I was getting ready to start a major project with a commercial building recently and was going to hire an attorney friend of mine to help me get the job done and to make sure I don't miss any details of the transaction. I knew I was going to have to pay him at least a few thousand dollars.
He offered to discount his rates because we have been friends for a long time. Normally I would take him up on his offer. But a few questions came to mind. Would that mean I would get mediocre service? If someone came in and he could earn twice what I am paying him, would I become second fiddle? If he discounted his service, which service would he exclude in order to save himself some money?
My attorney is actually one of the best in the county and is sometimes hard to hire because he is so busy.
Let's look at another example, let's say you have to file a lawsuit. You visit two attorneys and both feel you could win. One attorney says he charges $300.00 per hour. The other attorney says he will charge you nothing for his time and expenses until you win or settle the lawsuit. Which one would you hire?
The same goes for our services. Our clients don't pay us anything until the property sells. We put in hours and hours to make sure we position our clients' property on the market as best as we could.
If after your listing presentation your client asks you to discount your commission, you didn't do a good enough job in showing your worth as a local professional and you look like every other Realtor out there.
You have to have a presentation that is so compelling and so true, the commission doesn't even come up. After they sign, you had better be able to back up your words. In the 7 years of selling, I have never lost a listing to a discount broker.
