to continue the conversation.
45 minutes later, I received a callback and thought, here we go again, and it was the estate’s seller saying. My brother wants to speak with you because we haven’t had an agent turn us down yet.
Now, before you think I’m being ungrateful, let me clarify. I really am not, because if you’ve been in this business long enough, you know you have to know your threshold and be confident in what you do and where to grow your business before you just turn anyone down.This would be a significant number of properties to be able to sell. That part is appealing.
As my mind goes through the discussion of the properties and I consider the logistics of what it will take and what it will require to be able to look at each property individually. The majority of them are rentals and are also occupied by tenants. No worries. But am I willing to do this for 1%? Not likely because of a few factors.
For starters, I know how long it will take to sell a property and how much time it is on the table as a consideration for my time value. Second, I understand my expertise. I know how long I’ve been in the business, how long it takes to sell a property, what kind of market we’re in right now, how to market these properties, and that I have the tools to market these properties.
The only unknown at this point is how workable the estate’s sellers will be, as well as how manageable the emotions will be. Because there are not only the two opinions of the estate holder, the trustee, and a partner trustee, but there are also several more siblings who all have a say in this.
I just want to encourage you, as you consider your expertise, your value, and what you bring to the table, to be aware of your personal threshold for these things. Because most agents are eager, and that’s the impression I got. They’ve spoken with several other agents, all of whom are willing to do a 1% flat fee deal.
They have not looked at or asked these deeper, more difficult questions to determine what it will take to sell these properties and put time, energy, and assistance into them, as well as heart and soul into getting these things done. The essence of our industry is building meaningful relationships.
It’s also about doing meaningful work and even in this market where things are shifting and there is so much uncertainty on the table, there is still massive opportunity, and we need to be talking to the people where there is opportunity, sharing the heart and soul of the industry, and maintaining the integrity of what we offer.
When you understand your worth, you also understand your flaws. Then you can identify your weaknesses and work on them to determine what needs to be strengthened. You can ask wholeheartedly, what are some of these other agents bringing to the table that maybe I have missed or haven’t offered yet?
But one of my questions to them is, what are these other agents bringing to the table? Because if it’s just for the commission, you’re correct: I’m not the right person for you. If it’s heart and soul, I’ll probably double down on that!
