100% or Half Job for Your Clients?

Have you been asked to discount your real estate services lately? If so, I have to ask, just what do you intend to eliminate for that discount?

Our clients and customers expect a certain level of professionalism in everything we do, whether it is listing a home or selling a home. Why would we do half a job for a seller? Why would we pay only half attention to a buyer? Not to mention, what does discounting tell a client about your negotiating skills?

For a Seller, when we take a listing, most REALTORS® have certain systems in place. I challenge you to actually write down everything you do, line by line. That list alone will make an impressive listing presentation; believe me, it is what I present to sellers. We don’t “just” put a property in the IMLS, we market the property as many ways as we can, and nowadays there are more than just a few resources we can use for marketing. We network our listings, we advertise our listings, and we preview other listings to be informed about the competition for our listings. And, that is just the tip of the marketing iceberg.

For a Buyer, when we receive that first phone call, a REALTOR® will ask the basic questions and meet with the buyer as soon as we can to establish a relationship. The notes we take for their “wish list” helps us in our IMLS searches, and the initial showing will give us a better understanding of likes and dislikes. We make sure that a buyer will receive suitable listings of interest, we have tools such as Listing Book to utilize, and we preview other listings to keep up on the market for specific buyers. Again, these are just a few of the tasks involved working with a buyer.

I don’t know about you, but I value my time and energy. Of course, there are always circumstances in offering a discount – family, best friends or working two transactions. However, when you value yourself and your real estate skills, your level of business will reflect your professionalism and your own attitude to get the job done, a successful real estate sale!