Ed Smith

Good post David. I think this may really boil down to a matter of skill and experience. Success in this business requires that you become a great listener. As they say, God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. As we hone our skills, we become more adept at reading and recognizing those buyer hot buttons that turn a suspect into a prospect and a prospect into a happy client and advocate. This is a service business, we sell no widgets. Experience teaches us that it is not about us at all. The buyer does not care one iota about “us”. It’s like a waitress that used to take care of me in one of my favorite restaurants. She was incredibly well gifted and undoubtedly makes more money per year that the average Realtor. Always patient, always prompt and efficient. She once summed up her philosophy on customer service in one easy sentence: “I treat all my customers as if they are my only customer.” If we as Realtors could just apply that one simple rule to our business, I have no doubt that we would hear those words that “hurt, sting and upset us” on a much less frequent basis!

This is not a time to be "slashing" commissions, rather a time to be charging higher commissions. I am personally charging more (on average) than I ever have before in my more than 20 years in this business. Sellers today are more highly conscious of the experience levels of the agents that they choose to interview. If my sellers wanted a discount before I arrived, they VERY rarely mention it by the time I ask them to "Press hard, cheap carbon". As Bernice so eloquently indicated, you MUST sell the seller on YOUR features and benefits ... Tout your advantages over your competitors. You don't charge an enhanced commission by being just another one of the pack. Show them your arsenal. Paint the picture that will "sell" them on the level of service that you PROMISE to provide. Let's face it, this is a tough business - Marketing costs have increased as have marketing times. Don't be afraid to tell the sellers how much your services are worth and stick to your guns. The sellers that try to beat you up on commission do not appreciate what it takes to get a property sold in today's market. They think that your job is easy. At the end of the day, those are the individuals who are least likely to be satisfied with you regardless of the outcome.

I strongly disagree with Teresa on this one, although it is really more a matter of different business models, certainly not a matter of right vs wrong. Some of my sites offer free everything. Some others offer special advantages to consumers who choose to register, and consumers do register to the tune of from 10 - 25 per day, seven days per week. My registration sites are by far the most effective and profitable in my "quiver". Do I get Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck sometimes? Sure, but we also periodically get John or Jane Doe on the telephone. That doesn't mean that we will stop answering our phone lines :-) Hm, that brings up a very good point - Back before the internet, all of our leads came in over the phone. Were we not trained to "capture" those leads? We were taught back then that the free dissemination of information was a waste of time. I remember listening to agents on "opportunity time" back in the 80's, carrying on lengthy conversations with these call-ins without so much as even getting their names. They would drone on endlessly and tirelessly, telling anonymous consumers everything they knew about the area, the market, a particular property, etc, but rarely closing for the appointment. To me, there is no difference between the internet leads of today and the call-in leads of the "old days" ... If we are going to provide consumers with access to tons of research and data, is it really asking too much to know who they are? Giving us your name is simply a matter of courtesy! I have closed many tens of millions of dollars in internet sales over the years, mostly attributable to my registration sites. What works for me may not work for Teresa and vice versa. Some may subscribe to the old adage "Timid Salesmen Have Skinny Kids", some may not :-) Ed Smith ABR, CRB, CRS, e-PRO Broker/Owner RE/MAX Coastal Properties