OK, so I'm embarrassed to admit, I'm an ACRE that still seems to do business the old fashioned way. I have presented the consulting option to sellers, and they've chosen the full listing package. However, I've truthfully been reluctant to ask buyers to pay up front. In one particular instance, though, I made the leap effortlessly when a person contacted me after they said they had read my column in a local rag. She told me she had some property in town that she needed to consider putting on the market and wanted to know what her options were. I told her what I would charge to do an analysis. She didn't blink and wrote me a check. This is the interesting part, I had assumed she had read my column on consulting and that she was expecting this. Turns out, she had only read a column I had written months ago on commercial real estate and had never heard of consulting, yet she was wiling to pay for my expertise.
I honestly haven't had the confidence to introduce the concept of asking for money up front when there are so many REALTORS in my town waiting in the wings to give it up for free. I've avoided what I had anticipated to be a difficult discussion until I thought the client already knew what was in store before they contacted me.
I've learned my lesson and I'm wiling to share. Anyone waiting in the wings to actually jump in and practice what's been preached, learn from me and NIKE. Just Do It.
Holly, it reminds me of FDR's famous pronouncement "All we have to fear is fear itself". What I hear from many agents is "how can they charge for what others give away for free" not understanding what you have learned: by respecting your time and skills enough to charge for them, your expertise rises in value.
Thank you SO MUCH for posting your experience on the Exchange. We've all been there Holly and by sharing, we all benefit. I'll bet there are other ACRE's that are discovering the same thing.
Mollie