Communicating Your Value Proposition to Clients with Debbie Betolatti
Discover how to effectively articulate your value to clients in the competitive real estate market with Debbie Betolatti’s insights. Learn negotiation strategies and how to communicate your unique services efficiently.
– Debbie Betolatti shares her expertise on negotiating closing costs and adapting her commission structure for buyer’s benefits.
– Understand the importance of tailoring your services to meet buyers’ subjective and objective needs, and how to position them as part of your value proposition.
– Explore different fee models and strategies for real estate agents to provide added value and stand out from the competition.
– Find out how to address clients’ concerns about fees, compare real estate services to other professional retainers, and justify your pricing with confidence.
– Gain insights into the art of preparing and presenting your services, from asking the right questions to customizing offerings like a la carte services.
Nazar Kalayji [00:00:00]:
Welcome to this week’s masterclass, where Debbie. How do you pronounce your last name? Debbie?
Debbie Betolatti [00:00:03]:
Betta. Lottie. Nice irish name.
Nazar Kalayji [00:00:05]:
Bethelotti. I love it. So she’s gonna be talking about communicating your value proposition to clients, which obviously is pretty dang pertinent into this time of season that we’re in in real estate. She’s from where from?
Debbie Betolatti [00:00:17]:
I am from Atlanta, Georgia, and I used to be an instructor for Rennie, which is a real estate negotiating institute. So we specifically talked about values.
Nazar Kalayji [00:00:25]:
Well, fantastic. Excellent. Well, super excited to hear you today, and I think there’s a lot of value we can get from it. I was talking to someone yesterday that, a neighbor of mine that listed their home with somebody else, which obviously is always fun to experience. And we’re together, we’re talking, and he’s like, well, how’s this new lawsuit? You know, impacts. We’re talking and discussing it, and he just. There’s so much misconception out there. It’s pretty remarkable.
Nazar Kalayji [00:00:47]:
And so I think it’s, you know, our job, obviously, is in the industry to be able to continue to talk and let people know no, a ton has changed. Here’s how it’s shifting, and here’s how it’s going to benefit you ultimately as a customer, which I’m super excited about. So, Debbie, let’s take it away.
Debbie Betolatti [00:01:06]:
Well, hi, everyone. I’m really excited to be here with Nazar and with all of y’all. I am from Atlanta, Georgia. Well, I live in Atlanta, Georgia. I’m from God knows where. Right? I’m from everywhere. I’ve moved a million times. But the reality is I have been licensed since 1994.
Debbie Betolatti [00:01:22]:
My husband’s also licensed. My daughter’s also licensed. So it’s kind of an all in the family type of thing. Now, I’ve been licensed in Florida and in Georgia, and the main reason I want to state that is because I, obviously, we’re all from all over the place, and the situation that we all have in the air right now, the season that we are in, everybody has a little bit of a different challenge, because, for instance, in Georgia, we’re one of the 18 states that had a mandated buyer brokerage agreement. So for us, this should not be awakening call, a wake up call. For others of you that might be in a state where it’s not a mandated buyer brokerage agreement situation, you might have a little bit of some growing pains, shall we say. But I will tell you that when I first started, my husband and I first started, there was no buyer representation we were all sub agents and I do see a little bit of that coming back if we aren’t careful. In my opinion.
Debbie Betolatti [00:02:24]:
That is strictly my opinion, nothing that’s been out there said. But with that being talked about, there’s one thing that has never changed and that is communicating your value. If we were in a season from 30 years ago where there was absolutely no buyer brokerage and we were all working for the seller, we still had to communicate our value. What is kind of alarming to many is, oh my gosh, now what are we going to do? How are we going to get these buyers to sign a buyer agreement yet we’ve all been, or most of us that have been in the business for a bit have had to do that with listings. We just have to kind of change mind, shift change our mindset in the fact that, yeah, now you’re going to have a listing presentation for your buyer. You’re just doing the exact same thing. It’s just a little bit in the reverse. So we will talk about a couple helpful hints that might give you the ability to feel a little more comfortable.
Debbie Betolatti [00:03:24]:
And I would love to invite you guys in your chat to tell me why you are, if you are, maybe you’re not, if you are concerned or what is your pain points, shall we say, regarding what’s going on, regarding communicating that value proposition. Because, and throw it in chat. I’d love to see what you all think. Because what I find is that we are just concerned about getting that buyer brokerage agreement signed and yet we’re not as concerned about going to a listing appointment. Love it, Craig. I love seeing not concerned. That’s how we should be. But at the same token, I want to give you a couple real quick points before we go into the value proposition, which is you hear the terms discount broker, for instance.
Debbie Betolatti [00:04:10]:
And the discount broker is, first of all, there is what is a discount broker? We never had a standard, nothing’s changed. So how can you discount something that didn’t change? So nothing as to the NAR lawsuit is really a change, it’s just in how we are interpreting or how we are communicating it, because we know in real estate, effective communication is key. Right. And the only thing that is an absolute constant in real estate is what anybody know? Type it in chat if you do. Okay, we have a quiet crowd today, so the only thing that’s constant in real estate is change. Right? So we have to be aware of that. And I see what, what Karen had written in chat about. I’m in a second home market a lot of our clients are not actively looking.
