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Two weeks ago, I posted this article: The Funnest Part About Being a REALTOR®. 

But it’s not all fun and games, right? 

The most frustrating part of the business for me is when I have no control over a situation.

It can be maddening when I know there’s a simple solution to a problem, but it’s not up to me alone. The other agent’s action (or lack of action) makes us both look bad to our clients, and often reflects poorly on the industry overall.

I’m painfully aware that there are certain times when it’s plain impossible to resolve a bad situation. However, I firmly believe that—most times—if I act proactively, I can mitigate stress and increase the likelihood of a successful conclusion.

mit·i·gate /ˈmidəˌɡāt/ – make less severe, serious, or painful.

1. Less texting – More talking

Texts and email are great for conveying information, but nothing beats a simple, friendly phone conversation to learn about your “opponent” during a negotiation. Everyone is different, so quickly gaining an understanding of the other’s communication style, experience, and skillset should be an essential first step in your strategy.

(You can become an expert at this by taking the Master’s Program or multiple other learning resources, not necessarily focused solely on Real Estate.)

2. Assisting the Inexperienced

When you’re negotiating with an inexperienced agent, they will rarely (if ever) admit that they’re unsure what to do. But of course, it’s obvious.

We all know that inexperience is the ‘blower-upper’ of many a good, solid deal. 

I deal with this by figuring out how to subtly help the other agent while consciously allowing them to save face. 

For example, let’s say they’re representing the buyers on one of my listings, and I’m nervous about how they might handle the upcoming home inspection.

One way I can mitigate risk is to redirect my concern to the agent’s clients, “Hey, between you and me, I’m a bit nervous about the home inspection because it seems like your clients are a bit young and inexperienced. I’m sure you do the same thing, but I always prepare my clients before the home inspection by telling them….”

Then, I give them a short summary of my standard ‘pre-home-inspection’ speech. For more information, read this post: The Simple Home Inspection Speech

By the way, I don’t just blurt this out immediately. By the time I get to this stage, I’ve already established a friendly and respectful rapport with the other agent, so my suggestion sounds like a continuation of our friendly dialogue.

Also, it’s entirely OK to convey this type of information over an email. There’s a time and a place for different methods of communication, but an email is perfect for conveying information that cannot be expressed in a few words, and doesn’t require any subtlety.

By sending this “suggestion” in a friendly, non-confrontational way, I’m “teaching” the other agent without making it obvious. They always respond with:

“Yes, I do that too!”

Whether that’s true or not is not important. If the other agent needed a little guidance on how to counsel their clients through a home inspection, then I’ve just helped them (and me) towards a successful conclusion to the transaction.

If not, no big deal. We’ve confirmed we’re all on the same page, and that’s a good thing. Sometimes, it’s just a good reminder to the other agent.

Describing your own version of The Simple Home Inspection Speech is just a single example out of hundreds of different scenarios where you can help an inexperienced agent while still respecting them and not drawing attention to their lack of knowledge. 

Taking the high road and fostering a dialogue based on mutual respect goes a long way towards achieving your end goal (a successful transaction) rather than belittling the other agent, which is 100% counter-productive.It all boils down to fostering a spirit of working together through excellent communication, with the end goal of creating a win-win-win-win for the buyer, the seller, the other agent, and you.

What services do you provide to your clients? Professional photography? A home-staging consultation? A weekly report/update?

These are all important, but there’s something more fundamental that is harder to define.

It’s your ability to stitch together a deal and make it stick.

This sounds obvious, but in fact, it requires a spicy recipe of tenacity, experience, and skill. To achieve consistent success, you need the best of all three ingredients! ‍

Honestly, when was the last time you did a deal where everything just came together easily, with zero problems from start to finish?

Sure it happens once in a blue moon, but typically, we’re working through small problems (and big ones) starting at the negotiation stage, getting conditions removed, and right up to the possession date. Even after closing sometimes!

If you’re a great agent, your clients are sheltered from many of your struggles. This is one of the big reasons the public doesn’t understand how much work goes into completing a Real Estate transaction. They see about 5% of what we do.

And let’s be honest; sometimes, it’s our own clients who are the biggest roadblock to success. Often, we need to draw on all our experience, skill, and tenacity just to keep them on track. 

