A seller looks at your listing agreement and pushes back. “Nine months? Kids are back in school, we are heading into the slow season, and I do not want to pay for professional photos and marketing on a contract that long.”
The listing agreement objection is one of the most common objections we field, and an agent asked me how to handle it last week. Here is exactly how I coach agents to handle it.
How to overcome the 9-month listing agreement objection
Start with when you actually earn your fee
Most agents defend the length of the term by talking about the market. That is part of it, but it is not where I start. I start by reframing when a real estate professional earns their fee, because almost no seller understands it.
Here is the language I used for years.
“Seller, in this state, and this is true in every state, an agent earns their fee the moment they bring a buyer who is ready, willing and able. Ready to purchase, willing to purchase and able to purchase, at a price you agree to. Technically, I do not earn my fee at closing. I earn it at contract. What is customary is that we defer it to closing, because that is when you have your money, and it makes sense for you to pay me then.”
Once the seller sees that you have already given them a courtesy by waiting until closing, the term of the listing lands differently.
The choice that closes the term
Now you connect it to the timeline.
“The reason I want nine months is not because I think it will take that long. Based on your price, our market and the season we are heading into, I think it sells closer to six months. But I like my agreement in effect until I actually get paid. Now, if you would prefer, I can cut it to six months. I will just need you to pay me at contract instead of at closing. So, which do you prefer, pay me at contract or pay me at closing? I will do whatever you want.”
Watch what happens. They say, “No, no, I will pay you at closing.”
And you say:
“Perfect, then we will leave it the way it is.”
You did not argue. You gave them a choice, and both roads lead where you need to go. On the call, our president, Julie Escobar, called this approach “smooth,” and it is, because the seller feels in control the entire time.
The contractor analogy for price and time
The second half is for the seller who is really pushing on time. I use a contractor story.
“Say you hired me to build an addition on your home. I tell you it takes 30 days to do it right with quality materials. You tell me you want it done in two weeks. Should you be comfortable if I say yes? You should be concerned, because the only way I take a 30-day job down to two weeks is by cutting corners.”
Then I bring it home.
“The only honest way to shorten that job is to pay more, because I have to bring on more people. In your case, instead of paying me more, it shows up in a different place. It shows up in the price. If you want to take a nine-month sale and force it into three months, the only way is to price it so low the whole market rushes in. So you decide. Are you committed to three months, or are you committed to top dollar? Because you cannot have both, and I will do whatever you want.”
When you hand a seller a real choice instead of an argument, they stop defending their position and start making a decision. Both options should serve the transaction.
Use the days-on-market numbers from your own MLS to back it up, and pull the seasonality data that shows sales slow as you move toward the holidays. Serve the seller with the facts, let them choose, and you will hold your term without a fight. That is coaching over closing, every time.
Darryl Davis is the CEO of Darryl Davis Seminars. Get connected on Facebook or YouTube.