Debbie Betolatti [00:05:06]:
They’re more of a three to five years. I get that. So we definitely have to see how to turn a passive customer to a client. And that may be a different communication and different class, but we will have that communication as well as the value. But what I will say is that the market should never control your business. I don’t care if the market is good. I don’t care if the market is fast. I don’t care if the market is slow.
Debbie Betolatti [00:05:37]:
Your business is controlled by your business plan. It’s all about how many conversations you have per day. I have been in markets that were what everybody called dead, and it was some of my best years. I’ve been in markets where everybody said we’re fast, and they were some of my worst years. It’s how you are controlling your business. Run it like a business, and you will have a business regardless of the market. People are always buying and selling, right? So when it comes to the value proposition, what I want you to remember is that there are two very important factors to the value proposition. One being subjective and one being objective.
Debbie Betolatti [00:06:22]:
So these are the general principles. When you’re crafting it, the subjective is basically the expectations. What are the buying expectations? What is, what they’re feeling is more of a subjective. Think the motion as subjective and think of objective as factual. If you have those two in place, as you’re creating your value proposition, that’s going to help you. One of the things with the value proposition that everyone seems to think is that a value proposition is your buyer’s guide, right? Sure, you can communicate your value proposition in your buyer’s guide, but your buyer’s guide is kind of synonym to synonymous to your listing presentation. But your value proposition has to do with so much more because people see you and perceive you as how you present yourself, right? Think of those Stanley Cups. We’ve all seen those Stanley cups and heard about those Stanley Cups everywhere, right? The coach purses.
Debbie Betolatti [00:07:35]:
There’s a perception of value, right? And as I’m moving forward, I want you, I invite you to tell me what you think a value proposition is. Put that in chat, if you could. But as I’m saying that, I want you to know that the Maslow. Have you ever heard of the Maslow hierarchy of needs? Anybody? That is huge and nobody really equates it to real estate. But if you think of the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, there are specific needs that actually equate to real estate and to the home buying process, right? We have the physiological needs, which represent basically your home, your housing. We’ve got the safety needs, which basically represent your security, your. You know, it’s near schools, things like that. And then the love and belonging need.
Debbie Betolatti [00:08:29]:
That represents the sense of connection. I want to be near my family. I want to be near my kids. I want to be near my friends. And then you have esteem, which is the achievement, the accomplishment, the recognition, as well as the self actualization. I actually did this and I have them. I was able to accomplish financially. That’s all great.
Debbie Betolatti [00:08:54]:
So with that being said, think about the needs. And we always talk about we’re going to meet with our buyer, right? And we’re going to have ask them their wants and their needs. And everybody does that here, probably. Right? When you meet with a buyer. Yeah, we want, what are your wants? What are your needs? What are your must haves? What are your deal killers? That’s all great, but that’s where I keep bringing you back to the subjective and the objective. There’s so much more than just those needs that we think of. Think of subjective and objective as you’re thinking these through. Why do you want to move to that district? Why do you want to actually create that home at that area? Let’s find out the subjective and the objective.
Debbie Betolatti [00:09:47]:
Now, when we communicate a value proposition, we’re obviously thinking of what do we have to offer? Why did Nazar’s neighbor go with the other guy? Not him? No, I’m just teasing you, Nazar. But there is that. Right there is that. Well, sometimes it’s, I don’t want to be. You’re my neighbor. I don’t want to not like you afterwards or whatever. There’s always something. So we have to be prepared for those objections as we’re creating our value proposition, we want to find out what your value is.
Debbie Betolatti [00:10:19]:
If you have ever seen what the NAR surveys and actually several other surveys out there are, where do you think we as realtors or real estate agents stand? Anybody know down? Right? We don’t stand very high. We stand right there with the used car salesman. That’s sad to me. That’s really sad to me. For those of us that are here improving our businesses, we want to be up there. We don’t want to be down there. Right. Lower level is never good.
Debbie Betolatti [00:10:51]:
So with that, we want to communicate our value. And what do people want? They want an agent that they like, that they trust, that they want to do business with. They want to make sure that that person is the right person. But do you know that they actually want somebody that makes them feel good, that makes them feel important. And with that, if you think of the famous saying that Maya Angelou said, people will always remember not what you said, but how you made them feel. Feel. And we tend to look at that value proposition as just, I can offer you drone photography, I’m thinking listings in that sense, or I can offer you access to every home. I want you to kind of think outside of the box.
Debbie Betolatti [00:11:47]:
What can you offer them? You. What do you as a person have that is different? They have to weigh the benefits versus the cost. So what do you have that’s a benefit? Why would you buy that Tesla versus that Honda? Why would you buy that coach purse versus the other? It’s the perception of the benefit. It’s the benefit versus the cost. What benefits set you apart? Showing all the houses in the MLS, does that set you apart? No. Right. So I want you, and invite you to think of it outside of the box. Back in the day, 30 years ago, we did not have a million choices.
Debbie Betolatti [00:12:40]:
Not every home was in the MLS because it was literally, I don’t know if anybody’s been licensed as long as me, but it was literally a book that we had to go through and find those homes. And if we advertise something, it was outside. We had to literally have to advertise it. And by the time it came out in the magazine, it was off the market. So. And Nazar, interrupt me at any point in time, I saw you take your, your mic off.