How many deals have you seen blown up over a buyer or seller making an irrational, emotional decision?

You need to be the voice of reason, the psychologist, and the fixer. 

And don’t forget to check your own emotions at the door! Oh, I know. Sometimes you want to tell Agent Jerk-Face to take a flying leap and stuff his offer where the sun don’t shine.

But you’re a professional, right?

During my full-time career, I prided myself on navigating (almost) every offer through to a firm sale, even when the other agent couldn’t put together a deal to save their life. 

Sometimes I had to sacrifice my own ego and make an incompetent agent look good! I would stand on my head to stitch together a deal for my clients, whatever it took.

Let’s take a look at the three crucial ingredients you need to keep more deals together:

Tenacity

You’ve got a problem; you find a solution. Tenacity is an absolute must-have trait even to consider being a REALTOR®. 

Unfortunately, I see way too many agents give up way too quickly, “Oh well, nothing we can do!” 

Ugh.

Experience

They say nothing beats experience. I agree. And I disagree. 

There’s no doubt that you accumulate wisdom over time, usually by doing a lot of things wrong!

On the other hand, you can avoid many hard lessons by learning from others. 

After all, it’s not the experience itself that matters; it’s what you learned from those experiences. 

This brings us to the last and most crucial ingredient in the Recipe for Keeping Deals Together:

Skills

Every great agent has an extensive toolbox full of skills, and they know how to use them.

Some agents think they have everything they need in their tiny toolbox. But, unfortunately, if they can’t fix the problem with their crescent wrench, screwdriver, and hammer, the problem doesn’t get fixed. 

“Oh well! Nothing we can do!”

They’re dead wrong, of course. A great agent with a bigger toolbox could have fixed the problem, just as a skilled mechanic can fix a problem on my car that I can’t fix.

Tenacity and experience are essential. But improving your skills is where you will make the quickest and most dramatic improvement in generating more deals and keeping more of them together. 

Some ingredients are more important than others.

Do you remember when you were a new agent and how fun it was to be out with buyers looking at properties?

I still have that! Here are the two main reasons it’s so much fun for me:

1. I like people – all kinds, all ages, all walks of life – and I thoroughly enjoy meeting and spending time with them and chatting about all sorts of things, not just Real Estate!

2. I like looking at properties – all kinds – even the junkers! Sure, it’s amazing when we get to see a super-cool listing, but sometimes it’s great fun to laugh about the weird and ugly ones, too!

The truth is, out of ALL the different tasks we do every single day, there’s nothing I’d rather be doing than showing properties to clients whom I like and enjoy being with. It’s FUN!

If you don’t feel the same, that’s an awful shame!

I was talking to a newer agent the other day, and she was lamenting the fact that she had buyer clients who “just couldn’t make up their minds.”

I asked her how many properties she had shown them.

“Seven.”

Wow. Big hairy deal! This agent needs to change her attitude and start enjoying the experience. 

A little more discussion revealed that her main focus was to collect a commission cheque… As Soon As Possible.

I’m here to tell you if that’s your focus, your clients can sense it and you’re probably self-sabotaging. What you really need is a major attitude adjustment—not a commission cheque.

If you’re thinking, “Easy for you to say, Ted,” that’s a fair statement, especially if you are struggling financially.

But, bear with me, please. Continuing from the topic from the last two weeks – mindset – I’m going to repeat my favourite quote one more time:

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“Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value” – Albert Einstein

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Near the end of his life in 1955, this was advice that Einstein gave to a young man who asked him what he should do with his life.

What I take from that quote is that success naturally follows if you concentrate your energy on doing an excellent job for your clients (rather than chasing after commission cheques).

I’m not saying that you should just suck it up, and show your clients a hundred properties, and stumble around at their beck and call. ‍

That’s not being a person of value!

If you genuinely want to create value, you need to be willing to learn and master new skills around setting proper expectations, taking charge in a natural non-bossy way, using your time effectively, and guiding your clients through the process with effective systems and procedures, so they will feel eager to pull the trigger when the time is right.

If you’re a newer agent, try to adjust your mindset to learn something from every property you show, and every experience you have interacting with clients. This increased knowledge will pay off in the future, even if you’re not collecting a commission cheque right away.

