One of the TOP performers in our Market Center pulled me aside yesterday and asked me how to deal with a difficult agent. He immediately had my attention because I know this person to be a VERY steady, personable and professional person. This guy does a HUGE volume of business with apparent effortless ease. He is our "MODEL" prospector in the office. When asked where he gets his leads, his reply is simply that he goes out there and gets to know people and they do business with him. Before he joined Keller Williams Realty, he was still the same person but was not selling a lot of volume . . . Our environment and business models opened his valves and the business began flowing that blew us all away.
Anyhow, all this to say this is possibly the LAST person in our office that I would think would have difficulty with another agent . . . He is SO affable - Likable . . . I couldn't imagine how someone could ruffle HIS feathers . . . So I asked him to sit with me and tell me the story.
Turns out, this other agent was contentious from their first encounter. She was nothing but unreasonable from the start. She accused him of stealing a client that was never hers - She was attempting to structure the deal to cut his commission down to a sliver . . . She was being curt and rude and impossible to communicate with.
Have you ever encountered a person like this?
I certainly have . . . and I have some bits of advice:
FIRST AND FOREMOST - DO NOT TAKE IT PERSONALLY - This person is obviously having a bad day, week, month or year and is not in a happy place. This is NOT about YOU . . . It's probably not even about the transaction . . . It is most probably related to a personal issue humming along in the background for this person. She has allowed her personal life to commingle with her professional life . . . As one of my clients so wisely said: "Everyone has their own story"
Do not let yourself get sucked into the other person's drama - Keep your ship on an even keel and remain cool, calm, and collected. There is no benefit whatsoever in compromising your own standards and reducing yourself to the level of the other person by responding with equally irrational behavior.
Remember why you're having the conversation in the first place . . . You have a client - The other agent has a client . . . the clients want to transact business . . . Your job is to facilitate the process . . . When things get contentious, the whole experience loses the love . . . Don't let 2 strong headed REALTORS spoil the goods with unnecessary bantering.
LISTEN! Don't respond . . . Just LISTEN until they run out of steam . . . and then take a deep breath and thank them for sharing their position so passionately . . . Usually when I am able to listen without feeling pressure to formulate a response to every point made, I can develop a plan/strategy that's enough out of the box that it calms the storm.
Establish the base-line . . . Remind the ranting agent of the terms of the contract . . . It's there in black and white . . . Read it as literally as it is written. These contracts are not rocket science . . . What is written is what is written.
Practice a "Pattern Interrupt" . . . When the raging won't seem to settle no matter what you say, simply offer the suggestion that you each need to take a break and talk later . . . or ask the question: "What is REALLY going on here? Why are you so emotionally charged about this?"
Acknowledge the other agent's level of frustration: "I understand this issue is very frustrating for you . . . Now, how can we resolve this peacefully?
My advice to this agent was to withdraw from the negotiation . . . wait a few days . . . and write a whole new offer.
I'm sure there's more . . . especially important is the Mantra: "Remember, We're all in this together!"
Best,
b
Barry Owen
Productivity Coach and Principal Broker
Keller Williams Realty - Nashville, TN - Green Hills
www.creatingspaces.blogspot.com
Simply Living the FourFold Way in Open Space!
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