Hire me, I work for free!

Imagine that on your calling card... Once the laughter subsided, folks would be asking, Okay, what’s the catch? Remember the old adage; there are no free lunches. Well, there are no free buyers’ agents either.

I suppose the trick is for one to define what is meant by free. Let’s consider the typical buyer exclusive-right-to- represent agreement. To me, it is another kind of listing. Today we have seller listings and buyer listings. If agents are going to be successful, they must not work with either sellers or buyers without a signed listing agreement in place. No exceptions!

The buyer listing agreement states that if the buyer purchases a home (time frames are specified here) the buyer’s agent gets paid a commission. The vast majority of times the commission is paid to the agent out of the proceeds of the transaction, in other words, from the commission paid by the seller to the listing agent. In the event that same buyer decides to purchase a FSBO during that buyer’s listing agreement term with the agent, that buyer would owe that agent a commission.

Many of the agents advertising "free services" are simply banking on the fact that they will get their money from a transaction. If those same agents are working with buyers and not protecting themselves by having a written buyer’s agreement, what they are saying is that in their opinion they are not worth a fair salary for time invested. To me, that kind of thinking begs the question, "Would you work in any other profession for free?" I don’t think so.

If I could rule the real estate world for just one day, I would require all agents to raise their standards, have pride in what they do and insist on a fair wage for a days work.

Various resources have speculated on the number of people who are willing to try the FSBO thing. Now, if a smart agent thinks about that possibility, they will quickly realize that without a signed buyer’s agreement, they put themselves in the unenviable position of having put countless hours in assisting a would-be buyer, who then turns around and goes and buys a FSBO. The agent’s time was for naught. If that is the way they choose to run their business, they will soon run it into the ground.

Allow me to say this with love. If you are an agent who works without an agreement, please go and get a job at Wal-Mart instead. You will make more money, have fewer heartaches and live a lot longer as a result of the reduced stress. Look at how happy those Wal-Mart folks always are. Compare their smiling faces to the faces of agents who run around ragged with disloyal buyers in tow and get zero compensation in the end. Well, that’s just a no-brainer, gang.

I believe that while the number of FSBOs will continue to climb, the success rate of the FSBO will remain low. Most will end up listing with a Realtor® in the end. The "iffy-ness" of our economy and the less than stellar consumer confidence index numbers tell me that the skilled agent will remain the choice for the serious real estate client.

Published: June 7, 2002

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Marylyn B. Schwartz, CSP, is a noted expert in real estate and corporate sales training, team development, customer care and diversity issues. She is president of TEAMWEAVERS and a trainer for Leader's Choice, the number one real estate sales training program in North America. Marylyn is also an author and Business/Life Coach. Contact her at , or visit her website at teamweavers.com.