A few days ago I received a call from a gentleman in my marketplace who wanted to hire me to consult on pre-sale preparation of his home so that he could maximize his sale next year. He didn't want to get tied down to any particular Realtor or real estate agent just yet.
I am at a more "traditional" brokerage but to their credit, the guys who run it have been somewhat open to other business models - cautiously and in small doses. When I got the call for pre-sale help, I explained to the home owner that I thought I'd be able to assist but needed a clearance from my broker as that hadn't been on my radar since moving companies.
Long story short, I couldn't reach my manager too fast but told the potential client that we could do a one hour free consultation (my usual) and that if they wanted more we could talk about it down the road - after I got the green light. The green light did come, but it was a new concept for them (my company) to consider: getting paid for the work you do rather than hitching everything to a sale and a commission.
Yesterday I did meet with the future sellers, who are super nice and so is their home. They were thrilled to have a free 1 hour consultation and I did explain that in the future if they wanted more help they could pay me (and that I would reimburse them later if they hired me to assist them in selling their house). (My manager thought that my approach was "very very fair" and I agree.)
So it was a huge win on two levels:
- I got an opportunity because I am on the ACRE website
- This opportunity allowed me to present a scenario to my brokerage that they were willing to consider and eventually OK'd
It was a breakthrough for me that I can consult and charge for particular services. My manager wants his agents to expand the ways in which they can earn a living in real estate so he views it as a win, which it is. And it was great to be able to be found because of the ACRE website.