A Waiting List for Clients!   Saturday Morning's Teleseminar Was a Hit!

It was a lively discussion on Saturday morning when Jennifer Allan hosted a teleseminar on Alternative Business Modelswith Nishika Jones, Mollie Wasserman, and me.

First up was Nishika who spoke from the perspective of a young mother. She aims for volume, working in HUD homes and using Facebook, Craig's list, and her SOI (sphere of influence) to get more leads, working a referral business, and generating income by doing more deals.

Then it was my turn to talk about how I use a waiting list. After almost 20 years in real estate, my business is about 99% referral, and restricted to fifteen listings at any time. If someone wants to list with me and I don't have room, they can go onto my waiting list.

The waiting list is something that started early on when there were people I really wanted to work with and some I didn't want to work with. For them, I used to say, "I have a waiting list," figuring they would say, "Forget it!" and go somewhere else. But I found that some sellers were impressed that I was able to turn down a listing, and often they would actually wait to work with me.

One important point is that I am essentially a listing agent and work with very few buyers. I make all my appointments and no one talks to my sellers but me. I aim for fewer transactions and making a higher commission on the ones I do.

Jennifer had mentioned in her introduction that I get a high commission rate, and she's right. When the commission question comes up, I tell people that I can almost promise them that I will have the highest commission rate. But since just about all my clients come by referral, they already know how I work.

After I spoke for a few minutes we started on the many questions that were coming in. One interesting question was how a new agent can adapt this model and use a waiting list for their situation. My advice is to not rush out to take a listing as soon as someone calls. Take the time to get information in advance. Ask how many agents they are interviewing, and try to be the last they talk to. Even say something like, "I have room for one more listing this week." Even if you don't have any listings, that's a true statement, but keeps you from looking too eager or desperate.

And this is important: Always be ready to walk away from a listing. Don't do business with people you don't like or trust, even if you are struggling and needing every listing you can get. If you don't trust them going in, that's a pretty good indication that the listing will cost you more in time, aggravation, and money than you will make. Don't think of it as turning down a listing; think of it as making room for a better listing.

There were many more questions than we had time for, but we had to move on since Mollie and Jennifer still had to speak.

Mollie spoke third about ACRE®. By now you all know how I feel about Mollie and my ACRE designation. Having the option of acting as a consultant gives you another way of offering services and being compensated for your time. Anything that helps me give that extra level of service is valuable.

And Jennifer, our leader, discussed the Big Bad “D” word - discount brokerage. It's a subject that generates hostility from other agents, and she found that some companies even refused to show homes listed with her. Jennifer said she was an owner of a discount brokerage which offered a full service. Her aim was to do a large volume, and though she did not market herself, she always mentioned her fee/charge. Jennifer feels that to make a discount work, you need to be your own broker - in other words, not having to share. The pie can be split, but not too much, if you want a decent size slice.

We each spoke for about 10 minutes and then took questions. Seminar attendees were able to “ask” questions by writing in a box on line that Jennifer could see. Kind of like Stumping Broker Bryant...It Didn't Happen!

Wrapping it up, each of us is giving away a prize. The deal was that each of us would choose a number between 1 and 1,000, and whoever guessed closest to our number would receive a gift. Mollie is giving a copy of her book, Ripping the Roof Off Real Estate. Jennifer is giving a review copy of her new book, Sell with Soul – The Second Edition. Nishika is giving a copy of her book, How to Make Money with HUD Homes plus a free half hour of her time via telephone.

I liked Nishika's idea so I am giving a copy of my book, Real Estate the Rome Way, and a half hour of my time. There were loads of emails. My number was 944 and those who read my ActiveRain blog or my book will understand what “944” means. Instead of just one, I picked three winners!

• Melanie Sedalnick was the closest with a guess of 932 and wins a signed copy of my book and ½ hour phone consultation. 
• Paula Bean at 999 was second and also wins a signed copy and ½ hour phone consultation. 
• Oh heck, Walt Anderson at 825 was the third closest and will also receive the book and the ½ hour phone consultation.

And here's a bonus for everyone: Jennifer has made available the full recording of our seminar! Use one of these links and hear it all for yourself:

http://d35smsbqw2z3ar.cloudfront.net/The%20Summer%20of%20Soul/ABM%20Seminar.mp3

We had a lot of fun with this teleseminar. Thanks to everyone who tuned in, thanks to Mollie and Nishika, and especially to Jennifer for pulling it all together so beautifully!

A Waiting List for Clients!   Saturday Morning's Teleseminar Was a Hit!

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