Articles of InterestThe Art of Negotiating
Listings
Presentations: How to Refocus Yourself and Your Seller To Get What
You’re Worth Before you go to you next listing presentation, you need to check your attitude. Are you ready to sell yourself and make the buyer understand why you're worth the commission you receive or are you your worst enemy? If you don't have the right attitude, regardless of the dialogue or techniques you use, you simply will not be effective. Refocusing Yourself Two beliefs you must have to getting higher commissions are: You are worth what you charge. Even if you are a new agent, you can psych yourself up to feel good about what you bring to the table for a seller. You have one thing the average agent doesn't have -- enthusiasm. You bring a sort of freshness to the business and you have the time to devote doing the best possible job you can for the seller. If you're an experienced agent, obviously you have years of doing real estate, day-in and day-out. Keep this in mind: no matter what the seller's background is, the State that you're licensed in says you know more about real estate than the homeowner does. The seller will not save money working on their own. According to a recent NAR study (www.Realtor.org), homeowers selling on their own, on average, sell for 17% less than if they hired an agent. According to a USA Today study, homeowners sell for 21.49% less than agent-assisted sales. Therefore, if you charged DOUBLE your normal fee, homeowners will still net much more than if they sold on their own. Bottom line – FSBOs lose money so, it makes absolutely no sense for them to sell the house on their own. If you don't believe these two things, you'll always be faced with sellers asking you cut your commission and selling yourself short. Most agents make the mistake of thinking the “commission conversation” happens at the end. Actually, the commission conversation starts the moment you walk in the door. The better you are in delivering the listing conversation, the easier it is to ask and command higher commissions. Refocusing the Seller One of the main reasons why commission becomes an issue on a listing appointment is because the homeowner is focused on the wrong thing. If a homeowner is trying to save the commission, they obviously have not seen the value of working with a real estate agent – any real estate agent. So you first have to establish that working with a real estate agent is essential and then you have to make them understand why you're worth your commission. Never even address commission until you have established the value you offer. One of the mistakes agents make is addressing how much they charge when a homeowner asks them on the telephone. You should never address commission until you have sat down with the seller, built rapport and trust, and they fully understand the value you offer. If you can create a high-perceived value with a seller before you tell them the fee you charge, it will be easier for you to command a higher commission. Selling a house is a complicated process and we need to educate them. Explain that Realtors® are licensed professionals and share an example. If you were sued, you would call an attorney. If you were sick, you would call a doctor. In each of these important areas, you would call a professional. So why would you do anything different when it comes to one of your most important assets, your home? Identify the tools that successful agents use --MLS, Public Open Houses, Broker Open Houses, etc. If you focus on selling the industry, and the seller buys into it, they will list with you because you are the one delivering the message. Plus, when you take this approach, your conversation comes across as less self-serving. The seller will feel you care more about serving them versus trying to sell them on giving you their listing. Explain your marketing plan. Successful agents market the home to create exposure so that every buyer in the price range knows about this house. You explain how you will do this through your marketing tools. The more tools you use, the more exposure a property gets, which means more buyers coming through the front doors, and usually results in a higher price. This is a good time to remind them that agents sell houses for 17-21% higher than FSBOs. Remind them that you are a full-time agent. If they plan to sell it themselves, they are getting a part-time unlicensed employee rather than a licensed professional. Which one is more likely to get the job done right? Remind them that this is your full time job and that you are committed to selling their property. Or ½
%. There is no law that says you have to negotiate in 1%
increments. If you have to adjust your fee because the seller feels
they need to win something, then consider adjusting your fee just
a ¼ of a percent. If the seller has bought into you, this
should be sufficient to soothe their ego. You get what you pay for. In any profession or industry, the price a professional charges is directly related to the service they provide. In other words, paying a premium price for a skilled agent could net the seller more because that agent can get the job done better than an agent who discounts their commissions. Just 1%. If a homeowner has made the decision to hire an agent, but they are leaning toward another one because the other agent is “cheaper”, you only need to validate why you're that percentage better than them. Show the seller, through statistics, by paying you more, they will net more than with the other agent. Value.
There will always be somebody who's going to charge less. Therefore,
don't compete based on price, but based on the value you offer.
Say this to a seller: If an agent is so willing to give there commission
away in order to get your listing, how quickly will they be to give
away your money in order to make a sale happen? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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