With market conditions being what they are, sometimes it is hard to hold your head up, maintain your beliefs and be proud of what you are doing. When doing this becomes difficult, it is important to step back and decide how important a sale is.
Recently, we had a customer who was demanding everything including the kitchen sink. We were in the process of setting up appointments to see several foreclosed condominiums in a gated resort community that ranged in price from $53,000-$119,000. Showing there is difficult and, as we hadn't worked there before., we were trying to do everything we could to make sure that we covered all bases before they were reached. We had no problem finding the answers to the concerns of the customer. However, we did have hard time accepting how these requests were presented; they were voiced in a condescending tone as if were someone far beneath her with no intelligence or education. The last straw was when she said that because it is a buyers market, we should be negotiable on our commission and if we weren't, we probably weren't the realtors for them.
At that point, my principles kicked in. I told her that our commission was not negotiable (our share was 2.5% on a $53,000 property less 25% referral fee!) and even if I wanted to I couldn't and wouldn't change it. I informed her that I had cancelled all the appointments (showings started at 7:00 P.M.) and she was right that we were not the realtors for her.
Times are difficult. We all work hard for what we earn. We need to maintain our dignity and value our professionalism above the almighty dollar. I did and I'm glad I did.
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