It’s happened more times than you can count. You (finally) get a floor call. The voice on the other end announces that he and his family are looking for a single family home, close to town with plenty of space for their kids to play. You can barely contain your excitement as you pull up the MLS and start feverishly typing in details. It’s not until you are halfway through the property description on the second home that Mr. Perfect Home Hunter lets it slide. “Oh, we toured that home last week with our agent.”
WAIT. WHAT?!
Every real estate agent’s worst nightmare. Your lead is already working with an agent. Why are they calling you? Why aren’t their questions being answered by their existing real estate agent? Are they shopping for a new agent or going behind the others back? Are they just trying to confuse us ALL?
An important thing to consider here is that when a home buyer submits a request for more information on 3rd party websites, many times the lead is sent out to 3 or 4 other agents. Which means there are several real estate agents all competing for the same client at the same time. This can get confusing and overwhelming both for the client and for the agents!
SO WHAT DO YOU DO?
We asked Bozeman real estate agent Kent Simonson how he handles this type of situation. “I always try and determine if a prospective client is or has been working with another agent at our initial point of contact. Sometimes they have discussed or seen properties with other agents and it is difficult to assess their involvement. My goal is always to provide accurate and truthful information to allow them to make best decision for their current situation.”
Mark Corner, a real estate agent in Bozeman, Montana states, “As a member of the National Association of Realtors who follows the Code of Ethics, Article 16 states – ‘Realtors® respect the exclusive representation or exclusive brokerage relationship agreements that other Realtors® have with their clients.’ So, until a buyer lead has a signed exclusive agreement with a Realtor®, every lead is fair game to solicit. And until a seller has a signed listing agreement, they are fair game.
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