Nazar Kalayji [00:13:14]:
No, I just, like, I wanted. My personality type is trying to like, you know, hear what you’re saying and I’m like, okay, what’s, what’s the bullet point? Like, what is the, because before you’re right, the thing was that we actually find you the home.
Debbie Betolatti [00:13:29]:
Right.
Nazar Kalayji [00:13:29]:
And that no longer is the value that we bring to the table because they most time will go online and find it themselves.
Debbie Betolatti [00:13:35]:
Absolutely.
Nazar Kalayji [00:13:36]:
So aside from, like, really diving deep and finding out what their hierarchy of needs are and what their true motivation to make the move is, you know, because obviously that isn’t in itself a skill set to be able to, to be able to, you know, talk to somebody and ask those questions, but how do we turn around and say, okay, well, if I’m going to articulate my value, because there’s a difference between me saying, hey, I will show you homes, I’ll write the offer and I’ll ask you these warm and fuzzy questions, and I wanted to charge you 4% versus someone says, well, I’ll do all those things. And I’ll charge you two because people are going to be interviewing just like they have interviewed in the past for listings. And so if you’re going to be going against another agent, what is your value proposition going to be? And is that going to be tied to your experience? Is that going to be tied to, what are those things? Like, if you were to.
Debbie Betolatti [00:14:20]:
Thank you. No, thank you. No, that’s exactly. Thank you for guiding me there. That’s exactly where I was going. You have to weigh those benefits versus that cost. So in essence, Nazar, what Nazar is saying is exactly listing what makes you different. So if, for instance, who here has had a career besides real estate? Probably everybody, right? Yeah.
Debbie Betolatti [00:14:44]:
So, like, what I would answer that, Nazar, is think about the skillset that you have. I’ll give you an example. Prior to real estate, I was an actor. So with that I have the ability to communicate or my husband was a lighting director, so he has the ability of photography. So what I’d like to encourage you, and I have an actual formula. So basically with that, you would give them the, I want you to list everything you’ve ever done, the skill sets that you have.
Nazar Kalayji [00:15:18]:
Ooh. Can we, can we take a different approach? Yes. Why don’t you tell me if we were in my kitchen table and started to do this, but like, you know, let’s, let’s role play for a second.
Debbie Betolatti [00:15:30]:
Yeah, absolutely.
Nazar Kalayji [00:15:31]:
Because really, like this is something that is freaking out agents.
Debbie Betolatti [00:15:35]:
Yes, you’re right.
Nazar Kalayji [00:15:36]:
It’s making them really scared because I don’t think they put enough it attention and mindset or, you know, put a lot of energy into what is my value proposition. So if you were on my, my kitchen table and I’m looking at buying a home in Atlanta and I say, hey, Debbie, why should I hire you? I want you to go and role play that with me. Tell me all the wonderful things about.
Debbie Betolatti [00:15:58]:
Why that’s a great idea. I love it. So. Yes. Hi, Nazar. Yeah, you’re as far as why you should hire me above all others. First of all, I’m going to explain to you that, Nazar, I have 30 years of experience. My experience has brought me through every type of market out there.
Debbie Betolatti [00:16:15]:
So I am going to make sure that your home value is upheld based on the actual value, not what I can do for you because the home isn’t going to change. Of course. And I, and I’m sorry, I’m thinking out, I’m thinking, as you’re saying this, Nazar, but what the main question people are going to ask you is, will you negotiate your commission? Right.
Nazar Kalayji [00:16:36]:
Well, no. I mean, initially, I just want to know what you’re going to do for me. Like, I.
Debbie Betolatti [00:16:40]:
Okay, so I would give you.
Nazar Kalayji [00:16:42]:
So tell me, what are you going to do differently to help me? You know, like, you know, now that. Now that I’m carrying the cost of the commission, I’ve decided that I’m no longer going to use my uncle Bob, who has sold a couple houses his lifetime, and he does it part time. Like, I really want to really find the best agent. So what are you going to do differently, Debbie? How are you going to help me? Obviously, I already. I’m already on Zylo. I look at homes for sale and, you know, like, I already know which ones I want to see. So, like, aside from opening the door for me, what do you do?
Debbie Betolatti [00:17:18]:
So, Nazar, I would ask you questions. I would ask you. Hey, Nazar, is it important for you to know what the planning and zoning of this area is? If there’s any changes, I would ask you that question. Is it important.
Nazar Kalayji [00:17:30]:
Don’t ask me or don’t pretend you’re gonna like.
Debbie Betolatti [00:17:32]:
Actually, no, I’m asking you. I’m asking you, Nazar, is it important for you to know the planning and zoning of this area, if anything, if any changes or any upcoming development is happening?
Nazar Kalayji [00:17:42]:
I didn’t even think that that was something I should be concerned about.
Debbie Betolatti [00:17:45]:
Oh, always. Because you never know if something might change and it might go from residential, commercial, commercial to residential. You just never know. There might be some. Some building happening. Is that important to you?
Nazar Kalayji [00:17:55]:
I guess it would be, yeah.
