Entry by Charita Cadenhead

AR Post about charging a retainer fee

  5 Comments

I think you all will find this post very interesting and I hope our voices will be heard loud and clear in support of the retainer. Please comment.

5 Comments

Charita, I posted and hope others do too.

As I said in my AR comment:

it seems like so many in our industry might really like an idea but...

  • It's not the norm
  • No one else is doing it
  • I'll be at a disadvantage

How in the world will our industry change if we each keep waiting for "somebody else" to do it first? I wonder what would have happened if some brave souls years ago didn't start using an Exclusive Right to Sell contract. After all, before the ERS, open listings were the "norm". How in the world did buyer agency ever get started if brave souls didn't start offering it?

The answer is that it has to be presented to the consumer that appeals to their needs, not ours. Most good attorneys charge a retainer and I would not use one that doesn't because to me, that marks them as having valuable services. I'd be very suspicious of a professional who didn't value their time and expertise enough to make sure they got paid for it. Do we really want to continue competing with Free?

As the saying goes, there are two types of people in the world: those who wait for it to happen and those who make it happen. If we want to change our industry for the better, it starts with us.

Totally agree Mollie.  The funny thing is that real estate agents are always boasting about being abreast of a changing market and making sure that they are equipped to adapt to the fast paces changes. How can that be if they insist on being closed minded?

I will be talking a lot about the changing consumer in our next Skill Series: Consulting With Sellers. It's going to be a great session - ACREs make sure to sign up!

I just registered Mollie. Thanks.

Thanks for bringing it up Charita.  I too commented.  This is what should happen 400 times every time an article that hits the ACRE sweet spot is posted!!!!!!

This page contains a single entry by Charita Cadenhead published on October 20, 2011 11:04 AM.

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