Let someone else take the credit sometimes!



I had a deal that I was working on recently which got a little heated near the closing, because the closing was delayed because of some mortgage matters.  Additionally, there were a handful of questionable repair items and we weren't sure if the seller was going to get them cleared up in time or not.  I was the buyer's agent for the transaction.


There was a bunch of junk still left near the back of the property a couple of days before we were supposed to close, and I asked the listing agent about it.  The response from the seller was terse:


"That stuff was there when I moved in and I never did anything with it because I didn't use it."


Before I forwarded this to my client, I responded to the listing agent and told her that I was pretty sure that the buyers would want this removed before closing.  She later let me know that he did remove everything, so I was able to tell my client that it was handled by the seller after all (what a surprise!). 


I gave the seller credit rather than acting like I did something special, because it made the buyer feel better about the seller in this case.


A few years ago, I sold a $3.5 million home to some clients.  The inspector uncovered about $6000 worth of repairs that the buyers wanted to have completed by the seller. 


I got a call one day from the seller (not my client).  He asked me if I would be willing to split the repairs with him.  If so, he would sign off on them and I could simply give him $3000 after closing.  I agreed to his request in the interest of preserving my soon-to-be $105,000 commission check.  He promptly signed and returned the repair request.


I never told my buyer clients about that conversation, because I know that it would have upset them unduly and perhaps put the deal in jeopardy.  Rather, I let the seller take credit for being a generous nice guy who was handling things for them. 


In our business, much of our success is determined by our ability to communicate well, and to present information to our clients in a way that will not upset them. 


I would never advocate lying to preserve a sale, but there are times that I allow others to take the credit, mainly because it can go a long way toward preserving goodwill. 


Thanks for reading!


 

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