Debbie Betolatti [00:17:57]:
Okay. And is it important for you to know the history of the home? For instance, if there are certain repairs that may have been done that might impact the future of the home?
Nazar Kalayji [00:18:07]:
Yeah, but, you know, isn’t that what, the home inspection score?
Debbie Betolatti [00:18:10]:
Possibly, but we want to also make sure that we do every research possible because they don’t always catch everything. And let me ask you something else, Nazar. Is it important for you to be aware of the true comparables and the. And the values of this home based on the recent sales?
Nazar Kalayji [00:18:28]:
Yeah, no, that’s important to me.
Debbie Betolatti [00:18:30]:
Okay. And also, is it important for you to know if there’s any offers on the table, if I’m aware of them?
Nazar Kalayji [00:18:37]:
Well, I mean, multiple offers.
Debbie Betolatti [00:18:40]:
Would you. Would that be important to you?
Nazar Kalayji [00:18:43]:
Yeah, but, I mean, won’t most agents do that anyway? Like, won’t they find out?
Debbie Betolatti [00:18:47]:
Not necessarily. Because what’s going to happen is if you choose to go to the listing agent, for example, they might. They are representing the seller. So you would have zero representation if you go straight to the seller’s agent?
Nazar Kalayji [00:19:00]:
No, I wouldn’t do that.
Debbie Betolatti [00:19:01]:
You wouldn’t do that. Okay, great. Now, why would you choose a different agent if they’re not going to give you all that information and you’re thinking every agent is going to do that? But they don’t. They don’t all research everything. With my experience, I know what to look for. If it’s a new agent, they might not necessarily know to ask the right questions. So that would be one of the. That would be some of the reasons that I’m explaining to you, Nazar, that I am the right choice.
Debbie Betolatti [00:19:26]:
The other thing is, I’m a certified negotiating expert. So is it important for you to be negotiated? Offer the best price possible?
Nazar Kalayji [00:19:36]:
Yeah, obviously, I want to be able to have a bulldog that’s going to fight for me.
Debbie Betolatti [00:19:39]:
One bulldog is my middle name. So with that being said, you can’t have. Well, it’s actually pit bull. But with that being said, you can’t really just trust a brand new agent without knowing their experience with the. With all the homes that I have sold. Over the course of 30 years, I have seen every possible issue with financing. And that’s another question, Nazar, is it important for you to be sure that the buyer that actually writes the offer that you. I’m sorry, you’re the buyer.
Debbie Betolatti [00:20:06]:
I see. I keep turning myself around. As a listing agent. Is it important for you, as a buyer that I’m aware of all the possible pitfalls when it comes to writing an offer as well as your lending process? Would that be important to you?
Nazar Kalayji [00:20:23]:
For sure.
Debbie Betolatti [00:20:24]:
Okay. So then what I actually have is a service questionnaire. I have them actually answer a set of 16 questions similar to the ones I just asked you. Once I’m done with that. That’s why I explained to them, if you’re. If you’re not willing to sign my buyer representation agreement, I can’t do any of those things for you. So in order for me to do that, I need to do that, I need to have you sign that buyer brokerage agreement. And I, of course, have a resume.
Debbie Betolatti [00:20:51]:
So in order to communicate my value proposition to you, I have a full resume. I have what’s called a one sheet that has a little bit of my bio. I have the items that I offer, such as my negotiating expert skills, as far as my 30 years experience, as far as my knowledge or the ability some you have to decide what your above, above average values are. So if you’re in an area that you’re an expert in one area, you’ve grown up in that area, things like that, you can add those to your value and then, of course, proof in the pudding. And what I mean by proof in the pudding is your testimonials. So I have one sheet that has all of that. And so in order to do that, the. The ability to say all those things are the big issue with the value.
Nazar Kalayji [00:21:42]:
Well, so, Debbie, I appreciate everything you said, and obviously, I want my agent to be able to do all those things you mentioned. Let’s talk about the fee. What are you gonna. What’s your, what’s your commission? What are you gonna charge me?
Debbie Betolatti [00:21:53]:
Absolutely. So my compensation, first of all, I invite you to stop using the word commission, everyone. My compensation. I am going to the way I’m gonna show it to you and I’m gonna role play with you again, nazar, how I would present it in real, real life, Nazar, time. So, as we’re doing our buyer consult, because our buyer consult, I’m not going to show you anything until I have a buyer consult. So I’m going to have my buyer consult with you and my buyer consult with you, nazar, I’m going to explain to you. These are the items that you’re going to need to come up with, right. You’re going to need to come up with your five or ten or 20% down payment.
Debbie Betolatti [00:22:25]:
Whatever our lender has, you’ve decided to go with. And then along with that, your closing costs are going to be somewhere between seven and 9%. In those closing costs, we’re going to have your origination fees, your doc prep fees, your transaction fees, your admin fees, my representation fee, and that’s going to come out to x amount. So if you see what I did, I just added my representation fee right into those closing costs. So that is what they’ve already expected. Now, when they say what you know, I’ve included, this is what I’m doing. It’s going to include the doc prep, the transaction fees, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. I’ve given them a bulk amount and they’ve already been prepared to pay, if that’s what it takes.
