I Like A Discount Too, It's Just Not Going To Be On My Commission

Straight Talk From the Q&A

Brian Buffini of Buffini & Company has armed us with some great scripts and tools for handling objections and reductions of both asking prices and commissions. He always reminds us to embrace the seller that wants a discount; after all, we too, want to get the best price when we buy & sell...don't we? So thank them for asking and then go one to explain how & why they will get a better net working with you without lowering your commission. So, when the following question popped up in our Q&A on Sunday, I decide to share a couple of my methods.

Kathryb Acciari asked a great question on 11/06/2016 IN our AR Q&A. She asked the group:

Most of us encounter this at some point each year. To which I responded (and expanded here in PURPLE so you can see the added material):

"The challenge here is that you already set a bad precedent; lowering your fee previously. Never lower your fee once it's negotiated and signed off on." 

My response is: "My fee was negotiated when you hired me and it's not up for renegotiation. My fee reduces naturally as the price goes down. Mr. Seller, you'll need to cancel this escrow and try again, if you do not want to negotiate with the buyer (instead of me) and we'll try for a new buyer at a better offer price. However, this appraisal is now a material fact and other buyers will be after the same price point. It may be more expensive to start over than move ahead. What would you like to do?"

Repeat business discounts or rebates are great ways to thank our clients, but remind them that you've already given them your discount upfront, the rest is between them & the buyer. "We (Mr. &Mrs. Seller), are now a united front, we do not negotiate with each other, we strategize together to negotiate the buyer to where we want them. We are a team and now need to act like one."

This would be like trying to get a discount from your surgeon mid-surgery or your lawyer mid-trial...not a good idea! Know your value, communicate that value clearly when you go on your listing appointments; prepare your sellers for the united front you need to be when you negotiate price, repairs and appraisal issues. (Problems too, because problems happen). They need to know this is all normal in an escrow. I posted on my blog, about this topic back in April 2016:

Nordstrom Never Panics When Kmart Has A Sale!

Please share your best script or tactic for handling the commission reduction in your comment below:

Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography at FreeDigitalPhotos.net