Here in Minnesota many of the agents including myself personally present our offers.
Especially in Multiple offer situations.
A few years back there was 3 of us chatting waiting to be called in.
When the agent came out one of the other agents, (a young lady from a large agency) jumped up and proclaimed to be first.
She came out with a smirk and told us...Good Luck, I have it in the bag.
The other agent went next and then myself.
I was in with the agent and the sellers for a longer time than the other two.
After they had no more questions I went outside with the others.
5 minutes later I was told to come back in and the other two we sent away. The young agent wanted to talk with the Sellers again, but the sellers said no.
I was told my offer was NOT the highest. But, If my clients would come up in their offer by $2500 they would accept it as written.
I excused myself old my client and she said YES!!
The sellers were happy.
But, why did they not take the higher offer of the other agent?
Because, she sat down with the sellers and proclaimed that her agency was the best in the area and that SHE personally had never lost a multiple offer bid.
The sellers were totally put off by her attitude and that is why they countered my clients offer with less money than the other agents offer. To them Professionalism was important.
So, are you losing out on multiple offers because of your agent? You may want to listen more closely to that person before you write the next offer.
William Feela - it is not a common practice here to present the offer in person.
You did a great job - listening to what sellers wanted. Your clients are lucky to have you as their agent.
I like you always present in person whenever possible.
Being cocky like that can get you knocked down to size.
Good morning again William and amen. Sometimes the arrogant shoot themselves in the head. Well done.
Unfortunately I have met far too many agents like this one, and have regretted accepting their offers right up to closing.
I came to this post because I saw that Vern Eaton re-blogged it. I don't know how I missed this the first time. Great lesson for all agents.
Agents have EVERYTHNG to do with whether or not an offer is accepted !
I've seen more than one agent get an offer rejected or lose a listing simply due to their arrogant attitudes.
Good morning William Feela ,
I'm so glad that Gabe Sanders re-blogged your post. It is not accepted practice to present an offer directly to the sellers here. However many sellers and buyers don't realize the importance of the integrity and professionalism of their agent until it's too late.
I was on a jury once that made it's decision based on the cocky attitude of one of the lawyers. Impressions can be very powerful!
Who represents you and how they present themselves can make or break your chances of success.
William- I am so glad that Gabe Sanders reblogged this. What a humble reminder that arrogance and cockiness don't always fool others!
William awesome post! And this is so true some agents simply do not represent their clients in a professional manner. It makes a huge difference.
And my oh my, do people talk. Thanks Gabe Sanders. And, thank you William Feela.
Yes, reputation goes a long way. Don't burn your bridges - best advice I can give you, because as we say in the southwest, there will be a day of reckoning.
Great advice William Feela - when you do this too many times, as Richard Bazinet /MBA, CRS, ABR said, reputation goes a long way. After a while the word gets around.
I can tell you that happens here too - in fact, the same situation happened recently (my client's Offer wasn't the highest either). And it's the same few names that you hear too, William!
It's sad that always being right and being a not-so-nice person costs your buyers in bidding wars, isn't it?!
Love that! Great post. Thanks for sharing.
I congratulate the sellers on their perspicacity! That agent would have been a nightmare! and congratulations on the sale and the feature.
People do business with people, and the old adage "you get more flies with a teaspoon of honey that a quart of vinegar" certainly applies to that situation. There are times when a bit of bravado or applied confidence can work in our favor, but if it crosses the line into arrogance, it's usually over.
It works the same in marketing; when I get a piece of mail at home from an agent who suddenly declares themselves an "expert" in my area and brags about production, it's a huge red flag. It reveals they are counting on uninformed homeowners who they think will be wowed by how great they say they are. Punt.
I get referrals and the buyer will say they want "an aggressive agent." Buyers may think the first agent is aggressive but look how that panned out! Great post!
Buyer agents usually don't present the offers in our market, but I can tell you that the seller asks a lot of questions in a multiple offer situation and a lot of times, they question the agent.
Hi William
It's rare to present offers here, but there are certainly ways to present an offer in an email in a way that can help win the acceptance. Attitude, as the agent, is not going to do it.
Jeff
Interesting post, yet few sellers would settle for less money because they disliked the buyer's agent, in my experience anyway. However, there are exceptions to everything and closing quickly is sometimes more important than waiting for more money and has nothing to do with the buyer's agent' attitude.
No two situations are the same. One needs to read the other side and adjust accordingly. In this situation, your way worked. In another situation, the aggressive agent's way might have worked. But I do agree that the majority of time, "Nice" seems to work best.
I'm glad it worked in your favor. We don't get to go "toe-to-toe" here with our offers, so in that respect, we have to anticipate the questions and concerns of the seller. It never helps to be cocky or over-confident.
So interesting! It's common there to take the time and present an offer to the seller and the listing agent? I've never done that. I could, it's just not a common practice here, even with multiple offers. Your buyers are fortunate to have you! I would have been turned off by a boastful agent as well.
Thanks for your post William Feela . SO true that attitude alone can make or break a sale.
Thanks for sharing!
Bruce
I love this post. I am reminded that people want to know "what is in it for me?"
We can spend too much time on pumping ourselves the other person get put off and we loose the deal.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Being confidently humble is always the best approach. Arrogance never goes over well. Great post.
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