I’m still learning every day. What about you?

Ted Greenhough,

Agent Skills, Corp.

For as long as I’ve had my Real Estate license, I’ve been hearing all about “the next big thing” that’s going to change Real Estate forever.

Mostly, it’s been about The Internet in one form or another and different technology companies figuring out how to make us obsolete.

Hogwash, I say!

I have not wasted a solitary second of my life worrying about this nonsense. Why you ask? Because technology can replicate tasks in a predictable pattern. But when was the last time you can remember two Real Estate deals going exactly the same way and exactly as predicted?

If you’re a great agent, you have absolutely nothing to worry about!

There will ALWAYS be a need for a highly skilled and knowledgeable Real Estate agent, one with a human brain and heart who possesses the ability to think through unique and complex problems and devise creative solutions.

On the other hand, if you’re average (or worse), go ahead and continue worrying.

“Average” in my market means you completed 5-6 Real Estate transactions in the last year. I’ve noticed this statistic is relatively consistent across North America.

The truth is the “technology threat” is real if you’re not providing something to your clients far beyond “average.” In fact, if you’re average (or worse), you’re the reason these threats exist!

The public is tired of paying thousands or tens of thousands for a service you are woefully unqualified to provide.

But, do my clients bat an eye when I tell them what I’m charging? Nope. They appreciate that they’re getting a highly-skilled professional to walk them through a complex process and one who has a proven track record of delivering exceptional results.

No robot will ever replace me or any agent like me.

So, stop worrying about things you have no control over, and start focusing on what you can control—improving your skills and becoming an irreplaceable agent.

Ted Greenhough,

Agent Skills, Corp.

“Word of mouth” is BY FAR the most effective advertising there is, and it’s FREE.

But WHY exactly do people recommend you? And, why not?

People recommend you because it makes them look good.

It means they have 100% confidence that you will provide the exact same level of exemplary service and results to their friends and family that you provided to them.

When people have this level of confidence, they will go out of their way—without being asked—to recommend you.

On the other hand, if there was even one tiny part about their experience with you that wasn’t top-notch, your chances of getting a referral diminish dramatically.

That’s because nobody wants to take the risk that you might make them look bad. Just a tiny bit of uncertainty goes a long way towards NOT getting referrals.

You can ask, but…

You don’t get referrals by asking. You get them by deserving.

You deserve to receive referrals when you provide an exceptional Real Estate Experience from start to finish. You continually improve your knowledge and skills and systems and procedures, and you focus on delivering the very best experience possible for every one of your clients.

If you focus your energy in this way, you will build a flourishing business with a never-ending stream of repeats and referrals. This is not only immensely personally rewarding, but it’s also the most profitable and efficient way to run your business.  

The secret is your mindset, as discussed last week in The Most Powerful and Enduring Business Philosophy Ever Devised.

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“Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value” – Albert Einstein

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When you provide your clients with the correct information at the right time, when you have proper systems and procedures, when you are proactive rather than reactive, when you know what to say and how to say it in different situations, you will dramatically improve the value that you provide to your clients.

When you do these things, success (and referrals) naturally follow.

Once you have the right mindset, Real Estate gets far easier and way more fun.

If you’re a regular reader, you’ve probably noticed something distinctly different about me compared to other Real Estate coaches or trainers. 

Here it is boiled down to the bare-bones core:

Almost every other trainer or coach teaches how to PURSUE business, but I teach how to ATTRACT business.

It’s a fundamental distinction because you cannot do both. Why? Because whichever choice you make, you need an “all-in” level of commitment to create real success.

I’m genuinely in awe of REALTORS® who have the discipline to “work the phones” for 2-3 hours every single day. I could not do it. 

But you’ll never hear me say that “working the phones” isn’t a legitimate Real Estate business model. It absolutely is! ☎️

It’s just not for me, and we’re all different, right?

I made a cold call once in my life, hung up the phone, and swore I’d never do it again. Instead, I figured out various strategies to ATTRACT business, primarily by adapting skills and systems I had acquired in my previous business career.

Some people think I had the advantage of a gigantic circle of influence when I started. Not true!

