Commissiatosis is a sales agent's disease commonly known as "Commission Breath," by homebuyers and sellers. Commission breath destroys relationships before they can be nurtured and sales before they can be closed.

It is a disease of the attitude that begins in the heart, travels to the mind then spurts out of a sales agent's mouth. It can be financial deadly to the agent if not cured immediately, because it costs sales that could otherwise have been made.

Commission breath destroys trust, builds sales tension, and costs real estate agents millions a year in commissions they should have pocketed.

What is commissiatosis? It is the bad breath of any agent who is thinking more about his or her own bottom line than the clients' needs.

Are you susceptible to catching commissiatosis?

The symptoms:

• You start out gracious and caring, because you want the sale.
• Your motive isn't to meet their need. It is to meet yours.
• You ask for trust rather than earn it.
• You ask for loyalty before you build trust, establish needs, or present your services.
• You grow impatient if they don't buy the first or second home you show them.
• If they don't buy, you feel the prospects lied to you.
• Losing the sale is never your fault.
• Too many of your sales don't close.
• You talk more about making money than building your referrals.

The causes:

• Increasing financial pressure to make a sale.
• An unhealthy desire to "be number one."
• Greed.
• Too much debt.
• Pressure from spouse to make more money.
• Generally abrasive personality.
• Little or no empathy.
• No concept of "relationship" selling.

The effect:

• Increased sales tension between agent and prospect.
• Increased sales resistance from prospects.
• Feeling by prospect that agent doesn't care.
• Loss of sales agent should have made.
• Little or no rapport with prospects between sale and closing.
• Few or no referrals.
• Possible early exit from real estate as a profession.

Fortunately, commission breath can be prevented. Learn to think and talk in terms of your prospect's best interest and you will breathe a lot easier, every time, all the time. How? Ask the agents in your office who get referrals from their past customers. They know.

Published: December 18, 2003

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David Fletcher has been a Florida licensed real estate broker and new homes sales and marketing consultant for 30 years. Along the way, he has sold more than $3 billion in new homes and condominium products for developers and builder/developers. He has been broker of record for 16 rental conversions and marketing consultant in 29 lender workouts for major communities and condominium projects, a featured speaker at the National Association of Realtors, and chaired the Florida Home Builder Association's Sales and Marketing Council. In 2008 he was named a 'Lifetime Achiever' by Keller Williams Realty's International Division. You may contact him at or call him at 407.234.2349.