With the mass production and improved distribution we've experienced in our economy, many products have simply become commodities that we shop to find the lowest possible prices on. While similar products can be manufactured with different brand names, we still often perceive these products to be almost identical to each other.

As an example of this, recently I interviewed Rob Levy, one of the top-producing residential agents in the Portland area. During this interview Rob said, "In my opinion, the best computer to buy is the one that's on sale at Circuit City."

For us as real estate agents this is probably a very true statement. For our day-to-day business needs, almost any new computer on the market today is more than adequate to handle everything we need to get done. And with many of the major computer companies purchasing their components from the same manufacturers, it's easy to understand why different brands of computers are often perceived to be very similar to each other.

But you don't want to be perceived as similar to other agents in your real estate business, as Levy perceives computers to be similar at Circuit City. You don't want to be chosen because you are the lowest-priced agent out there. How do you avoid becoming just a commodity that your prospects shop for among other agents in order to obtain the lowest possible commission?

Part of the problem is there are a lot of agents out there who are desperate to close a deal, and they'll reduce their commission to whatever they need to in order to land new business. But in being the consummate real estate professional, you simply can't allow yourself to stoop to their level. If you do, you risk becoming just like them.

You need to prepare your presentations and your responses to handle these situations in advance. For example, if you're hoping to obtain a listing at a 5 percent commission rate, and your listing prospect says that another agent is willing to take the listing for only 3 percent, you need to learn how to present yourself so you stand out to the prospect as being a higher-level professional who will obtain a higher price for their property. In addition to perfecting your own presentation skills, one of the most effective tools in this arena will be the questions you ask your prospects that guide them towards knowing that you're the best choice they could ever make in a real estate agent. With this in mind, here are some questions you could consider asking your prospects in this situation:

"I understand that hiring an agent at a 3 percent commission rate can at first glance not seem like a bad decision for you to make. But let me ask you a question...If you were an agent with five different properties that matched your buyer's needs, and the owners of four of those properties were willing to pay you 67 percent to 100 percent more commission than the other owner, in what order would you present these five properties to your buyer?"

"Keeping this in mind, how would the fact that your property will only be presented very minimally to prospective buyers affect the number of showings it receives?"

"And, in following this through to the end, how much do you think this greatly reduced number of showings will cost you in terms of the lower price you will definitely receive for your property?"

"So in effect do you see that by hiring that desperate agent who is in dire need of earning a few dollars right now, that it's you who will truly end up getting hurt?"

Notice here how you've taken what seemed to be a better opportunity for the owner in the beginning and completely turned around their perception about it. And in the process, you've painted a picture of the other agent as being desperate, which is probably an accurate description of someone who would radically cut their own commission down to a rock bottom rate.

Something else to observe here is the power of asking these questions of your prospect instead of telling them your opinion instead. If you told the prospect that, "The other agent is desperate," or "You'll end up getting less money for your property because of the reduced commission," you risk sounding like a bitter, desperate agent yourself. But when you ask them questions that lead them to conclude these things on their own without you telling them, you've just unlocked the magic vault. They feel they've reached these conclusions on their own without you telling them to do so...and this is an extremely powerful alternative for you.

The better you become at developing these skills in your own real estate business, the more easily you'll distinguish yourself as someone your prospects should always list with at a full commission rate.