At the start of my career, I had zero clients and zero prospects. But I made myself busy studying what worked and what didn’t, devising and implementing new systems and procedures, and ultimately, transforming myself into a Real Estate Expert. 

Then I learned how to demonstrate my newfound knowledge. And, it didn’t take long to prove I was on the right path. Starting from nothing, I earned $590,000 in my second year.

I’m not saying it was easy. It wasn’t! In fact, once the snowball started rolling, the volume of business was overwhelming at times. But over the years, I learned more and more strategies on how to cope with a large volume of business, and more importantly, how to keep it coming, consistently, without ever chasing after a cold lead!

Throughout my career, I concentrated on improving my skills and adding new systems and procedures, constantly focused on creating excellent relationships and outstanding results.

Simply put, my success was based on the most powerful business philosophy ever devised:

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When you consistently deliver superior results and exceptional service, the business naturally flows your way. Word-of-mouth is BY FAR the most powerful and effective advertising there is. 

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So, how exactly does a person create an amazing word-of-mouth business?

There’s certainly no one thing, and I always tell people there are no magic pills. But if I had to name one over-riding principle, it would be this:

It’s the MINDSET of genuinely caring about delivering exceptional results to each client.

You can’t fake this stuff! Either you genuinely care, or you don’t.

If you do, then you will naturally take steps towards improving your customer service and results. And when you do that:

The commission cheques take care of themselves.

One more time, I’ll quote someone massively smarter than me:

“Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value” – Albert Einstein

By the way, if you don’t have this mindset to start with, I can’t help you!

Just as “making your calls” doesn’t work for every agent, neither does the Agent Skills Master’s Program. The prerequisite is the mindset described above.

To be more specific and give an example, check out last week’s RAM (Real Agent Memo) on how to massively improve communication with your listing clients: The 2-Part Permanent Solution to the #1 Complaint in Real Estate.

I strongly recommend you read that post one more time.

Now ask yourself: Have you ever seen this type of “in-the-trenches” recommendation from any other Real Estate trainer or coach? No?

And yet, it’s fundamentally important to your business, if you want:

• happier clients who feel cared for,
• more sales, and,
• more referrals. 

Admittedly, this single strategy on its own takes time and commitment to follow through, which is WHY you cannot do it if you spend 2-3 hours on the phone every day “prospecting!”

There are not enough hours in the day! So, as I said, you need to make a choice.

All it takes is a leap of faith to switch your focus from PURSUING business to ATTRACTING business. 

I did it, and there’s absolutely no reason you can’t, too! 

Work on your skills, and your systems and procedures. Take care of your clients. The money will come. I guarantee it.

What’s the #1 complaint that people have about Real Estate agents?

LACK OF COMMUNICATION 

“He convinced us to list with him, walked out the door with the signed contract, and that was the last we heard from him, until two weeks before the listing expired. Then, he called and pressured us to reduce the price and extend the contract. 

If you’re feeling a pang of guilt right now – here is the 2-part permanent solution to massively improve your communication with listing clients and – MAJOR BONUS – sell more properties and make more money.

Part 1. The Market Watch System

Set up every listing client on an auto-notification system to notify them whenever there is a new listing, a price adjustment, a conditional sale, a firm sale, etc. Make sure they can see ALL the information on every listing, including all the pictures.

If you’re in a large market, set up a broad set of criteria, so there are at least 50-100 active listings within a specified price range and geographical area. Your clients should be receiving relevant emails at least 2-3 times every week.

The main objective is to provide a big picture view of the market. Your clients need to be informed whenever a new competitor enters the market, drops their price, or successfully sells.  

The most relevant factor is the price — more so than home style, size, or age. As for the geographical area, if you need to add more surrounding communities to get your numbers up to 50-100 active listings, go ahead, even if the home styles are significantly different. 

Use your best judgement on the price range. For example, on a $500,000 property, I might start with a range between $450,000-$600,000. Then, I would fine-tune based on the results. For example, if there were a ton of clearly superior properties between $550,000-$575,000, I might adjust my upper limit down to $575,000 because $600,000 would be overkill. 

On the other hand, if the inventory just above $450,000 was total garbage (comparatively), I might adjust that lower limit a bit higher. 

