We as Real Estate Agents have a very interesting relationship within our field. If you are a listing agent you want buyer's agents showing your listings. Even though we may be competing to get the same listing we must also not burn the bridges with agents in our own communities because we want them to work with us in showing and selling our listings. It is so important to the success of our own businesses to not talk bad and spread gossip about agents in our community. It is also makes us appear untrustworthy and unprofessional. 

Some of my very best friends are agents that live and work in the same community as I do. We go out together, we talk about what is going on with our listings and we always support each other to sellers and buyers. In fact, there was an instance where a buyer who was trying to scam a lender came to us to buy a house; after we found out that they were not qualified without committing mortgage fraud we sent them on their way. Well, they then went to one of my friend's offices and tried to do the same thing. When my friend/ agent and I discussed business this came up and she was able to send them on their way very quickly! It saved her a lot of time.

We feel that we are stronger when we work together rather than against each other. When a seller says they are listing with one of my friends, I always edify my friend! And they do the same for me! It is a great way to do business in this tough market. We also give referral fees to each other. If I know one of my listings is expiring and I know for sure the seller is going to try another agent I always suggest that they use one of the top agents that I know who will do them right. Then I get a referral fee when the listing sells. Also, since my husband and I own our brokerage and do not have agents working for us; we refer our business to these agents when we can not work with the client or we are going on vacation, etc.

There are so many ways we can work together. Because we work in the higher end markets and also on land assemblages there have been times where  we have worked with more than one agent on a deal and split the commission three ways because we felt it was the right thing to do. You never know when you might need each other!

So it brings me to the question, is there really such a thing as competition? If we look at things from a perspective of lack and scarcity then we will act in competition with others. If we believe in abundance and that there is more than enough for everyone then there is no competition. When we work from scarcity and lack we attract more lack into our lives because that is what we are focusing on. When we work from abundance and there is more than enough the universe just creates more for us! It is just like when we see there is a resource that starts dwindling someone discovers another resource even better than the one that is reducing. When we help uplift each other it will always pay off in a big way. And who better to understand what we are going through in our business than another agent in our own community. It's a win/win all the way around! Katerina