Debbie Betolatti [00:23:11]:
Now, when we go to negotiate, I’m obviously going to negotiate the closing cost as much as I can through the seller and in a real case scenario that I can give you. I gave a buyer the ability to see all that. I told them it’s going to be $35,000 that’s what you need to come up with. So that was from closing costs as well as the representation fee, et cetera, et cetera. And then I went to negotiate. By the time I was done negotiating, buyer ended up coming in with 21,000. They were very happy, but they expected 35. So, again, if we can go back.
Nazar Kalayji [00:23:48]:
To rope thing real quick, um, what. What’s your fee? What are you gonna. What do you charge?
Debbie Betolatti [00:23:53]:
So my representation fee is going to be 3% in this particular case. So the. My representation is 3%. It’s part of that seven to 9% that I just gave you.
Nazar Kalayji [00:24:06]:
Okay. Well, I mean, the challenge is, this is my first time buying a home, and I’m doing an FHA loan, which I’ve already been approved by Marty. Gonna have to come up with three and a half percent there. The lender I talked to, he says that my lender fees are going to be about one to 2%, depending on if I want to buy down rates. Sure. And then I’ve heard from another agent that I talked to that there’s going to be another one or 2%, you know, an escrow title of additional fees. And so, like, I just. I really don’t have an extra 3% to, you know, to pay you.
Nazar Kalayji [00:24:39]:
And so I’m just looking for. Just being completely candid with you.
Debbie Betolatti [00:24:44]:
Absolutely, Nazar, and I totally understand that. But, you know, the beauty of FHA, we can ask the seller to pay up to 6% in concessions. So what I’m going to do is, once we get to that point, I’m going to be requesting from the seller that he or she pay that 6% in closing costs, which entails even an additional gain for you because you were already expecting to pay 3% of your closing costs. I’m going to actually request that six. And I’m a strong bulldog, so I’m going to do my best to get you that 6%. So, in essence, you’re going to end up paying 3% less than you expected. How’s that sound?
Nazar Kalayji [00:25:21]:
Yeah, I appreciate that. Okay, let me think about it. I’ve got another agent I’m going to interview, and then.
Debbie Betolatti [00:25:28]:
Absolutely, Nazar, let me ask you something. As far as you interviewing another agent, did they already give you some updates as to what you’re going to have to pay them?
Nazar Kalayji [00:25:37]:
I haven’t met with them yet, so. First meeting with you, so.
Debbie Betolatti [00:25:40]:
Well, I will tell you something, Nazar. I am even willing to remove my retainer fee. I know I’m going to shock you. Guys, with this, I’m willing to remove my retainer fee as long as you go ahead and sign right now because I want to get started and get you closer to those children of yours that you told me you want to be close to.
Nazar Kalayji [00:25:59]:
I don’t know what retainer fee are you talking about.
Debbie Betolatti [00:26:02]:
So we do have a retainer fee. That is a beautiful thing because at the $1,000 that you’re going to provide me right now, that’s going to be credited back to you at closing. And at closing, you’re going to be able to see that as a credit. But in order for you to be able to get that thousand dollars, I’m sorry, that thousand dollars is going to be shown as a credit to you at closing, but that enables me to work solely for you for the next two weeks. So that is part of your closing costs. You’re not going to see it as a hurt. And we went kind of backwards, Nazar, but what I’m saying is I’ve been charging a retainer fee and that is credited at closing. I’m going out of my role playing.
Debbie Betolatti [00:26:45]:
Obviously, we put that into the closing cost. We give it to them as a bulk. We’ve been doing this for three years. We have not had any issues. And they love it because I represent them as a actual agent. I explained to them, if you go to an attorney, do you pay a retainer fee? You absolutely do. If you go to a doctor, you’re paying. You’re signing something from day one.
Debbie Betolatti [00:27:08]:
There’s no hesitation. So I give them, when I’m sitting with my buyer at consult, I give them the ability to either just go ahead and sign or to pay with a retainer fee. And that way that money is kind of held in that for them till the day of closing. They actually have asked me to do that in the past because it gives them the ability to not spend the money if they choose, if they are concerned, they’re going to spend it. But the retainer fee enables you to be presented as a professional, and I have that, of course, all in a packet. So when they see that, they’re not concerned, I have not had any hesitation getting a buyer consultation signed in three years. So with all that. But when they.
Debbie Betolatti [00:27:54]:
And then when they ask about the other agent, almost always the question, and that’s where I thought you were going to go, but I just want to present it just in case is the other agent said I wouldn’t have to pay them 3%, right. You always get one of those. And the answer to that should always be absolutely. I understand there’s other agents that’ll do that. But the reality is, if an agent is so quick to, to negotiate on their own value, how good are they going to be in negotiating the value of the home that you want to buy?
Nazar Kalayji [00:28:25]:
What I love about that is it’s exactly what you would say when you’re talking to a seller. Right?
Debbie Betolatti [00:28:29]:
Like, no different.
Nazar Kalayji [00:28:30]:
Yeah. And, you know, for, just to be clear, for everybody, we’re not saying that 3% is the benchmark, right?
Debbie Betolatti [00:28:38]:
Definitely.
