It's not what we do that creates value....it's how we do it!

lane,

Lay off with the "personal attack inanity. Let's be real. The one you speak of is the one who levies attacks. Go back and read what she wrote BEFORE you start pointing fingers.

Now doctors and lawyers are bad enough..now you want to compare your self to welders? Unreal! Even they require more of an apprenticeship before becoming a realtor.

Lane...this forum is becoming tired and the sameness is stale. I don't have time for enduring the cheerleading. You keep believeing what you want, keep doing what you're doing and you'll keep getting what you're getting. If it is working for you then fine.

I for one, and those we speak to work based upon cold hard fact which seems to be irrefutable.

I have no desire to continue this dialogue on AR trying to show agents how change is better for the industry. I will reserve my focus for those who want to be around for the coming years and want to prosper. Not saying that you or anybody else won't..I just feel that MORE success will be lauded on an agent who is a Web 2.0 super agent.

If it is working for you...then don't change a thing. No one really needs to be on Google page 1 for Tucker real estate do they? Here's hoping you're right!

BB......We who work with buyers and sellers will continue to earn our money...Anyone who gets a deal done in this or any market with hair left on thier head deserves the money........I don't know who Brett is, but he should refrain from personal attacks here, and elsewhere...First we had Lance..and now Brett

As a lender, I feel that realtors most certainly earn their commissions and I don't understand why any one that is a good Realtor would offer their services at a discount.  My husband (an appraiser) has seen some of the lending deals I've done, and when he makes way less per appraisal than I make per loan, he says the money isn't enough to do my job.  And that's how I feel about Realtors, the money isn't enough for me to want to do your job!!!!

Cool BB. We're doing some follow up to the REALTOR value discussion that was sparked earlier this week by that Markwtwatch article. We're doing five things in a row on it... and will probably include a link to your great discussion here.

best 

Very glad this discussion is on the table again.  The concept of "high commission" is a relative one.  Many will pay high prices for all sorts of things, a dinner at an exclusive restaurant, several hours in the air in a first class seat, a ring for a loved one about to become your spouse.  The perception of value is always an intangible...that's where the true professionals in real estate soar above the competition...they understand this.

You have to show them that you care. Everything else they can get from so many different mediums out there.There are sellers who never hear from their agents thruout the listing period. It gives us all a bad name.

Expectations and preparation for any possible scenarios that could happen within a transaction.  Knowing where and when to look to look for additional information.  Pulling strings to get things done. Calm assurance that carries over to clients, listening, listening, listening to what the client needs or wants and then trying to make it happen.

Bryant, Thank you for bringing back this core question. We answer this question every day, every minute of our practice. Consumer cares about the result and almost does not care how we technically organize our business, what techniques we use and how hard we work to make the transaction happen. Ironically, today's slow market gives us a big apparent "advantage" in justifying our fees to the consumers - the length of our work with the client. More time we invest - easier is to charge the fee, better we expose the insights of our job, better chance we have to show what we do and how we do it. Is it really advantageous to the client? Answer this question to those whose listings expired.

Disintermediation is a tricky trend for our profession. As it eliminates a value of previously closed property information, it creates an idea of easy savings on opportunity to DIY or on using the limited service providers. Does it kill our profession? NO! It opens us the chance to become a trusted advisors and professional consultants, skilled negotiators and knowledgeable coordinators. Add to this personal involvement and psychological support for educated clients and capitalize on these priceless skills.

BB, I had a head start.  When I first joined AR in August '07, I read every single one of your posts and I ALWAYS get something from it.  :) 

U R a Stand up guy Bryant!

Bryant, Wow! 

And I think our favorite old dino mades a great point.  Buyers don't seem to question our value, especially when we are able to negotiate a great deal for them.  Sellers on the other hand, resent agents, at least the buyers' agents, for those negotiating skills.  And in this market, even the best listing agent has a hard time pleasing a seller.  

This is one of the best things I've seen on Active Rain - and the comments, most of them anyway, are as interesting as the post.  Thanks for writing it!  And you need to know that after I read the first couple of comments, I did a frantic search for the video - maybe you could put it back, please, please?

Bryant - as always, an excellent post! How we do what we do makes all the difference and keeps clients coming back to us (and referring their friends and relatives to us)!

I wrote a whole post a few weeks ago about the never-ending commission debate. I truthfully don't feel we need to defend ourselves or our value, because the public does it for us. With 72% of sellers choosing to hire a full service real estate agent and pay commission...that action alone speaks for itself. :O)

Being a "discounter" I thought you guys would appreciate my take on these things!  Frankly, I think that commissions got out of hand.  The basic idea of charging "X" percent across the board on homes just didn't make sense to me.  Why should it cost a home seller 3 times as much to sell a $300,000 home as it does a $100,000 home?  Is there 3 times as much work involved?  Is there anything that you do to sell the more expensive home that you don't do for the lessor expensive home and if so, how much value does that add to the transaction.

The truth of the matter is that it's generally easier to sell the more expensive home because the buyers tend to be better qualified and in reality there is only so much that we as agents can do to sell a home.  If the home is priced right (rrsafety, a listed home DOES generally bring more money than a home that isn't listed because it's exposed to a much broader market and the agent does bring value to the transaction for all of the other services that they perform - as Bryant pointed out in his post) and is properly exposed to the market it will sell.

The funny thing about being in my position is that I have to "sell" my program against what I refer to as "no-service" companies (MLS Only companies) all the time.  In order to do so, I have the seller do a Ben Franklin test where they draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper and list out the advantages of each possibility on one side or the other.

The "no-service" company gets the nod on cost...I can't argue with only paying $299.00 to get put on my local MLS...that's a hell of a deal at first glance....but from that point on it's all me....

On an average transaction I'm usually a couple of grand more expensive than the MLS only companies, but I field the telephone calls...is that worth the $2,000 by itself?  Nah, probably not, but it is worth something for most consumers who have jobs and other responsibilities.

I show the property....is that worth the extra $2,000?  Again, by itself, maybe not...but I'm a somewhat disinterested third party who, through years of sales and communication training, can ask the hard questions and get real answers as to what the customer's objections really are.  I've had people willing to walk on a house that met all of their criteria because the dining room was painted a weird color!  In short, I as a professional real estate agent am better able to ascertain what the customer's objections are and to over-come them whereas on their own, a seller might have more difficulty doing this.

I help in contract negotiations....who hasn't had a seller dig their heels in over $500.00 on a $400,000 or more purchase?  Part of my job is to sometimes hold your hand....to sometimes pat you on the back...or to sometimes give you a little bit of a shove...Is this worth the extra $2,000?  You better believe it is!  If you don't believe me, talk to a FSBO that walked from a deal over something trivial like $500.00 only to sit on the house for an extra 3 or 4 months!

My list goes on, but I hope that you see my point.  If you're a traditional agent and you have to compete against me, it might come down to your sales ability to be able to convince the seller that you're worth the additional money that you charge over me.  It happens all the time.

Bryant, again...an excellent post!

 

Bob Mitchell

ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc.   

I read a great quote somewhere the other day that is perfect for this debate.  "Only in the absence of value does price become an issue."  I've heard it from a few others in this thread.  If you are consistently being asked to justify your commission (value), you might take a look at how you are doing your business, and what you can do to qwell the concerns of the clients asking you to justify your commission.  The best agents don't have to justify commissions, just like the best restaurants don't need to offer buy one get one free, and the best doctors and lawyers don't have empty offices.