Commission Breath is a common ailment of some realtors. It is very common in newer agents since they are trying so hard to get business and they are probably fighting with other agents over the same clients.
Most of the Realtors that have commission breath (CB) do not realize they have contracted it. It is not contagious but it can ruin your career if you keep it and you will be shocked to find out that others will know you have it before you do!
It ruins your career, FAST!
Beware of Self Centered-ness
We all get the fact we must make money to survive. We must feed our families and provide a place for ourselves and our families to live, but there are boundaries that must be observed not to appear too greedy.
Some agents are so focused on getting the next sale they will say and do anything to get it. They do not realize that they are ruining their reputations and coming off as someone who only cares about themselves and the almighty dollar. I can promise you that this will result in non-repeat customers.
Stay Ethical
I have heard horror stories about agents that purposely kept information from their buyer or seller that would have changed the course of the sale. Very unfortunately the agent chose not to disclose pertinent information to the buyer or seller and so the sale went through to the disadvantage of the client. The agent was not concerned about the harm that would be done to one or both of the parties involved as he was after the commission.
Sometimes these unethical agents get away with it, but most of the time they are found out. Nonetheless they ultimately build a reputation over time that is not ethical and they get known among their peers for doing certain things that are not honest or forthright
Many times the unsuspecting public will not be aware until the CB agent who consistently works a specific neighborhood for instance, is found out by neighbors talking among themselves. Families and friends that have had a bad experience with an unethical agent will also share among themselves.
It is very easy for coop agents to find out very quickly who the unethical commission breathed agents are and they will try to avoid working with them if at all possible. These cases are rare, thankfully!
Be mindful of Commission Breath
I want to pause here for a moment to express that commission breath comes in varying degrees of seriousness and you may have just the very beginnings of the condition.
If that is the case you probably will not even be aware that you have it at first because your case is so mild, but once you do become aware you must quickly change your ways and you will find it can be easily irradiated and cured for good!
HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF COMMISSION BREATH TO HELP YOU KNOW IF YOU HAVE CONTRACTED IT
THe Pushy Agent
Years ago one of my buyers agents was experiencing trouble with getting buyers to pull the trigger to buy. He was showing hot leads on the average of 2-3 times a day and was not turning any of them into sales. Quickly assessing that he was going broke, I sat him down to question him as to why he was not able to turn the buyers into closed sales.
We ran through a typical role play of what to say when showing a buyer the first time out and a script for getting them to come in for buyer consultation. He had his scripts down pat and practiced. He knew what to say. I scratched my head for a moment and then I asked” What are you thinking about when you are talking to these buyers?”
He responded matter of fact, “Oh, I am thinking, You people just need to buy this house!”
Right there was my answer. My agent was so busy thinking about his need to get a quick sale, he forgot to find out what the buyer’s needs were, thereby not even getting them interested in sitting down for a buyer consultation to investigate further what they were really looking for.
This is a classic example of the beginning stages of commission breath. My Buyer’s agent was totally unaware that he had CB. The prospective buyers, however, were very aware of it.
Body Language is powerful
If you read a little bit about psychology and why humans act the way they do in certain situations you will discover that most of the communication between humans comes through body language.
People can intuitively pick up your body language when you are anxious, bored, disgusted, tired, disinterested or whatever you may be feeling or thinking and not one word has been uttered between you. I know for a fact that another person can pick up the wrong message from you if they sense something negative that is going on in your life even though it has nothing to do with them. So you must be careful to put personal issues aside when dealing with your clients.
In the case of my Buyer’s agent, his urgency for them to buy that one house that he was showing to them at that very moment came through in his demeanor (his personal issue of needing money) and then to add insult to injury the questions he posed to the potential buyer like asking if they were ready to make an offer before having any kind of discussion about the house, were off putting to them. They felt he did not care about what they really wanted since he seemed so anxious for them to buy that one house. And frankly, they were absolutely right!
Anyone with some experience in home selling will tell you that most of the time a buyer will not buy the first home you show them. Showing a home for the first time to a prospective buyer is simply an opportunity to get to work with them.
FIND OUT WHAT THEY WANT
Your job is to find out exactly what they do want. Do that via a scheduled buyer consultation. Make that the appointment at the home you are showing for the very next time you see will them. That is a stupendous way to insure that the buyer will be working with you to help them find their perfect dream home.
Don’t ever depend on the prospective buyer to buy on your time schedule, you will be constantly disappointed and it will show through to the other person.
Whats best for your client
The purchasing of a home is about what is best for the client!
Once we figured out that he needed to change his thought towards the buyer as one of service and helpfulness, it was not very long before he was turning leads into buyers and he ended up having an amazing year and an amazing future in real estate.
Here is an example of purposeful CB that I hope you never are a party to:
The BROKE AGENT
Bertha Buyer’s agent received a call from the Lydia Listing agent disclosing that there was a minor amount of water in the basement after a heavy rain on the home. It was scheduled to close in 3 days.
Lydia assured Bertha that the water had quickly dried up the next day but wanted to make sure she disclosed this fact to her buyer before closing. Bertha Buyer’s agent was behind on her mortgage payment and chose not to let the buyer know, not wanting anything to mess up this closing.
a quick buck
To appease her somewhat guilty conscious she told herself it was probably fine and no big deal. The deal closed and the Bertha Buyer’s agent got paid.
One week later, Bertha Buyer’s agent receives a frantic, angry call from her Buyer who just closed on the home. She told her that the basement has completely flooded after a very heavy downpour. “The carpet is ruined and mold is starting to grow,” she exclaimed to Bertha Buyer’s agent. “The wonderful listing agent, Lydia who just so happens to live next door, came over to bring me a goodie basket to welcome me to the neighborhood and at that time told me that she had disclosed to the you, Bertha, that there was water in the basement 2 days prior to closing, but you never told me. Lydia said you were was not concerned as it dried up quickly. “Why didn’t you tell me? What are you going to do about it??
Now You’re facing a Lawsuit
OHHHH SH*@#%T —you probably have a lawsuit on your hands! You just lost all your commission and more!
If you think I am kidding about this…I AM NOT. This is an example of a real live case. I will remind you of this as well.. if you get dragged into a law suit, your broker and the brokerage company you work for is dragged in as well. ABSOLUTELY, do not ever be this dishonest or greedy.
You could pay more later
This is the worst kind of Commission breath and it can cost you a way more than you what you earned in a commission as well as a horrible reputation that won’t go away.
Do you need help overcoming commission breath?
Email me at [email protected].