I Showed several properties to new clients and then they buy a home with another agent...I called them and they tell me they were working with 5 agents and speaking with 20.

I find that the buyer agency contract is something they do not want to sign. So like an idiot I take them out on a verbal agreement and a handshake. This is the third time this has happened to me. I know it is my own fault for not getting the contract signed...but how do you get them on paper nicely?

I know you are in a different aspect of the real estate transaction, however we have to utilize our sales skills due to the overwhelming competition out there. What works for me and I have been very succesful in retaining my clients is to be confident, knowledgable, firm, understanding and most importantly listen to them. This is where you will capitalize on your negotiation skills. Always assume the sale.

Until you can answer their concerns over signing an EBA you are going to have a hard time getting them to sign.
How do You present the EBA to them?

What reasons do they give for not signing?

You can tell them you don't work without them, that it isn't fair to your other clients, who do sign. You can develop personal professional policies that do not include working with anyone who is not loyal, period.

Write this down and stare at it until it sinks in:

If the end result will be NOTHING, wouldn't you rather be home with your family, golfing, whatever makes you happy rather than wasting your time, efforts, gas, etc.?

Your first problem is that YOU do not believe in signing an agreement to work with YOU. If you were someone else, you would not sign one to work with you. Why is that? Until you sell yourself on YOU, you won't find success selling yourself to others.

Clients who work with 5 agents and talk to 20 - can you imagine the opinion they had of you and the other 24 agents? They were playing each and every one of you, and all 25 of you were desperate enough not to care. Change the message you put into the world!!

Good luck!

Here's part of a great script Oliver Franscona, a Colorado Realtor and attorney teaches in his book: "The Digital Paper Trail"

Payment
Getting buyers to be happy with the concept of paying you.
1. Real estate brokerage is my job.
"So, tell me what do you do for a living???"
"Oh, we're retired, employed, whatever....."

"That's nice." "I am a professional real estate broker. My goal is to help 3 or 4 families buy or sell a home each month. If I can do that, I can make a living (or feed my family, or send my kids to school, or whatever)..........."

2. Permission to get paid
"Is it all right with you if I make money as a result of helping you buy a home???"

This is like reading a menu in a restaurant when you order. If you know what the meal is going to cost before you order then there's usually no arguement when the check comes.

If you're having trouble asking them to sign a buyer agency agreement for a long period of time try asking for shorter periods initially.

Say something like this: "I am not sure how well we will work together. Why don't we start with just today (just 2 days, just this week, etc.) If at the end of that time period you still want to work with me, we can extend our agreement."

And there's several more pages of dialogue about how to get their signature on paper but this book is copyrighted and the author is an attorney. :p

You might want to consider buying a copy of this excellent book. It will make you money and also go a long way towards keeping you out of trouble.

http://www.frascona.com/products/products.htm

I won't take a client out until we've had a buyer counseling session. They also have to have an approval or certified funds letter in hand. In the counseling session, we decide whether we want to work together, then they have to "hire" me with the buyer agent agreement.

If they don't want to hire me just yet, we can send them to a lender to get fully approved, then when we find a property that can work with them, they sign the agreement for that day. Usually, the buyer will sign an agency agreement for longer, but I at least want the properties I show on the first day. If they don't want to sign after the first day, they can go work with someone else.

I make sure I absolutely have a buyer agency agreement if I am submitting an offer.

I wish I was in your areas! In this area, we don't do EBAs. Wish we did, it would eliminate a lot of wasted time. Couldn't get a buyer to sign one because no other company uses them.

Be the first.

You'll never know if a buyer will sign one or not unless you ask.

You don't do EBAs because you don't do EBAs; no reason, you just don't. :p

We're the ones having the problems with EBAs; buyers have no problem signing one if they think it will benefit them, which it will.

Become an Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR) at http://www.rebac.net and become the best buyer's agent in your area.

I like working with trade up buyers. I have my Indiana sellers sign an EBA at the time of listing. Illinois prohibits tie-in agreements so I have to word things a little different when working there.

Actually in GA it just came down that eba's are going to be a requirement as there have been too many disputes over procuring cause and who is due a commission.They know it won't eliminate the disputes but it will lessen the cases and determinations can be made easier with a contract instead of 2 agents verbally claiming procuring cause.

Also they are making us have it signed to show representation,this is what started the eba to protect the buyer and all the lawsuits that happened previously over who was being represented the buyer or the seller.

As to the other question we all pretty much offer the same thing,it's how you package it that makes it look like you have something knowone else has.

Example:Free list of homes e-mailed to you
(sounds like what everyone else is doing)

Better example:Get access to all homes not just mls listed!Fsbo,foreclosures,new homes,estate sales.Insider access,get the hottest deals before everyone else!

It can be made shorter but you get the point,it's all in the packaging.

Do this:

1.buyer counseling session(explain benefits to them of what makes you different=valuable to them"

2.go over eba and how it benefits them.

3.explain financing and how you cannot negotiate anything for them because without a pre-approval letter the seller will not seriously caonsider there offer."It would be a shame to find the perfect house you wanted and lose out to another buyer because you didn't have financing in place"

Your using fear of loss here the greatest motivator.

If they won't do these things i wouldn't take them out.

I wouldn't have worked with them in the first place. When I do a buyer counseling session, I inform them about how I work, our mission, goals, philosophy, etc. The short explanation is that I work mostly by referral and build a trusting, longterm relationship with clients. I explain that I don't work with everyone and not everyone will want to work with me. If they want me to work hard for them, if I choose to work with them, I will commit my time, money (because I pay showing agents, etc.), energy, and resources. In turn, they have to hire me.

If they aren't sure whether they want to work with me just yet, they can go work with other agents. Once they want to work with a professional, we can sit down again and sign an EBA. If they refuse to commit to me the way I am committing to them, they're not win-win and they need to go somewhere else (as I mentioned earlier).

I think many people don't want to sign an agreement until they are sure that they enjoy spending time with you and have a feeling that you are "in sync" with them.

So I explain the EBA, but I spend one day working with them. During that time I'm deciding IF I want to work with them... If they want day two, they either sign an EBA or I'm out.

I don't work for free... the ones that won't sign are usually going to burn you anyway, so save your time and send them to someone else...

After getting burnt a few times (new in the industry), I absolutely agree with your methodology of doing business. I plan to do that also. I see this first meeting as a crucial point in a successful relationship and transaction.

Rep,
(I Showed several properties to new clients and then they buy a home with another agent...I called them and they tell me they were working with 5 agents and speaking with 20.)

May I suggest that the next time you get a call to show a property from someone new you ask "Are you working with any other Realtors?". That would give you an opportunity to explain how you work plus you may decide if you would/would not like to work with that person.

Great response Jacqueline! Thats the way I handle it. I never ask anyone to sign Buyer Brokerage, becuase for some reason it scares them to death. In GA, to terminate it, all you have to do is notify the broker in writing, so basically if they want to screw you, there going to screw you. So why even bother.