We don’t want our clients thinking we’re comparing their property to junk! ️

On the contrary, we want the majority of the comparables to be superior to the subject property. I would justify this by stating, 

“We’re priced at $500,000, but it’s important to be aware of what a buyer could purchase at a moderately higher price. If buyers can get significantly more for a price that’s only 10% higher, that’s important information for us to know.”

Think about what information you want your client to see that will help them to make intelligent decisions. (For example, it should be obvious if a price adjustment is needed.)

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Providing your clients with the correct information allows them to make intelligent decisions.

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Here’s the most crucial advice for setting your Market Watch criteria: Take the time to look at the results and think about it from your clients’ perspective. Is this the most relevant and helpful information for them?

The more you practice this method, the better you’ll get at it, just like any other skill.

Setting the exact criteria takes practice, and you’ll use a different logic set for each property. If you like, give me a call (403)973-9730, and I’ll walk you through the first one or two.

Part 2. The Weekly Client Report

EVERY Monday morning (set this up as a recurring Appointment with Yourself), send an email report to each of your listing clients, based on the activity recorded in their ‘Market Watch’ from the previous week. 

Here’s an abbreviated version of what you might report to your clients:

a) New Listings — “There were two new listings over the past week. I’m not overly worried about New Listing #1 because it’s priced only slightly lower than your home, and I think it’s inferior for these reasons… 

As for New Listing #2, this one concerns me. It’s only $10K higher than your home, and it’s newer, larger, and has these superior features… 

I’ll be keeping a close eye on this one, but I’d be surprised if it doesn’t sell quickly.”

b) Price Reduction — “This listing dropped its price by $20K, making it much more competitive. I’ll be watching this one, also.”

c) Sold Listings — “These listings sold, and in my opinion, here are the reasons why…” 

(Don’t worry. At least 99% of the time, there’s an easily explainable reason. It’s bigger. It’s newer. It’s less money. It has these features that yours doesn’t have, etc. 1% of the time, you might need to dig a little deeper and craft a more creative response.)

d) Conclude with an honest summary (what you truly believe). For example, 

“Based on this information and the current activity we’re getting, I’m a bit worried that we may have been overly optimistic on our list price. I’m not suggesting that we make an immediate price adjustment, but if we don’t get any strong activity before the end of the week, this might be something we need to discuss.”

Why go to the trouble of writing this report every week? ‍♀️

Part one of this two-part solution means that your clients automatically receive the information on each new listing, price adjustment, and sale. But, they have NOT received your professional interpretation about what each new development might mean to them. 

Your clients will feel more informed and cared for (by you). After all, they’ve got an expert watching the market on their behalf.

At the same time, you are forcing yourself to closely monitor what is happening and what advice you should be giving to your clients. This is a good enough reason on its own!

Ultimately implementing this 2-part strategy means more sales, happier clients, and more referrals.

I once called a REALTOR® (let’s call him Joe Sloe) and got this recording, ”Hi, this is Joe Sloe. Please leave me a message, and I’ll return your call within two business days.”

Hahahah! Can you imagine?

Joe Sloe is long gone from the industry, by the way. Gosh, I wonder why!

In this day and age, people expect you to be a rapid responder. They’re sure as heck not going to wait around for two days to hear back from you.

The opposite of Joe Sloe is Desperate Dan. He’s the guy who answers his phone on the first ring in the middle of a business meeting, quickly realizes you’re not a hot prospect, and tells you in a snarky voice, “Hey, I’m in the middle of a meeting. Can I call you back?”

As if you were the rude one for interrupting his meeting.

Desperate Dan prides himself on being a rapid responder. His phone is constantly going off with alerts for emails, text messages, Facebook, and 17 other Apps, every one of which he checks immediately as if his life depended on it.

But Desperate Dan has a serious problem. He’s 100% distracted 100% of the time. He can’t even make it through a meal with his wife and kids without checking his phone. How sad is that?

Dan is also completely unorganized and never seems to make any progress on his giant pile of To-Dos. 

Maybe that’s why Dan is so Desperate (?).

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Here’s my message to you.

Don’t be Joe Sloe, but don’t be Desperate Dan, either.

