Listing about to expire? Salvage your commission. Here's How!

Thanks for the comment Karen!  I am curious, was there something about the blog title that you didn't like?  You mentioned that you almost didn't read it.  Maybe I need to work on my title a little bit.  This is just basically the same as doing a regular referral, only you are giving me the "jump" on every other agent who works expired listings.  So far, so good!!!  Thanks for your comment!

Janna, sometimes it isn't a matter of being unhappy with the listing agent.  There are all kinds of different people.  Maybe you are a great realtor, but you just didn't "click" with a particular client.  Or maybe the market is just bad.  Or maybe the client wants to use a different company because they just think that trying someone different will help.  There are tons of reasons why clients don't always relist with their previous (or current agent) that have absolutely nothing to do with poor performance or being "unhappy" with the listing agent.

I am a very analytical person.  I had a client that was just the opposite of me.  He was the "life of the party", very disorganized, forgetful, but a very nice guy.  We just didn't communicate well and we both realized it.  I ended up referring him to another agent that I knew had a similar personality and at least I still got something out of it.

This works pretty much like a regular referral.  The only difference is that you would be giving me the "heads up" two days before the expiration so that I can get there before all of the other agents in the area who work expired listings.

I use the 2 days to prepare and then I contact the seller on the very same day that the listing expires.  The current (or previous) listing agent may or may not advise the client that they have been referred to me.  If there are no hard feelings, the listing agent may discuss the situation with the client.  If there are some hard feelings, maybe they just want to give me the heads up and let me talk to the client on my own.  I DO NOT bad mouth the previous agent!

The previous agent doesn't even have to mention that they are referring them to me if they don't want to, because all of the information (address, city, state, zip) is on the MLS and from there, I would be able to check the county records for names.  So really, you aren't giving me anything that I couldn't get on my own, other than a "heads up".

These days, lots of listings are expiring and some of those clients will simily not relist with the same agent, even if their agent was fantastic and did everythign they could.  At least this way, you'd get something for your efforts!  And remember, if the deal doesn' t close, then no one gets paid.

Laura, no this is not a "ploy".  A ploy is meant to "embarrass or frustrate" someone.

This is for real.  Think of it this way, may companies pay their best employees more than those that do a so-so job.  Many schools offer "pay for performance" bonuses to their best teachers.  Credit card companies offer "cash back" and airlines offer "frequent flier miles".  And listing agents have offered cash bonuses to buyer's agents for a quick sale for many years now.

Let's say for example that a client wants to pay you a 5% or 6% commission.  What if you asked them to pay 7% or 8% commission, BUT ONLY IF YOU SELL THEIR HOME IN 39 DAYS OR LESS?  They would get 2% back ONLY IF YOU DON'T PERFORM OR UNDERPERFORM.  But if you DO sell the home in 39 days or less, then you get to keep that 2% as a bonus for the excellent job that you did for them.

Many listing agents offer a cash bonus to a buyer's agent who brings a buyer by a certain date.  The goal is to provide an incentive for a quick sale.  This isn't all that different from other incentives that have been offered by real estate agents over the years.  Heck, some brokers still offer to purchase the home if it doesn't sell in a certain period of time.

And clients really like to have MONEY rather than some cheesy closing gift.

Are there some requirements?  Sure...  Nobody gets paid if the home doesn't sell.  So the main requirement is that there has to be a successful closing.  And no one gets paid until AFTER closing.

I hope that helps...

Pat...  Yep, something is much better than nothing at all, especially when it comes to money.  We've all been there...  You work your butt off and the home still doesn't sell.  Maybe the market just changed abruptly or something out of your control happened.  I really like this because there is no blaming anyone.  And if we all respect each other and don't bad mouth each other, this can really provide a great service to consumers who need to sell their home, but don't want to just pick someone out of the phone book.  After all...  If you've worked with someone for 6 months, you know what their likes and dislikes are and you can be helpful in finding them someone who may have a better rapport with the client for one reason or another.

As long as no one has a big ego, this works well...

Thanks for your comment!

Norma,      WE SOOOOOOO ROCK!!!

I just love EXIT Realty.  All the training and tools they give us are simply the best.  I was with 2 other brokers before I found my forever home at EXIT Realty Executives and the training they made me pay for was a drop in the bucket compared to the FREE training I get at EXIT.  Our entire culture of "handing down wisdom" to new and less experienced agents is such a pleasant and lucrative situation.  I really feel like WE ALL DO BETTER WHEN WE ALL DO BETTER!  And the people are fantastic!  I will never ever leave EXIT!