Losing A Listing, Gain A Referral

Here's something new I learned today.  A realtor friend's listing on a $1,100,000 home in Keller is expiring in a week and the owner doesn't want to renew and wants a different realtor.  Ok.  Our friend has had the listing for at least six months in a slow market and has put a lot of work into marketing and hates to lose it.  But at a mixer for a title company, I found out from my broker that we will contact the realtor friend and get him to refer his seller to list with us and refer to us.  Then he at least gets a referral fee and recop some of his costs, and we get a listing and maybe sell it.  If we can't sell it, we'll do the same and refer it to another realtor friend and get a referral.