Over the last week or so, I wrote a couple of posts relative to defending the almighty sacrosanct real estate commission.

I have literally spoken or corresponded with thousands of real estate agents and other than the usual talking points from the National Association of Realtors, I have not yet to date received any substantive response.

I have received legal threats, personal attacks and some of the most vile rantings one could imagine by simply asking a reasonable question. I have had many agents inanely compare themselves to trial lawyers who took on big tobacco. I even had one agent compare himself to a senator or governor. I did not ask for such comparisons. All I wanted to know was what do you do to justify charging a homeowner 6% commissions. I did not know it was such a hard thing to do.

I find it absolutely amazing when to me it is such a simple task. If a real estate agent is a professional, should it not be relatively easy to defend your commission? Well enough questions, let’s get this matter resolved for the number of agents who have responded with a request as to how I would defend my commission.

Along with the addendum I mentioned previously, I would do the following to defend my commission to the Seller and to let the Seller know I am not like most of the other agents they have come in contact with.

How Would I Justify My Commission?

1. I would only accept a listing in an area that I had definitive data on. I would want to know going in what I was up against. I don’t need to take any business just because someone calls and asks me to list their property. I would only take listings in an area that I know I can sell.

That means I would know the history of the area, days on market, fluctuations in price, ALLof the other closed, active and pending sales in the market for the last 6-8 months. I would perform the requisite CMA along with a trend analysis and Regression analysis on the market and be ready to utilize that information to properly price the listing I would accept.

2. When it’s time to execute the listing agreement, I would make sure that the client knows exactly what’s in store and what I am going to do. I would execute an addendum outlining and detailing EXACTLY what I will be doing to market and sell the property.

3. I would provide a comprehensive plan to the Seller and explain to them that no other agent will ever supply them with the information they are going to receive from me. I would give them all of the information obtained from our due-diligence.

4. In addition I would prepare a comprehensive marketing plan showing how I intend to spend a minimum of 15% of the expected gross commissions on marketing their property (for instance if it was a $500,000.00 property and the gross commission was 6% or $30,000.00, I would show them a plan wherein $4,500.00 would be the MINIMUM amount committed and spent marketing the property)

5. I would give them the log-in info to a website that would allow them to track and view the progress of the sales process with links to any additional pertinent information along with copies of all ads and invoices of any and all expenditures made upon their behalf.

6. I would also assign the client a representative from my staff that they can always contact for any questions they may have or special needs or requests.

7. I would give them an 800 toll free number that they can call 24 hours a day and get a live person who will answer which will also be the same 800 number I will advertise. No call will EVER go unanswered. (You never know who will see the marketing messages anywhere in the world in anytime zone and we need to be ready)

8. I would tell them and put it in writing that they can unilaterally cancel my listing for any reason if dissatisfied with my service or if they sell the property on their own. (My addendum would have a clause in the document allowing me to lien the property for reimbursement of expenses in the event of such termination)

9. I would provide the Seller with copies of any and all marketing materials to be used. If they are going to be marketing the property themselves then we should be marketing it uniformly so as to keep and maintain quality control.

10. I would ask for a right of first refusal to match any offer given to them that they find acceptable. With low price offers coming in you never know what a client would take at any given moment and if they are willing to accept a lower than expected offer, I want to be in position to step in and buy the property.

11. I would prepare and have available a verifiable resume or substantive Curriculum Vitae showing all of my prior listings. I would present a full history in report form showing all of my history as an agent complete with sales histories, DOM, SP v. LP, repeat buyers, properties I have bought personally, an explanation of all of the designations that I have and what they allow me to do on their behalf and references from other homeowners.

12. I would also include information relative to the traffic of my website and the websites to be utilized marketing the property.

13. I would provide the Client with a continuing education of the market and the industry via daily email updates.

14. I would visit the property either myself, or through one of my assistants a minimum of 3 times per week. Anything relative to the maintenance of the property or neighborhood issues I would include in the daily email to the client.

15. I would not conduct any open houses. None, never, they don’t work and are a waste of my time and a waste of the client’s time. Instead I would host RSVP tours of clients who have pre-registered on the website as wanting to see the property. I would have the event catered and I would bring in a professional stager prior to the RSVP tour.

I would then challenge them to find an agent who could provide a more comprehensive service. I think with the information provided to the Seller as outlined above, they would be hard pressed to object to my level of service or financial worth.

I would be willing to put in writing and stand behind it. I would leave nothing out of the agreement. It would state with great specificity what my marketing plan would be, what I will be spending and if I do not do as I say, the Seller can cancel my listing and go with another agent.

Do you think any Seller would balk at your fee with this kind of substantiation? Well there are some who will have a chip on their shoulder no matter what you do. I doubt you would have to justify your commission if you provided this level of service. Many agents I know already are doing things very similar to that what I have outlined and they are EXTREMELY successful.

I can’t give any guarantee if every house will sell even given this level of attention, but I can tell you the client will feel much better about the process and even if it does not sell your credibility will be greatly enhanced.

However, those agents that are merely in it to post a yard sign and enter a listing on the MLS are in for a lot of trouble.

Now…was that so darn difficult to do? Why could I not get any kind of substantive response from any agent? We’re in a whole new world people. Rhetoric and egos are not going to cut it. The market is changing and consumers expect more.

If you are not ready to deliver you may want to find another line of business.

[And no...I can't give you our marketing plan, it is proprietary]