Agent to Agent: The right way to handle listing competition

In this monthly column, a member of Miami’s Master Brokers Forum will examine and positively resolve potential differences which may arise between real estate professionals in the field.

This month’s edition is written by Master Broker Hazel Goldman from RE/MAX Advance Realty.

The situation: Your sellers have decided to not renew your contract, replacing you with a well-respected competitor.

As an established real estate agent in Miami, I very often find myself competing for listings with other agents, many of whom are equally successful and universally respected.

And it can get tricky, because as much as I might want the seller to pick me as their agent, I certainly do not want to discredit any of the agents with whom I am in competition.

For thirty-plus years, my philosophy has been to not say anything at all about agents of which I have a low opinion. On the other hand, I have learned that when I am complimentary about respected rivals, it usually comes back to reward me.

Recently, a listing I had tried to sell for six months was about to expire. When I approached the sellers about an extension, they explained that they were planning to list the house with an agent I know and like very much. Instead of arguing to retain the listing, I thanked them for their candor, promised to try to bring them a buyer as a selling agent, and conveyed a great deal of respect for the agent that they had selected.

And then a funny thing happened– after meeting with this other agent, the owners found that they did not agree with some of her suggestions, and ended up extending the listing with me for a few more months.

Coincidentally, when I ran into this competing agent at a function, she thanked me profusely for the nice things I had said about her. She told me that my positive words had meant a great deal to her, and that she would always remember and appreciate the gesture.

Of course, I then felt good about what she said, and this cemented an already strong working relationship built on trust and mutual respect. (In fact, her input with my sellers even helped me get a nice price reduction on my extension of the listing!)

I know that she and I will work well together on future transactions and make every effort to help one another out, especially when we are on opposite sides of a deal.

Over the course of my career, I have found that this kind of “fair play” usually has positive benefits, several times over. Miami real estate is extremely competitive and listings are won and lost all the time. Maintaining a consistently positive attitude about my fellow agents, rather than disparaging them, always seems to endear me with homeowners and potential listers.

Positives do lead to more positives.

The Master Brokers Forum is a home-grown, elite network of South Florida’s top-producing real estate professionals, built on a core foundation of ethical and professional behavior.