Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
Ever had a buyer working with more than one agent? Ever had a seller who you spent a ton of time with, gave them your advice, and then they used a discounted service? Ever had a buyer who kept changing their mind or made offers on a lot of properties?
I knew an agent who had a hard time with one of these scenarios. “Tina” broke down crying one day, saying, “How am I going to pay my bills now that this closing fell through? I’ve worked so hard this past month and now the buyer is backing out? How can they do this?” Many agents have been there. (This is a real story, however, and I changed the name above.) I had to explain a secret to Tina, on getting deals done.
The secret to success is not being emotionally affected or attached to the outcome of the transaction. Whether it fails or closes, you can’t be attached to the outcome you want. It’s a Nordstrom Way Secret.
The scenario:
Eons ago, I had a buyer who planned to purchase a multimillion-dollar property. I remember spending hours on end, educating and reassuring this person about the home buying process, in anticipation for what was about to be their biggest purchase ever. During the process, the buyer was concerned with the inspection. The items did not seem of major importance to me, however, they caused stress for the buyer.
The buyer asked the famous question: “What should I do?” This is the point where many REALTORS® might say something like, “It’s a great time to buy,” or, “I would do it,” etc. A secret to being unattached to the outcome is that you tell yourself: “It’s okay if they don’t buy the home. I still can pay my bills. There will be other buyers.” Even if you feel these statements aren’t true, you are going to have to say this to yourself anyway. There are many buyers I meet who will tell me they felt like their previous agent just wanted them to buy something and get a deal done. Those buyers left their agent to look for someone who would help them, rather than an agent who just wants a deal.
The right approach: Continue reading »
Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
More than five years ago, I had agents take a test before they worked with me, which tested their sales skills and emotional resilience. I had a couple agents making over $80,000-$120,000 a year who had tested in the “Find a new career; you shouldn’t be in real estate” category. Where are they today? Not in real estate. What seemed like success years ago, today seems like it was all just a pipe dream. A rough economy weeds out those who shouldn’t be in the business and makes the others stronger.
The test showed that agents that had strong emotional resilience have what it takes and they would stay in the business and make the most money. So what is emotional resilience and what does it take to have emotional resilience?
An example of weak emotional resilience, an actual story of one of the agents above who tested poorly:
One day, Agent X came into the office and had just found out that their client/buyer ended up writing an offer on a home that Agent X had shown them the day before, however, the client wrote it up with a different REALTOR®. It literally ruined Agent X’s week. So Agent X called up the other agent, chewing them out, saying they stole the client when it was Agent X who took them through the home. The result was just a bunch of bitter feelings toward each other and an unproductive week for Agent X.
An example of strong emotional resilience:
Just this past month, an agent of mine had almost the same thing happen. My agent had been working with a client for a long time but apparently others had too. An agent from another brokerage called my agent up mad, stating we stole their client when they took the client to and through a home. (There were no agencies on either side.) My agent responded, “there is plenty of business out there for all of us so let’s do what the client wants. If the client wants to use me, I’m happy to pay you a referral fee for your work and effort. If the client uses you, I would expect the same.” The other agent perked up and agreed. The two agents communicated during the entire transaction, our agent closed the deal and the other agent got a referral fee. It was a win-win for all. Continue reading »
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