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You Get What You Pay For

Being a non-traditional broker and having heard this comment for the 100th time in so many days by "traditional brokers", I would like to pose these questions:

1. Do you shop for sales? Why?

2. Do you search for the gas station with the highest price? I mean, it's just gas!

3. Do you try to get a good-great mortgage rate for your buyer, or do you want them to get gouged by high fees, high rates, and unexpected costs? The best lender can't have the best rate, can they?

4. Why do you clip coupons? Aren't you afraid that oil change guy might slip you the "bad oil"?

5. Why not just buy the most expensive house in the neighborhood?

6. Is it just me, or are there more Hyundais on the road?

7. Do you cut your own lawn? Or pay a nieghbor's kid to do it for $15? Why not use a pro?

8. Did you ever find the same exact item at a different store at a VERY different price? Is this perhaps because one store has lower overhead?

9. Is "you get what you pay for" a defense mechanism used by weak agents who do not know how to state their value to a client?

My suggestion? Identify your client's need. Then demonstrate your marketing plan and fee, as it pertains to their needs. You usually lose the listing when you trash talk, anyway.

Posted by Mike Elliott on 12/10/2007 10:57 AM

Comments (2)

2 Comments on You Get What You Pay For

Mike, I'm not sure that the correlation isn't compromised by a bad market. Consumers are interested in selling their home (often, now, at a price that makes it...NOT SELL) and all business models are accepting the listings. There is comfort in the cushion of size right now, whether it effects the sale of the home or not- sellers will seek out "pricing" when they are convinced that the house would sell on its own, and they don't need the services of a model that charges a bit more. I'd rather grab those listings, anyway- and offer superior service at the same time! We just have to ride it out.

12/10/2007 11:06 AM

by Options Realty

I always respond to "You get what you pay for" by asking exactly what I AM paying for. If it's defensive posturing that will be quickly revealed. With my clients, they don't have to ask because I've already provided the information in writing as to what they are paying for.

Traditional brokerage really is the alternative brokerage model. Traditionally, we didn't have the internet, appointment services or fancy keyboxes to ease the marketing process so I think the term "traditional" is widely overused.

12/10/2007 11:31 AM

by Amanda Hall * Texas Real Estate Broker * (Hall Team Homes )

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