The relationship between listing agent and buyer’s agent can be a dynamic one. When built on mutual respect and understanding, working together can actually be quite powerful – allowing for results which are mutually beneficial and providing the potential for a win-win situation all round.
With 12 years’ experience as a buyer’s agent, I have built strong working relationships with real estate agents which have turned into hundreds of transactions and wins.
Here’s my take on why our partnerships can be so strong and also some tips to manage your relationship with buyer’s agents.
Both of us have the ability to grant the other “priority access”
The best working partnership between a real estate agent and buyers agent is when both sides understand what we bring to the table. We leverage each other for the benefit of our respective clients.
From my viewpoint as the buyer’s agent, I am bringing you clients who are committed to purchasing.
I don’t know if you know this but most buyer’s agents get paid a retainer up front – how’s that for commitment? We are not out to waste your time, give you the run-around or ghost you down the track.
We are presenting you with a hot lead, which potentially, could save you a significant amount of time and money in marketing and open home campaigns.
On the flip side of this, we are keen to build relationships with agents who are likely to give us preference when it comes to properties which have not yet gone to market.
Off-market real estate is increasing in its appeal. For a buyer’s agent, this means many of our clients have a particularly keen interest in this aspect of our services and are looking for someone who can facilitate access to these unadvertised properties.
Nothing speaks to advocates more than having built a relationship with an agent who is willing to provide an introduction to these properties before any public listing takes place.
We have done the heaving lifting when presenting our client to you
We will leave the transactional ‘selling’ to you with all the other unassisted buyers, but when it comes to our clients, we do the leg work for you.
We have sat with them and worked out exactly what they do and don’t want in a property, we have made sure that they know and understand their budget and that their finances are not going to be a hurdle. We project manage our client the whole way through so you don’t have to.
Tip: Honesty is the best policy.
Both the listing agent and the buyers agent have the same goal – we want our clients to close and walk away happy.
This being said though, a relationship built on trust is best for both of us so just be honest and don’t leave out any details.
At the end of the day, whilst we are not selling property, we speak your language. We can certainly see that not all properties listed are quite the diamonds they purport to be.
And with this in mind, our motivations are the opposite to yours – to assess the risks associated with any potential property, and to see if these still line up with our clients’ needs.
We will be transparent about any red flags we’ve seen for the property after our due diligence is done, so you know whether we are in or out. At the end of the day nobody likes having their time wasted.
Benefit = Referrals
As a buyer’s agent I continually get asked by potential vendors who the best selling agents are in the area. A buyer’s agents’ vendor advocacy service is tailored exactly around this; helping potential vendors wade through the real estate waters and help them recommend the right agent confidently.
A good buyer’s agent will work with you and the vendor through the whole process, so that the whole process is super smooth, making it easy for everyone.
We can also take difficult buyers off your hands! Now this is surely music to your ears, right? You know, those clients that have been on your lead list for so long, wasting so much of your time and never being able to make decisions? Those ones taking you away from the real buyers? Yep – we can take them off your hands.
We help these hard buyers get focussed to transact properly and make those decisions in a timely manner so you don’t have to.
Long-term partnership
We have relationships with the individual person, not the company and are looking to build connections with the selling agents; fostering a long-term relationship built on mutual understanding that will benefit the both of us in the future – helping to boost your reputation and integrity which we know are vital in your profession, just as they are in ours.
Communication is the key and remember, we understand you!
We are pretty much walking potential sales straight up to you on a silver platter.
When we are in a real estate downturn this can be a god send. In sales, no one likes anything better than a red-hot lead with loads of possibility to close. Communicate with us, let us know what you have on your plate and we might be able to help tick one thing off your to-do list!
A good working relationship is also all about touching base constantly. The great thing about the working relationship between selling and buyers’ agents is that we can chew the fat together without being in competition with each other.
We can have those really honest conversations that you may not be able to have with your agent peers. We are someone you can share your war stories, anecdotes and funny stories with and also vent to about those horror experiences.
Typically the area a buyer’s agent covers is much bigger than a selling agent’s patch, and so I often have really helpful conversations with agents about the state of the market.
Again, because we are on opposite sides of the equation we can give each other really helpful insights, without worrying about giving away too much.
In conclusion, the property world can be a minefield and a pressure cooker of an industry. If we work together with a mutual understanding of how we can benefit from each other, we can be super efficient and thorough in the best possible interest for our clients and vendors.
