Working with buyers has a lot of benefits. It can set up listings down the road and improve your knowledge of the market.
Never work with a buyer without a contract.
You need to be picky with the buyers you work with.
It can be a huge waste of time (and therefore money) when you spend time working with a buyer, only to have them buy a home without you.
There are horror stories from other realtors about this. They work with a buyer for a few weeks. They drive around to find them their new home.
Then their communication with the client goes silent. Next time they see or hear from them, they already bought a new home.
Or even worse, they find out an agent is a friend of theirs. Then they see them working with another agent.
All the time they put in for that buyer was for nothing. This is a problem with working with buyers.
This is why you have to get a signature before you spend time working with them.
It means having standards with who you give your time to.
Don't help a buyer out for more than a couple seconds without bringing up signing a contract. What happens is that after they find their house, they see no point in keeping an agent around.
The agent is just another person they have to deal with in their eyes.
Make these situations fair to you and have them agree to a buyer contract. They'll understand that your time is valuable and you can't have it wasted.
You can discuss homes with them in the area, but don't search for them without their full commitment to you.
Don't work with every buyer.
If they are hesitant to sign with you, there is no reason to work with them. This isn't a listing.
It is so much less competitive. You don't need to waste any time with these clients.
A lot of agents don't think they have a right to make the buyer sign a contract. I don't agree with that at all.
They are saying their time is not valuable. If you're a competent professional, you deserve to get paid for helping them.
Confidence in yourself is a big part of this. If you are confident in your work and knowledge, then asking for a contract is a no brainer.
Would you list a house without a contract?
No chance. That would be insane. I don't think this is any different.
Imagine marketing a home without a contract. The owner could change agents whenever they want. They may see some of your marketing technique's and try and sell it themselves.
Real estate would never work like this. Treat buyers the same way and with the same mindset.
I don't know any lawyers that will work without a retainer. You can and should be just as valuable to these clients as lawyers are.
There are important reasons why buyers need a realtor's help.
Here's how I saved a buyer when a builder tried to screw them:
Years ago, I helped a buyer buy a house in Gainesville, Florida. The buyer was interested in a particular neighborhood and met the builder's realtor.
He liked the builder's realtor and thought about buying a house with that person. He reached out to me and scheduled a meeting.
He found out about me from an ad. I met up with him as a lead and told him how we could do a better job helping him and representing him.
With a little bit of a push, he decided to work with us instead of working directly with the builder's realtor. I was super confident in the meeting.
I sold him on the reasons he needed an agent, who was independent from his builder.
I talked about how well I knew all of Gainesville and how we could get a great price on his home.
I won his business and had him sign a contract with me. It cost him nothing.
They went under contract for a pre-construction house that the builder would build and then sell to him at a set price once the house was built.
The original set price was $315,000 that they agreed to buy the house from the builder.
The contract was written and signed by all parties.
They started doing construction on the property. In the meantime, the market was shooting up.
This was right when houses were gaining value.
By the time the house was done getting built, it was now worth about $350,000 rather than $315,000.
The builder was not very interested in selling it to these people and looked for any way that he could get out of the contract.
If he got out of the contract, he would make an additional $35,000.
The builder knew he couldn't get out of the contract because it was binding.
So he decided to stick it to the buyers and said that he wasn't doing any of the upgrades that he had put on the terms sheet for the new construction home.
He was trying to get out of around $20,000 of upgrades.
If the buyer were working with the builder's agent, they would not have been properly represented by him.
That agent got lots of business from that builder, and they probably would have gotten screwed out of $20,000 in upgrades.
Because the buyer was working with me and I knew how the term sheet worked, he was safe.
There was never a doubt in those buyer's mind they would get those upgrades.
I told the builder that we would hire a lawyer and stick it to him.
This forced him to honor his contract and put the upgrades in the house.
This is why it can make a huge difference for buyers to have a realtor.
I saved these buyers from getting robbed of $20,000 worth of renovations.
Most buyers won't think of these types of situations.
Now it's up to you to sell the buyers in your importance and the contract.
Be confident in your value when you go to meet with them. You are as necessary as an agent working a listing.
In your presentation, break down all the ways you make their home search better.
- Show your detailed knowledge of the area's prices and home sizes.
- Complete knowledge of the vicinity (shops, schools, etc.)
- You Understand pricing in that market and buyer’s demands.
- Know where people work and if it’s a family oriented neighborhood.
- Tell them how you negotiate like an expert and will potentially get them a better price.
- Inspections are detailed work. You handle these. You will make sure the house is perfect.
- Mention situations like mine. A realtor will make sure they never get screwed out of the first agreement.
- You will take care of all their paperwork.
- It costs them nothing.
You are like free insurance for the home buying process for these clients.
It costs them nothing. So there is no reason why they would be opposed to committing to you.
Help them understand that if you are going to commit time to their search, then they need to repay the favor.
What if it was simple to position yourself as the buyer expert?
This is the method we prefer here at Smart Agents.
Our My Books program does just that. We offer book licenses for each niche in real estate.
There are two home-buying books. One for repeat buyers and one for first-time buyers.
Everyone wants to work with the expert. These buyers will jump to sign the expert's contract.
Getting them to commit to you will be that much easier. See the information right under this to learn more.
What if you could give something of value that won’t be thrown away. So when you reach back out to anyone, they immediately remember you.
We even offer books that position you as the buyer expert.
With our My Books program we can help you achieve that. Books are valued.
Recently, a Smart Agents member tracked down some potential buyer leads and gave them her book.
She won their business a few days later. Our sample book is a listing book, but we offer a buyer guide to our members.
Do this and you will position yourself as the authority in your market. When you give away your book, it will separate you from your competition. That’s how a smart agent thinks!
Want to get a free sample of the book that will get you more listings? Click the link below.
Joe Nickelson is a real estate professional dedicated to helping home buyers and sellers achieve their dreams of owning property, and helping real estate agents stop using the sometimes-vicious tactics that weigh on their consciences. He believes that the Smart Agents books will, quite literally, change people’s lives for the better. Check out his full bio here!