Do I think you should be a rapid responder? Certainly! But within certain limitations that support your overall productivity. ‍

Here are a few simple rules that I follow. Perhaps they will inspire you to consider designing your own set of personal productivity rules:

Rule #1 – When I’m in any scheduled meeting, including an Appointment with Myself, my phone is OFF. 

Turning my phone off for one hour is completely harmless to my business. On the contrary, it’s the best thing to minimize distractions when I want to get stuff done. The only exception to this rule is if I’m waiting for a critical phone call to complete a deal.

Rule #2 – Except for phone and text messages, I’ve turned off notifications for everything else, especially (and most importantly) email. Email is rarely as time-sensitive as a phone call or a text message, but I still check it several times a day, on my schedule.

STOP allowing yourself to be constantly distracted by your stupid (smart?) phone. Who’s in charge? You? Or your phone?

Rule #3 – I purposely allow extra time between every appointment throughout the day to review and respond to messages. For more information on this, check out this recent post: How to Stop Being Late for Everything

Rule #4 – I follow a Morning Routine, which includes reviewing leftover emails from the previous day. By doing this consistently, I keep my inbox clean, and nothing ever gets “buried and forgotten.” First thing in the morning is the best time to do this “clean-up” routine before your day turns crazy.

If you create a similar set of rules, you’ll be astounded at your increased productivity. And guess what? You’ll still respond rapidly, most of the time. It will still be the exception when you don’t. Your clients won’t even notice the change.

It’s all about creating balance!

Last week, I talked about how to use a Points Per Task system with a business partner to support each other without having to share commissions.

This system allows you to get more done, be more flexible, and take time off more frequently; all without ever giving up a dime of your hard-earned commissions to another agent.

The key is finding a compatible partner, which sounds daunting, but actually, it’s surprisingly simple to get started. You can “try out” a “loose” partnership, and if it’s not working, end it and try again with someone else—no big deal.

On the other hand, if it’s going well, the sky’s the limit on how far you go with a partnership. For example, at one time, my business partner – Dave and I – shared the same CRM, the same assistant, the same listing presentation, and even the same office.

And yet, we never once shared a commission. We looked like partners to the outside world, but in fact, we were two individual agents who just figured out a great way to support each other, using the Points Per Task system.

So, how do you find a compatible partner?

One of the things that people worry about with a partnership is if their partner will put out the same effort for your clients as they do for their own. But Dave and I had the opposite experience. We both felt a strong responsibility to do a great job for the other guy’s clients; the last thing we wanted to do was disappoint our partner! 

I would go above and beyond to make absolutely sure that Dave’s clients received great care and advice from me, and he would do the same.

The point is that you and your proposed partner don’t need to be clones of each other, but you must have similar values and a similar work ethic.

To determine this, take it slow and easy, and get to know each other. You don’t need to even talk about the Points Per Task system or mention the word “partnership” until you are ready.

Instead, start with a weekly accountability meeting to discuss business and support each other in achieving your goals. This could be with anyone in your office that you feel might make a good future partner. Or, talk to your broker and ask them if they could recommend a good match.

You’ll learn a ton about the other person by meeting and chatting with them every week, and some of what you learn might not be from the talking!

For example, if I had a proposed partner who was late for every meeting or made excuses to change the date and time every week, I would end it and try someone else. For me, not being prompt and reliable are deal-breakers. For you, maybe it’s something completely different. The point is, get to know your partner well before you take the next step.

If it’s going well, go ahead and introduce the Points Per Task system and see if your proposed partner is interested. All you need to do is agree to whatever points are assigned to each task, which is completely open to discussion.

Many agents get hung up on the “points” part, but it’s almost always because they think too much in dollars and cents rather than in points. 

For example, would I go to all the work of researching and building a CMA for a property, do a full listing presentation, and sign the clients up to a contract, all for $1,000?

Not a chance!

But would I do all that work knowing that my partner would now owe me an equivalent amount of work later? You bet I would! 

Once you’ve started using the Points Per Task system, you must continue to meet regularly. You’ve formed the foundation of a partnership, which can lead to great things. But never forget, ALL great partnerships are built upon great communication.

If you’d like to talk to me more about the Points Per Task concept, feel free to contact me any time at 403-973-9730.

