What Is Standing Between You And Your Paycheck?

I'm going to dish out a little tough. It's time. The rruth is, I've had it.

I've had it with what I call real estate negligence.

Every week - heck, every day - agents call me concerned about where their next paycheck is going to come from. Some are worried about earning enough to make their next mortgage payment.

I always take the same approach.

First, I say, "Tell me about your business. Are you working with any buyers right now? Do you have any listings right now?"

They usually answer that yes, they have listings. Some have five. Some have two. Some have one. One has fifty - yes, fifty! Yet, these agents are still starving.

This is where the tough love comes in.

Do you have listings right now? If you do, then you have no excuse not to be making money. The only reason you're not making money is that you're not telling your clients what they need to hear.

The only thing standing between you and your paycheck is your mouth. It irritates me no end to see an agent allow listings to remain on the market to rot - without constantly reminding their clients how much money they are throwing away by not doing price reductions.

The key is regular communication. I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to get the message across to your sellers on a weekly basis. Yes, real estate changes weekly! If seven days have passed and you haven't spoken with your client about the current state of the market, then you are guilty of "real estate negligence".

The only cure for "real estate negligence" is communication. And when I say communication, I mean you've got to tell them like it is. It is your responsibility - your duty-as a real estate agent to give your clients the harsh truth.

After all, they selected you to best represent their own interests. If you let their listing deteriorate on the MLS, then how is that best representing them? That does nothing but boost your own false sense of self-worth by being able to say, "I have listings."

Having listings is a waste of time if they're not selling.

It's time to get tough. I'm getting tough with you and you've got to get tough with your clients. You need to make sure they understand the numbers. You need to make sure they know that they're losing money every day they don't do a price reduction. You need to impress on them the fact that trying to sell their property at above-market prices is a waste of your time and theirs.

You are in charge here. You are the professional. You are the one with the knowledge.

Don't let your clients push you around. They think they know everything about real estate, but YOU are the true expert. Allowing listings to age only dilutes the marketplace and creates more of a problem. People see unrealistic numbers and say, "Well, Joe Shmoe is selling for $500,000 so I can too", not realizing that Joe's isn't going to sell and neither will theirs. They both will languish just as long as each other and produce nothing but aggravation for everyone involved.

Seriously, when was the last time that you took a hard line with sellers? When did you call them up to say "Your home isn't selling and we need to do something about it right now"?

Many agents I know are afraid to discuss price. But price is the key factor in all this. A listing is worth nothing if the price isn't right. In the end, it all comes down to numbers. If you're afraid of numbers, then you've got to get over this fear today.

Again - and I can't emphasize this enough - weekly communication is the way to make this process easier. If you're talking to your clients on a weekly basis, then it won't be such a huge surprise when you call them to say that they need to do a price reduction.

When you do so, be confident. Be strong. But BE THERE. Don't let the communication break down. You are in charge.

Think about how much money you are losing by allowing listings to linger without price reductions. Sit down right now and calculate how much of a paycheck you're missing out on.

Go ahead. Right now, make a list of all your listings. Add up the commissions. The total should be a wake-up call to you.

I know agents with upwards of $300,000 in commission dollars just sitting on the table right now. It infuriates me because I know that these agents are not communicating with their clients. They feel good that they have listings - but they're not making any money! What good are listings if you're not making any money?

If you don't have the time to meet weekly with your clients face-to-face, then at least call them. Plan your calls. Mark them on your calendar and prioritize them. Your job as a real estate professional is to discuss price with your sellers every single week until they:

reduce it OR yank it off the market

Those are the only two choices for listings that are rotting away.

I hope that my rant is making sense to you. Your business is my concern. I want you to succeed.

But if you have listings sitting on the market, then I urge you to start your weekly calls today. Give your clients some tough love. Let them know they're important to you. Impress on them the fact that you want to do the best job for them and the only way to do so is to tell them the truth.

Now, go call them!