Cory Brewer

By Cory Brewer

In the past year or so I have run across several examples of REALTORS® (myself included) being tempted to be a “jack of all trades” when it comes to serving their clients.  Let’s face it, we don’t want to give up control and we are also worried about potentially giving up a paycheck.

However, is it really in your best interest to step outside your area of expertise?  More importantly, is it in your clients’ best interests?  Sometimes the answer to these questions is no, and that’s when you have to step back and think about giving up a little bit of that control.

I had an eye-opening conversation with a local colleague of mine recently who focuses his entire business on short sales.  I have closed my fair share of them, but that is virtually ALL he does.  The point of the conversation came down to a key statistic:  Success Rate.  This REALTOR® closes about 90 percent of all short sale listings that he puts on the market, whereas the national average is somewhere around 25 percent.

Here is the food for thought:  Are you better off busting your hump to have a 25 percent chance at a 100 percent commission (which could very well be reduced by the lien holders, especially if you’re not a seasoned short sale negotiator) or are you better off referring it out and having a 90 percent chance at a 25 percent referral commission?  Think about all the time, effort, and marketing dollars that go into a listing.  Now think about how much longer (and how much more work) it takes to see a short sale through to closing successfully.  And finally, think about who is truly doing a better job for the client…you, or the specialist that you trust to take care of them? Continue reading »