The Full Fee Agent

1. Tactical Empathy: The Key to Real Estate Success

Tactical Empathy is the art of influencing others by articulating what they're thinking and feeling, without necessarily agreeing, disagreeing, or sympathizing.

Tactical Empathy revolutionizes real estate sales. It shifts the focus from explaining your value to making clients feel understood. This approach builds trust, reduces stress, and leads to better outcomes for both agents and clients.

Key elements of Tactical Empathy include:

• Labeling: Articulating the client's thoughts and feelings
• Mirroring: Repeating the last few words they said
• Proactive listening: Focusing all attention on the client

By mastering these skills, agents can create stronger relationships, close deals more easily, and build a sustainable business based on repeat and referral clients.

2. The Favorite or the Fool: Understanding Your Position

It's not a sin to lose business—it's a sin to take a long time to lose business.

Recognize your position quickly. When a prospect contacts you, you're either their Favorite (high probability of getting hired) or the Fool (low probability, just there for due diligence).

How to determine if you're the Favorite:

• They called you specifically and can articulate why
• You fit the profile of agents they've worked with before
• You connect emotionally with them
• The conversation is collaborative
• They're willing to commit upfront

If you're the Fool, walk away gracefully. This saves time and energy for high-probability opportunities, leading to a more successful and enjoyable business.

3. Building Trust, Not Explaining Value

Your only real value is the trust you build with a client.

Trust trumps value explanations. Instead of focusing on your track record, market insight, or pricing strategy, prioritize making clients feel understood and building a trusting relationship.

Steps to build trust:

1. Detach from the outcome
2. Listen with full attention
3. Use Tactical Empathy tools (labeling, mirroring)
4. Lay out options without pushing for a specific choice

By cultivating trust, you become an irreplaceable advisor rather than a commodity engaged in transactions. This approach leads to easier deals, happier clients, and more repeat and referral business.

4. Get the Elephants Out Early: Addressing Tough Issues

The reasons someone might not want to do business with you are more important than the reasons they do.

Address potential problems upfront. Instead of avoiding or sugarcoating difficult topics, bring them up early in the relationship. This builds trust and prevents issues from festering.

Techniques for addressing tough issues:

• Bracing: Say "I have some bad news" before delivering potentially negative information
• Accusations Audit: Articulate all possible negative reactions before sharing the news
• Silence: After delivering news, give the client space to process

By confronting challenges head-on, you demonstrate honesty and competence, strengthening your relationship with clients even when delivering bad news.

5. Put the Responsibility Where It Belongs: Empower Clients

Own your role as the trusted advisor. It's not your job to decide anything—only your client can do that.

Shift from problem-solver to advisor. Recognize that you're not responsible for outcomes, only for providing the information clients need to make informed decisions.

Key points:

• You have no decision power in the process
• Your job is to lay out options and likely consequences
• Let clients own their choices
• Detach from the outcome to provide better guidance

By empowering clients to make their own decisions, you reduce your stress and build stronger, more collaborative relationships.

6. Let Them Say No: The Power of No-Oriented Questions

People hate to say yes, but they love to say no.

Embrace the power of 'no'. Instead of pushing for 'yes' answers, use no-oriented questions to make clients feel safe and in control.

Examples of no-oriented questions:

• "Would you be opposed to...?"
• "Is now a bad time to talk?"
• "Are you totally against the idea of...?"

Follow up with calibrated questions (usually starting with "how" or "what") to prompt deeper thinking and reveal important information. This approach preserves the client's autonomy and leads to more honest, productive conversations.

7. Nail the Lasting Impression: Send Clients Away in a Limo

Send people away in a limo, and there's a good chance they'll come back.

Focus on the final impression. People remember the most intense moment and how an experience ends. Ensure every interaction concludes positively, even if you don't get the business.

Tips for creating a positive lasting impression:

• Practice Tactical Empathy consistently
• Avoid splitting the difference or chipping in to close deals
• Prioritize the client's emotional experience over the deal itself

By sending everyone away "in a limo," you increase the likelihood of repeat business and referrals, regardless of the immediate outcome.

8. Be a Full-Service, Full Fee Agent: Charge What You're Worth

At 6 percent, real estate agents are the biggest bargain on the planet.

Stand firm on your full fee. Charging 6% commission isn't about greed—it's about providing the best service to your clients and valuing your own expertise.

Benefits of charging full fee:

• Attracts clients who value your expertise
• Forces you to continually improve your skills
• Allows you to focus on high-quality clients
• Increases your income without working more

Use Tactical Empathy in commission conversations to address concerns and help clients understand the value you provide. Remember, people who contact you have likely already reconciled themselves to your price—your job is to reinforce their decision to work with you, not to justify your fee.

Last updated: August 18, 2024