Nazar Kalayji [00:28:39]:
The concession, the expense, whatever you want to call it, that you charge is completely, entirely up to you, your brokerage.
Debbie Betolatti [00:28:47]:
And, like, and always has been.
Nazar Kalayji [00:28:49]:
It always has been and will continue to be so and so, like, you know, what you choose to charge is going to be predicated upon the value they bring to the table. Right. There’s going to be some agents that don’t have a lot of value. And so the only value they can bring is to say, well, you know, my fee to use only going to be one and a half percent or 2% or whatever that. Or maybe it’s just a flat dollar amount. Right. And so you can start seeing that. You can start seeing maybe different types of, you know, companies out there that, you know, charge by the hour or all kinds of weird things.
Nazar Kalayji [00:29:17]:
You’ll see all that kind of play out and see what sticks. But at the end of the day, I think most people like the fact that there’s no, you know, expense unless they actually move forward with a purchase. Right. If you hire an attorney, you are going to play a retainer, and if they start, you know, working for you, they’re going to, you know, use it, go pay off, or the retainer is going to use to pay off their, their hourly rate or their, you know, whatever rate. So I don’t know. We’ll have to see how that goes, but. Okay, so let’s go back to some of these values that you mentioned, which I really like. I love how you say, is it important for you that that’s a great line to be able to start with? Because obviously the answer should be, of course.
Nazar Kalayji [00:30:00]:
And I loved, you mentioned a couple of things that I was like, I don’t even know what that is. I didn’t know to even ask for that. So what that does for me as a consumer is it tells me, shoot, there’s things that I don’t know. And this lady is the one that’s bringing it to my attention. And so, and the other person I met with mentioned none of that. And so that concerns me. Right. So anytime we’re able to truly create value and express this before in another session or another group, I was like, we take things for granted.
Nazar Kalayji [00:30:33]:
The things that we do that are second nature tests because we just have done them for so long that we don’t think about that as our value because we just do it. But this is the time in which every single agent really needs to look at the process of helping a buyer buy a house and all the things that we truly do for them and the things that you do that are unique to them. And then you got to put that on paper so that not only can you share that with them on paper in a buyer broker agreement or in your buyer presentation, but also then be able to articulate that value to the actual buyer. And then for those that are brand new or newer and don’t have the 30 years of experience that Debbie may have, I think there’s other ways in which you can use the value of your brokerage, the value of the team that you may be associated with as a way to say we have instead of using I statements, because that could also create that foundation of credibility when you’re talking to a prospective buyer and the things that you and your team do for their behalf. Debbie, what else do you have for us?
Debbie Betolatti [00:31:42]:
Just real quickly, always focus on their needs, on the client’s needs, not yours, obviously. And clearly detail what you have to offer that sets you apart, just like Nazar just said. Think of the things that set you apart. Write a list. I’ll send Nazar. If you want to copy whatever you want on that Nazar, I’ll send you a file with my PowerPoint where at the. At the end, it actually shows what I like to see as a value proposition in writing. And just focus on them, because too often, we’re focused on what we think, just like Nazar said, the normal things, and we have to remember what is their needs.
Debbie Betolatti [00:32:21]:
And my biggest thing that I would like to tell you is, again, like I began with objective and subjective. Also often, like Nazar and I, role play, but we don’t really know the motivation. If I know the motivation is to get near the grandchildren. Hey, Nazar, I want to get you closer to your grandchildren. You know, use those emotions to understand where those needs are coming from, rather than just the house. So that’s. That’s really a biggie. And just give yourself the value.
Debbie Betolatti [00:32:50]:
Don’t be scared if you’re new. Just like Nazar said, your team, you’ve got a team, no matter who, even if you have a receptionist, you have a team. So just keep that in mind and think outside the box. A la carte issues, a la carte services, things like that.
Nazar Kalayji [00:33:08]:
I love that. I really believe that this is going to create opportunities for those agents that can take the time and pivot instead of just being blindsided because you are going to experience that where you’re going to meet with somebody and they’re going to say, hey, I’m interviewing. That’s going to stress you out. And if you’re not prepared and if you don’t come in there confidently expressing your value to them, then guess what? Like if you say, well, my values are, I’m always available, I hear that sometimes I’m always available. Well, what if you’re not, right? If you tell me you’re a 24 hours agent and I call you at 10:00 in the evening and you don’t answer my call, then you have set this expectation that you’re not going to be able to meet. And that’s going to frustrate me, right? If I call you at one in the morning because I’m a late owl and you don’t answer your phone or you don’t answer your text until five in the morning because you’re an early bird, that’s going to frustrate me. So really know what your true value is and what you’re willing to say and what you’re willing to do because over promising and under delivering is going to be the biggest way to be able to get yourself shot in the foot because it’s going to make them really frustrated and it’s going to make them want to, to cancel that contract that they have with you. I think that you need to be honest and sincere about your true value and really internalize what that is.
Nazar Kalayji [00:34:31]:
And hopefully, if you’re in a team setting, in a team setting, talk about it, or as an individual, get into other groups, get on masterminds, talk about, hey, what is your value? What is mine? Can I steal some of that? Can I do this? Because if you rattle off things that everyone else is going to say, that’s going to be like it’s going to cancel each other out, right? Does that make any sense?
