How to protect your commission at listing time
Be a marketer, not a valuer.
When I visit offices to run training sessions, one of the most common questions I get is...
"Do you have any good scripts around commission?"
Specifically, salespeople are asking for help to protect their commission when going up against discount operators charging 1 -2% less.
Now, while there are fancy one-liners you can use when it comes time to talk about your commission, they are unlikely to help if the owner still sees you as a commodity.
Wait, did you say something about one-liners?
I know I can't skip forward without offering at least one script, so here you go. It's simple and you've probably heard some variation of this before, but the principle is solid: front foot it.
Tell the owners they can find someone cheaper if that's what they want.
"Mr. and Mrs. Owner, our commission is X%. There will definitely be people that will be prepared to do it for a cheaper rate.
But you have to ask - if they're willing to do it that cheaply, why is that? If they have to discount their fee to get business - is that the kind of agent you want representing you, negotiating the sale of your biggest asset?"
Now there is a catch. This kind of approach isn't bulletproof. If you haven't differentiated yourself from the competition, but still want to charge 1-2% more, you will have a hard time getting that over the line no matter how many clever scripts you use. Most people aren't stupid.
While we all want the silver bullet - the clever line that destroys the discount operators, what you really need to focus on is out-servicing your competition and establishing more value in your selling process.
If owners see you as the expert and the person who is best positioned to maximise the value of their asset, then they will be prepared to pay a higher commission (within reason) for a higher level of service.
Therefore, protecting your commission starts long before you walk in the door...
Everything speaks
If you want to protect your commission at listing time, review these aspects of your business to ensure your customer experience and brand image are superior to all of your competitors:
- Your open-home experience
- Farming area flyers
- Regular email newsletter
- Online listing adverts
- Signage
- Case studies of recent sales
- Pre-listing kit
- Your proven marketing package
- A world-class appraisal process
That way, by the time you engage in a listing presentation, your future clients have already seen how you stand out from the crowd. They already subconsciously expect you to charge more because you offer a premium service.
Is commission really the problem?
Far too many salespeople make the mistake of believing that owners are focused solely on commission, when in fact, more often than not, it's the appraisal range that costs you the business.
If your commission rate is 0.5% more than another competitor who doesn't seem as professional as you and doesn't seem to have the same level of experience, it's unlikely you are going to lose that listing. Most people aren't that cheap, But what owners struggle with is when someone else sees the property as being worth $100k more than you.
