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Serving Up Real Estate Like the Daily Special

By
Education & Training with Corcoran Consulting & Coaching

When you go out to eat, you can order each menu item separately or order a meal that includes your main dish and maybe a side or two, plus bread and butter.  Depending on when you go, you might ever able to get a great full mean by ordering the early bird special that includes an appetizer, a beverage, and dessert.  You may get smaller portions and no substitutions with the special, but the price is favorable.  You can even get the striped down version of the special at fast food restaurants when you order a value meal.

Real estate agents have traditionally charged a commission that might be negotiated to vary after a certain dollar limit, but agents provide "full service."  The commission covers the consultations, the listing, the marketing, the advertising, the open houses, the showings, the frantic client calls, the document preparation, the closings - and all the numerous other things in an average sale.  Realtors do not typically send detailed bills or sell their services a la carte.  They offer the daily special, soup to nuts, with no reduction in the portion size of their time or expertise.

These days, discounted brokerage services are available to those who are willing to do some of the work themselves to sell their home.  One on-line firm, Discount Real Estate Solutions, has packages for $495, 995, and 995 plus ½% commission.  This approach is more like a value meal that you can upsize.  Unless the package lists it an option, no "dessert" or extra service is included.

Firms like this might meet the needs of some customers, but I'm betting that many people who sign up for the service are overwhelmed with how much they need to do themselves - and how many things can fall through the cracks.  The "full service meal" offered by Realtors is their unique selling position (USP.)   

Realize your USP and serve it up!

Bob Corcoran

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Pat Champion
John Roberts Realty - Eustis, FL
Call the "CHAMPION" for all your real estate needs

I'm with you-I bet a lot of customers who decide to go al carte do not realize just how much work is involved for a Realtor until they decide to do some of it themselves.

Jul 23, 2009 09:51 AM
Bob Corcoran
Corcoran Consulting & Coaching - Swansea, IL

You've got that right, Pat. Clients see the "big" commission check but don't realize all the details a real estate professional has to deal with. That's why even if agents don''t send itemized bills, we need to make clients aware of how our professional  touch is helping them. Thanks for your comment.

Jul 23, 2009 11:07 AM
Mike Jones
SUNSTREET MORTGAGE, LLC (BK-0907366, NMLS 145171) - Tucson, AZ
Mike Jones NMLS 223495

Bob,

I like your closing line: Realize your USP and serve it up!  Whether REALTOR or Lender, full service is what's required to navigate today's market.

Mike in Tucson

Jul 23, 2009 04:52 PM
Troy Erickson AZ Realtor (602) 295-6807
HomeSmart - Chandler, AZ
Your Chandler, Ahwatukee, and East Valley Realtor

Bob - In the long run, I do believe that it saves the seller by going with a full service agent.  It saves them time, money, as well as helps to limit the liability in case something does go wrong.

Jul 23, 2009 05:32 PM
Bob Corcoran
Corcoran Consulting & Coaching - Swansea, IL

Thanks for your comments, Mike & Troy. Even though we are in a self-serve world, customers still want service. With real estate, clients do not even know the full gamut of what they need.  Realtors are often unsung heroes of customer service.

Jul 24, 2009 08:17 AM