Debbie Betolatti [00:34:52]:
Yes, like, absolutely.
Nazar Kalayji [00:34:53]:
I say, I’m going to give you, you know, one cherry pie and one apple pie and then the other agents like, I’m going to give you one cherry pie, one apple pie. Well, then the apple pie is going to just be expected across the board. I’m looking for the one off, I’m looking for the unique thing that you say that’s going to catch my attention. That’s going to be like, oh, that’s why I should use her. And you creating doubt in the process is going to make me feel like, oh, boy, if I don’t use Debbie, I’m going to miss things that I didn’t think to know and someone move forward. Karen is asking, do you ever use a tiered commission structure like you do with a seller? So what do you say to that, Karen? Oh, you already answered.
Debbie Betolatti [00:35:33]:
Yeah, I just put basically now, I think that’s a great idea. Now that would, that was what I was kind of calling it a la carte rather than tiered. You can do like an a la carte. And additionally, one comment I want to say with what Nazar said is everyone now is going to, I’m just going to list homes. I’m just going to list homes. And listing homes is definitely the king. Always has been, always will be, in my opinion. But what, other than that, this is an opportunity to actually be a buyer representative.
Debbie Betolatti [00:36:02]:
If you really understand how to represent a buyer. It’s kind of like the analogy. And analogies are great, by the way. That was the other thing I wanted to let you know. Always use analogies and. Objection. Handling. And when I say at, for instance, with the analogy of the buyer situation, would you, if you were ever in court, let’s hope you’re never in a criminal case court.
Debbie Betolatti [00:36:25]:
But if you were in criminal case court case and you had to hire an attorney, would you want the prosecutor to pay for your defense attorney? No. Right. So, yeah, so think of buyer representation as a opportunity. But as far as the Ala carte, to answer your question real quickly, Karen, definitely get creative. Think outside the box. Think either, you know, I’m going to be available for you for the next two weeks. This is going to be this price. We’re going to show x amount of houses for this price.
Debbie Betolatti [00:37:02]:
I, you know, and I’m just thinking outside the box right now real quickly in my head. But if you have a retainer, it’s this fee. If it’s, if you don’t have a retainer fee, it’s that fee, et cetera.
Nazar Kalayji [00:37:12]:
Awesome. Can you give an example of what you feel would be one of the ways in which you would tier your fee? Because I don’t think I’ve seen that video that came out. I forgot it was. But it was really creative. They made it seem like they charged by the hour. Agent was slow everything down. It’s like, oh, yeah. Oh, you want to see that? You want to see the home 2 hours away for sure.
Nazar Kalayji [00:37:34]:
Let’s.
Debbie Betolatti [00:37:34]:
Absolutely. Yeah. And that’s, that’s kind of where I was going with, you know, if I’m going to be available for you for the next two weeks, where. And we see 20 homes. So I kind of limited at the homes that we see in the next two weeks or if I’m going to show ten homes in the next week, it’s x price. Obviously, I don’t want to give a compensation because you guys have to decide on that, but, or if I’m going to be available to just have a showing agent show you the properties, it’s not going to be me, it’s going to be a showing agent. It’s going to be this price. But if it’s going to be me, it’s going to be a different price.
Debbie Betolatti [00:38:07]:
As well as with the retainer fee. That’s the one I use a lot. If you want to sign a retainer fee, it’s going to be x. If you refuse to sign an x or if you don’t want to sign a retainer fee, it’s going to be y. Because with the retainer fee, you’ve got money in your pocket regardless. That doesn’t come back to the buyer if they don’t buy a house. So a lot of times you can use that just as a, as a negotiating point in order to get them to sign the buyer agreement.
Nazar Kalayji [00:38:34]:
My personal, I’m not saying this is, you know, like, for everybody, everyone could do whatever they want to do, but I don’t want to necessarily tie my activities when it comes to, like, showing stuff tied to my fee, because I think that can get very, very ugly because, you know, in that video, like, the guy’s like, running through the house.
Debbie Betolatti [00:38:54]:
And like, I’ve seen it.
Nazar Kalayji [00:38:56]:
Yeah, it’s, it’s not, it doesn’t, it doesn’t paint a good picture for us, does it?
Debbie Betolatti [00:39:00]:
No.
Nazar Kalayji [00:39:00]:
I would like to say, and most certainly when I’ve done tier structures for commission, when I’m representing a seller, I would say if I net you this or if I sell your house for this, I’m gonna charge this. If I sell for less, I’m gonna charge, you know, I’ll reduce my fee. And so I think I would, I would work it that way where I say if I net you or if I sell your house, or, excuse me, if I’m going to represent you buying this home and I’m able to negotiate x percent from the seller, then my fee will be this. If I can’t get them to pay any of it because we’re in whatever situation or my negotiating is not as great as I’m telling you, then I will reduce my fee to this. And I think that’s probably a way I would do it. I’m not saying it’s a clear cut way. You can do it however you want to, but that would be one of the ways I would say, because negotiating is really going to be one of the biggest value props that you bring to the table. And so the better you can negotiate, obviously, the better it’s going to be beat.
