A couple of months ago, I had the pleasure of selling a home that was not yet on the market, but had a “coming soon” sign. I called the agent, showed the home and my clients made an offer.
THAT is when Ms. Agent got her snot on. …First, lecturing me on the value of her listing. The first words out of her mouth were “Elizabeth, I OWN the upper end market. This is MY market and I know I priced it right. You need to tell your buyers to cough up”.
I had to laugh, literally out loud too! …That remark made me dig my heels in and negotiate all that much harder. I have done my share of business in “HER so called” upper end market and am very well aware of market conditions. I quickly reminded her that buyers determine the current market value homes and if we came to terms, great. …If not, there is another seller and another agent that would appreciate an offer from us. (We didn’t low ball, by the way).
What you say?
Ms. Snot continued to try and play chicken with me throughout the negotiations, insulting me to a point of which I would have taken my clients elsewhere, if I didn’t have their best interests in mind. …Nasty voice mails dripping with sarcasm, the whole nine yards. I knew my clients wanted this home, so I took my verbal beatings with a smile.
We are now nearing the closing date and the sassy behavior continues. I called her last week to tie up loose ends and was told “Elizabeth, I am on my way to the beach. I do NOT want to have to deal with this”. …I’m sorry…are you saying you won’t service your clients?
I have been verbally abused, talked down to, ridiculed and called all but stupid. …First, I am FAR from stupid. Secondly, this is NOT my first rodeo!!!
What has her attitude done for me?
I will go out of my way to NOT show her listings, knowing she will make it very difficult for my clients. Unless I feel it is a perfect match for my clients, I am steering clear.
I am going to write her a lovely thank you note after closing just to illustrate to her how different we are.
If I were sporting the same attitude that Ms. Smarty Pants was, I’d tell her to go pound sand and give her a few other words of encouragement! However, it is so much easier and takes much less effort to be kind, not condescending.
This negotiation and closing has been going on now for several weeks, and since that time, I competed with this agent for a listing in “HER Market“. MY sign is now in the yard, not hers. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it Ms. Personality 🙂 I hope she brings me a buyer. Ha!
We should always be respectful. As business professionals, it is our job to work towards a common goal…get the job done and do so while protecting our clients, whether buyer or seller. By acting disrespectfully of your fellow Realtors, you are doing a disservice to your clients…don’t you agree?
– Elizabeth
{ 1 comment }
Goodness! Tell us how you feel! Seriously though, I love it! Sometimes you just gotta tell it like it is. You are very even and fair minded, never insulting.
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