BrokerBryant.com

This discussion has been taking place on AR since it's inception.

Some of my favorite responses are:

• I don't even look at that until I'm writing the offer.

• We should never put our own self interests ahead of our clients.

• I show my buyers listings no matter what the co broke is, as it is our duty to our clients to show listings that fit their needs. 

My question is....Why are agents so afraid to admit that commission does matter? What aren't you having these discussions with your Buyers PRIOR to them agreeing to hire you. How many of you, that say commission doesn't matter, go out of your way to find your buyers a FSBO? Or do you only show it if your Buyer ask?

Well I know I'm not alone when I say I want to be paid for my services. And I want to be paid fairly. I won't work for peanuts. AND....my Buyers WANT me to get paid.

If you are so unconcerned about your commission then how do you handle your listings? Maybe it goes something like this........

"Hi Broker Bryant. We saw your ad in the paper and would like to list our property with you."

• Excellent!! I'll be right over.

So, I head over and give them my little spiel and they want to list with me.

• OK folks sign here and here and I will get your property up and running on the market.

"But Broker Bryant.....how much do you charge?"

• Folks, I am bound by the REALTOR® Code of Ethics that states:

"When representing a buyer, seller, landlord, tenant, or other client as an agent, REALTORS^® pledge themselves to protect and promote the interests of their client. This obligation to the client is primary"

• Since your best interest is getting the property sold with the least costs to you I will leave the commission up to you. If I didn't do this I would be putting my interest and lively hood ahead of yours and would be in violation of our CoE. So just pay me whatever you want.

"Well that sounds great Broker Bryant!! You're the bomb!!"

• Yes, I am. Commission does not matter to me at all. I'll gladly work for free if it is in your best interest. That why I'm a REALTOR®. Make sure and tell your friends too.

"But Broker Bryant....don't we have to offer the other agent some money to show and sell our property."

• Yes I'm afraid you do. Our MLS will not allow a property to go into the system unless we offer the selling broker compensation.

"How much do we need to offer?"

• Well folks remember the other broker will be a REALTOR® too and is bound by the same CoE that I am:

"When representing a buyer, seller, landlord, tenant, or other client as an agent, REALTORS^® pledge themselves to protect and promote the interests of their client. This obligation to the client is primary"

• So why don't we just offer them $1. Most REALTORS® don't look at the commission anyway. They just want to get the best deal for their Buyers. The co-broke doesn't really matter. In fact, if they don't show your property we can bring them up on Ethics charges.

"Broker Bryant....we are soooooo glad we called you. You have far exceeded our expectations. No one has ever explained your ethical duties like this before. We'll be sure to send you lots of referrals!"

• Thank you folks!! It sounds like my job here is done!!. Before I leave can I borrow a fiver to pay for my gas home? THE END.

Sounds foolish doesn't it? Well if you feel we have to show every property regardless of the co-broke then this is exactly what you are implying. Or does your incorrect interpretation of the CoE only apply to Buyer Brokers?

If you are telling your Sellers that Buyer Brokers must show their property regardless of the co-broke you are harming them and in fact may be in violation of the CoE. And if you are telling them that Buyer Brokers, who do not show their property, are acting unethical and illegally then you are wrong and may very well find yourself in front of an Ethics Committee.

But, by all means, if you CHOOSE to show all listings, regardless of the co-broke, you are free to do so. Personally, I think you are fooling yourselves. It is your business though. Just know that you do not have to do so. Of course, you do need to have this conversation with your Buyer.

Food for thought?

Posts by Broker Bryant about Buyer Broker Agreements.

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Hi folks. All the recent spam comments going around AR have given me the opportunity to revisit some of my older posts that I had completely forgotten about. This one included.

If you're not calling to hire me then quit wasting my time!!!

Leslie Bloss wrote a post last year that stirred up quite the conversation. Here it is if you haven't read it yet.

In a nutshell, her post was about how to handle a home owner who phoned in asking for a price analysis and in the same breath mentioning she was NOT going to use a REALTOR®.

The comments Leslie received were quite interesting to say the least. I was actually amazed at how many folks would not have helped this lady out.

Folks, I may be old school but aren't we in the business of helping people out? Personally I spend a lot of time and money to make the phone ring. In fact, the only reason I advertise is to get folks to contact me. I just don't understand blowing them off when they contact us with out at least taking the time to see if we can help.

There is a sequence of events that needs to happen in order to be a successful salesperson.

1. Get the consumer to contact you.
2. Make the appointment.
3. Qualify the prospect.
4. Meet face to face.
5. Build trust.
6. Pitch your product.
7. Close the deal.

This post is about making the appointment. I can't count how many times I have had folks call me, that started out with attitudes, that ended up being long time customer/clients. In fact, it's been my experience that the most difficult people turn out to be the best customer/clients. It's certainly worth your time to meet with them.

Trust me when I say they will remember you and send you business even if you aren't able to help them out right away. What difference does it make if they don't use your services until 5 years later? Are you going some where? Is real estate just a temporary job or are you in it to build a lasting business? Goodwill goes along way my friends. And all it costs is a little time and some common courtesy.

So next time your phone rings try this:

"Can you come over and tell us how much our house is worth? We won't be hiring a rea-la-tor but we need this information."

• Well sure....I can do that. I'm in your area on Tuesday. Would 10:00 or 2:00 be better?

"How much do you charge? We're not paying more than y%."

• I'm not cheap but I'm sure we can work something out. How about I stop by tomorrow at 10:00 to check out your house. We'll talk about my fee then. First, let's see what we need to do to get your house sold. OK? What's better for you 10:00 or 2:00?

"I'm not listing with you tomorrow. We have 2 other agents coming over before we decide if we want to use a agent."

• That's excellent! You should get several opinions. I actually have a waiting list of folks wanting to list with me but can squeeze you in on Wednesday at 12:00. Is that OK or would 2:00 Thursday be better for you?

"Our last agent never called and never returned our calls. All you rea-la-tors care about is making money! I'm not signing anything for more than 30 days!!!"

• Sounds like you had a bad experience. If it helps I can't get rea-la-tors to return my phone calls either! Anyway...we can't change the past so let's work on the future....getting your house sold. How about tomorrow at 10:00?

I could go on and on but I'm sure you get my point. Make the appointment. Here's another tip. I make the appointment then I hang up. I call back to qualify the property and the prospect. I can always cancel the appointment if I feel it's not going to work. I do this because my only initial goal is to make the appointment. I don't want to get them off track, by asking too many qualifying questions, before I have a commitment to meet. Make sense?

Of course, if you have business out the ying yang already, then by all means, do what works for you. Me.....I think I'll help them. How about you?

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