Nazar Kalayji [00:39:54]:
It’s going to be for them. And so that’s where your money, you know, money talks type of thing. So that’s how I would say, I would structure it because I’m going to say, listen, you hire me, I’ve sold thousands of homes in my career. I want to negotiate for you and I’m confident that I can do this. And if I can’t, then, you know, I’m willing to acknowledge that I didn’t do great a job of doing that or whatever. Right?
Debbie Betolatti [00:40:15]:
No, I love that. And that’s basically what I do with that first example that I gave you in a czar where we say x amount is going to be your closing cost, and I find out what their expectation is. And then if they say, well, I only have 30,000, that’s where I would go right into what you said. But I love the way you said it.
Nazar Kalayji [00:40:33]:
Yeah. I love what Rochelle just mentioned. She’s like, well, can’t you ask the buyer what’s important for them and then talk about that? Absolutely. That is a great way to be able to say, hey, what are you looking for in an agent?
Debbie Betolatti [00:40:45]:
That’s what I mean by objective.
Nazar Kalayji [00:40:46]:
Yeah. What’s important to you in the agent that you’re looking to hire? Right. What do you think that they’re going to do for you? And then as they tell you those things, then, of course you can elaborate and expound and say how your skillset could absolutely fill those needs for them. And then you take it, you know, you level up by saying, and, you know, how important is it for you to have an agent that could also do and then XYZ, and then you’re like, oh, wow, I wasn’t even thinking of that. Yes, absolutely. Want those to be things that I want in an agent as well. So I love all that as a complete package. Thanks for chiming that in Rochelle, anybody else? Anybody else have any questions or thoughts that they’d like to share? You want to, like, you know, unmute yourself and share.
Nazar Kalayji [00:41:27]:
Heather, I’ve never heard from you before. Heather fan. What are your thoughts? Any questions you have?
Guest [00:41:32]:
I don’t have any questions. I took a lot of notes, though, as far as different things that I can include in a buyer presentation, because I’m just wanting to dial in my buyer presentation for when I have buyer appointments versus just kind of what a lot of people have been doing lately is just kind of meeting with them and talking to them and stuff. So it was helpful.
Nazar Kalayji [00:41:50]:
Absolutely. I think it’s important for us to be able to be prepared and come with the. You know, like, there’s a lot of fear, and that fear leads to not doing anything, and that’s come your, you know, your crux, right? Like, you need to go there prepared and be confident in why they need to use you and why you are the absolutely the best person to help them buy home. And with that confidence, they’re gonna be able to feel on the other side. Karen.
Guest [00:42:16]:
Hey, guys. Thank you so much. I wanted to just chat this one through, because I used to do rentals back in New York City, and we had to collect the commission from the tenant, and getting a tenant to use an agent was often very hard. But we, you know, tenants tend to move every few years, so another angle at this and, like, role play this out. But another question might be, how long do you plan on staying in the house?
Guest [00:42:42]:
Right?
Guest [00:42:43]:
Because depending on what the fee is, if you amortize it out over however many years, like, it actually isn’t that much, right? Like, look at it like a car lease. So we used to. We used to back the number out, say, like, well, if your budget was $5,000 a month and you had to pay a fee, because the fees could get up to, like, 15% of the annual rent. We used to do the math with them and let them see, okay, if I amortize that out over the two or three years that I’m going to stay, oh, that’s actually a few hundred dollars per month. And when you put it in that scenario, then it didn’t look quite as daunting to them.
Debbie Betolatti [00:43:20]:
I love that.
Guest [00:43:21]:
Just a thought.
Nazar Kalayji [00:43:22]:
Another thing I just thought of right now, as you’re mentioning, like, moving what a great way. And, you know, feel free to steal this if you think it’s worthwhile, is to say, hey, listen, my fee is whatever. And just so you know, if you end up buying this home. And just like how we do with a seller, if you don’t end up liking this property and you want to sell it, then I will give you a discounted fee when you go to sell the property within the first year or two years and three years. Or you can say, hey, listen, if you use me to buy this home, my fee is this. When you go to ever sell the property and this is good for the next five years, then I’ll give you a discounted fee to sell your house just as another value add to, you know, for them to obviously want to reuse you when that time comes. I literally just had a past client that listed with somebody else and I wanted to ring their neck and I was just at their house the other day too, which pisses me off. But anyway, life goes on.
Nazar Kalayji [00:44:17]:
Okay, so first of all, Debbie, thank you so much for all of your time and energy put into it. Thanks for the slides that we will go ahead and anyone wants to download it, it’s in the chats. So you want to get that?
Debbie Betolatti [00:44:27]:
Oh, I sent it to you directly to FYI.
Nazar Kalayji [00:44:30]:
Oh, you sent to me directly. Okay, sorry. All right, so I’ve downloaded it and then if you guys want us a copy slides, we can email it to you guys. Just let me know and we can get it over to you. Otherwise, we’ll see you guys next week. If you guys found this useful, you can watch it again. You can listen to it again on our podcasts. And if you guys have any friends and family you think would also benefit this, please share the link with them and get them to register for it.
Nazar Kalayji [00:44:51]:
Otherwise, you guys have an amazing Easter weekend and we’ll talk to you guys next Thursday. All right, bye, guys. Bye.
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