Last week, I talked about How to Create More Balance in Your Life using two strategies –  Appointments with Yourself and Creating a “Loose” Partnership.

The “Loose” Partnership is based on a Points Per Task System.

I created this system for the most basic of reasons—pure cheapness! 

I couldn’t stand the thought of paying other agents thousands of dollars in commissions just so I could take a few days off.

By the way, for those of you thinking I just make this stuff up on the fly, I don’t. This Points Per Task System is one of the systems I was able to earn between $590,000-$865,000 for 12 consecutive years (beginning in my 2nd year), all as an individual agent.  

But how can I say I was an individual agent and talk about my partnership at the same time?

Answer: I was indeed classified as an individual agent my entire career, but I had what I call a “loose” partnership for some of that time. This means my partner and I never had a formal partnership agreement and never shared a single commission.

We simply used a Points Per Task system to support each other. For example:

# Points Task

1,000 – List a property

1,000 – Negotiate a sale or purchase contract

300 – Attend a home inspection

200 – Show one property to a buyer

100 – Show a second property in sequence

50 – each Show 3rd, 4th, 5th properties, etc. (same buyer, same day)

There are many other line items for different tasks, but this gives a general idea of some of the things you and your partner might do for each other. Here’s how it works:

Partner A negotiates a sale on Partner B’s listing (while Partner B is away)

Partner A gains 1,000 points = +1,000

Partner B loses 1,000 points = -1,000

The next week, Partner B is back in town, and he shows two listings to Partner A’s clients (200 + 100 = 300 points).

Partner A loses 300 points (1,000 – 300) = 700

Partner B gains 300 points (-1,000 + 300) = -700

Notice how the total of both partners’ points always equals zero. This works the same with any number of partners. For example, let’s introduce Partner C, who joins the team and immediately signs up a listing for Partner A.

Partner A loses 1,000 points (700-1,000) = -300

Partner B stays the same = -700

Partner C gains 1,000 points = 1,000

The total still adds up to zero, no matter how many partners are added at whatever time. (You could potentially do this with an entire brokerage if everyone agreed.)

The idea is that you either owe points (you have a negative balance) or you are owed points (you have a positive balance). The partner with the highest positive balance always has the upper hand. 

For example, if Partner C (1,000 points) has buyer clients wanting to see six properties (500 points) on Saturday afternoon, he can ask Partner B to do it on his behalf, allowing him to attend to a different task, or take the afternoon off if he wants!

Since Partner B has the lowest point balance (-700) and assuming he is not booked up already on Saturday afternoon, he is obligated to agree to any request made by the partner with the highest positive balance. This way, the workload always balances out.

And here’s the best part: So long as you don’t let your points go too far negative, you ALWAYS collect 100% of the commission for your own clients, even while you are away on vacation and your partner is closing transactions on your behalf!

As for the points themselves, I find a good way to think about them is in equivalent dollars. This also makes it easy to correct a wide disparity that may develop over time. For example, let’s say Partner A and Partner B have the following points balance:

Partner A = (5,000)

Partner B = 5,000

As long as Partner B agrees, Partner A can elect to pay out the difference ($5,000) and bring both points balances back to zero. The final say goes to Partner B, who may prefer to keep a strong positive balance if he knows he’s got a vacation coming up, for example. Again, the partner with the positive balance always gets the final say. 

You might also agree that a payout must occur when any partner hits a negative balance of 5,000 or 10,000. You and your partner just need to agree to your own set of rules!

Does this sound complicated? I hope not because it’s actually incredibly simple. Maybe just read it over a couple more times, and you’ll see how easy it is. If you disagree with the points I’ve allocated, make up your own!

How do you keep track of the points? Easy; in a simple ledger. It takes mere seconds to record each entry, which adds up to ten minutes of work in an entire year. And, if you take the next step in your partnership and share an assistant, they could take over this simple admin task for you.

The “loose” partnership can lead to some great things. For example, at one time, my business partner (Dave) and I shared all the same systems, the same CRM, the same assistant, and even the same office.

We looked like partners to the outside world, but in fact, we were two individual agents who just figured out a great way to support each other.

Next week, I’ll talk about how to choose a compatible partner.