It is so important, as Realtors, to be respectful of other agents at all times. This past weekend I had a couple of experiences when taking buyers to see different listings and want to point out a couple of scenarios thinking this will help a lot of us.
I will raise some important questions for you to think about:
- -how do you greet other agents when they show your listings?
- -Do you direct your attention to their customer directly or do you ask the agent for permission to address them?
- -Do you let them walk around the property or do you grab their hand and show them in the order you deem necessary?
I was showing a property of an agent I had not met before; he is not a local agent and does not live in the area. This guy greeted my customers without greeting me, and introduced himself very aggressively, without ever shaking my hand. He proceeded to show the property and to talk directly to my customers and show the house without ever giving me eye contact or even asking if I mind. He even began telling them about the area without even asking if they were interested in his opinion (granted- the guy doesn't even work the area, what expert could he be?). A lot of you are probably reading this thinking, "sooo, what's the big deal?" - Here's my answer:
Common sense dictates that if a customer is working with an agent, it's because they feel comfortable with them, it is not good business sense to push your aggressive personality without first introducing yourself to the buyers' agent, and without first asking the agent if it is ok to show the property. I have never understood why some agents have a fixation with walking people around a house saying "this is the bathroom, this is the kitchen, this is the pool", isn't that obvious? I like to follow the customers and answer any questions they may have and in the process point out features like "Limestone floors, Philippe Stark fixtures, Carrara Marble, hurricane impact windows......etc". The worst part is that if you have many listings in a particular area and you don't make a buyers' agent feel comfortable, what are the chances they will bring buyers back to your listings? The other negative aspect is that buyers might be so turned off by the listing agent's personality that no matter how perfect the house may be, many will not be able to get past the pushy personality.
I like to do Broker's opens to expose our listings to agents, so that when they come back, they feel comfortable showing the home and seem like the expert they were hired to be. I'm there to answer questions, not to steal the show. Trying to steal the show is rude and shows no class.
So what have we learned from this? Always address the other agent first, they are the ones bringing you business, you need to make them feel comfortable if you plan on working with them again or at all. There is no room for vanity, it is not a battle of the egos, think of the customer and the transaction. Be respectful, show some class, you will be more successful in your business, I promise.
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