Welcome. Welcome. Welcome. Come on in. We are here tonight. We're gonna have such a good time. Oh my gosh. We were we were having a great time before we actually got this thing going. There's been such an exciting week, and, I hope you've had some some great experiences. Hey, Mary. I hope you had some great experiences as well. And I am here today joined by the incredible Patty Sanders and the incredible Jen McDonald. We are gonna have some incredible conversations. Right? Because that's what we're doing to this whole week. And, tonight, we're gonna talk about something that is we were laughing about this kinda all afternoon. Right? The the topic is the new normal, the psychology of the sale after eight seventeen. It's eight twenty, which was my mom's birthday, by the way. I just had to throw that out there. But it's eight twenty. There's if if there's a new normal today, there will be another new normal tomorrow in kind of a way. And and I think really and truly, that may be the new normal. Who knows? That we just have to embrace this flexibility and embrace this experimentation. Right? It's just a really interesting time in our profession, and I'm gonna quit saying industry. I'm gonna keep saying profession because we are professionals. We should be paid like professionals. You should be paid like professionals. And, yeah, I'm just gonna start referring to this as our profession instead of our industry. Alright. So I am gonna share my screen real quickly. And first, before I do that, let me make sure that that is maximized. There we go. Boom. Alright. Now let that that threw all sorts of things around, but that's okay. We're just gonna wing it tonight. I'm gonna go ahead and pull up the chat so I can see that, and I'm gonna put that on that screen right there. And, alright. So, panelists, I, I'm gonna have to throw this out there because I've I've been doing this for the last ten days myself. I am gonna go ahead and switch my toggle on the chat from host and panelists to everyone because I was, like, typing in all these great thoughts to just the panelists the other night, and it was really embarrassing. Thank you so much for, those birthday wishes for my mom. And it's your mom's birthday today too, Brenda. How amazing is that? That's just my mom was a realtor, and so, she was a broker for forty years and taught me so many great things. So enough of that. Let's talk about the new normal, the psychology of the sale after eight seventeen. Before we dig into the slides, Patty, Jen, do either of you have anything that you kinda wanna throw out there and and start with? So I'm gonna say it's not necessarily the new normal. It's business as usual. I'm gonna tag off of a conversation Shay had with us earlier. It's the new normal today, but it'll probably be a new normal tomorrow. It'll be a newer normal tomorrow. Yes. Yes. Yes. An ever an ever newing normal? Can we say that? I don't know. Ever newing. Okay. I mean, I kinda like it. I like ever newing. I mean, I do think that it's it really is has to be fluid. I mean, every every minute of the day is different question. It's a different hypothetical. It's a different what if. And, I mean, I'm very positive person. We just have to stay fluid and know that, you know, there's not gonna be a right answer for every scenario that comes up, and that's what we're here for. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Completely. You know, and it's it kinda sounds trite, but it's it really is true that the only the only constant is change, and things are supposed to change. They're always supposed to be getting better, I hope. And, hopefully, this will produce a better, profession, a better industry, a better process for our consumers, and a better experience for everybody. But we do I mean, we're an innovative company. We're innovative agents. I would hope that we always stay in the mindset of wanting to get better, wanting to grow, wanting to change. So I hope for us, this is just part of who we are. So here's this first slide. The things have change things have changed, but not as much as you think. What are what what's one thing that has changed, and what is one thing that hasn't for either of you? Well, obviously, one thing that's changed is no more MLS compensation, clearly. You know? I mean, I I looked this whole settlement, tons of nuances, tons of hypothetical situations, but the reality is two things happen. We can no longer offer compensation in the MLS. I mean, if we even we don't know that. I mean, that's, like, a mantra in my head. But that we also have to have some sort of written agreement, not a buyer broker agreement. I wanna be clear on that. Right? Some sort of written agreement to go tour a home. I mean, the really, there's those are the basics of the entire settlement. So I'll I did two things. So there's two things that have changed. Yeah. No. Mine Rule breaker. I'm gonna go with hasn't changed. Commissions have always been negotiable. They just have. So everything's negotiable. Right. Every everything's negotiable. So I'm gonna go with that one. If there is a blank, that blank is there for a reason because it's negotiable. There's not a checkbox or a a pick list. For me, I think one thing that has changed is and it's similar to, Jen, what you were saying about the MLS. And and we don't really it's sort of like our thumbs. Right? We don't think about them until we use them, and we use them all the time. But we don't really think about it that often. But if the minute it's gone, how do we hold a cup? Right? So I and and and so when I think about that particular perspective and and with the MLS, the MLS has this, you know, the offer of compensation is on there. And and how many times do we not even realize that is so important to every offer? And and at least in Texas here, our one to four, for example, page ten has this blank where you're supposed to fill in the commission. Now nobody signs that page. That's not, you know, anything that we can go to to to stand on as a a a negotiated term. It's not something that anybody signs on. But that negotiation or that contract is in MLS, and it's gone. But there that impacts so many things that we do now. For instance, and I think this is one of the changes that it really hit me today. I had a conversation with an agent who was asking about buyer's representation and who's gonna oversee that, who's gonna look into that. And I said, well, it's the MLS now. And he was like, well, how does are they gonna be policing our our, our commissions? I'm like, no. It's not about policing commissions. Think about it like this. Previously, when we didn't have, a listing agreement, but we snuck around away and got it in MLS, there was there was a check and balance there that said, hey. Somebody is suspicious that that's a fraudulent listing. I don't know that they've really got a a listing agreement, so they call the MLS. The MLS reaches out to the listing agent and verifies, hey. Can you provide this listing agreement? Well, they're gonna be able to have that same oversight for these buyer agreements. So the listing agent doesn't necessarily get to look at it. It's you're not letting go of that fiduciary duty of confidentiality, but there is a check and balance in place to make sure that that's there. And that's a huge difference for us, I think, who work with buyers because it's just it's just not something we think about, and we get so protective of that confidentiality. We don't think about that in terms of the buyer agreement, I guess, is is where I was going with that. Sorry about the analogy. That was a terrible analogy. Everybody be safe out there. Alright. The next slide, educate on NARs. Yes. Can I can I piggyback on the the checks and balances a little bit? Mhmm. I just got off the call with, all the Nevada state associations, the MLS. There were, the NVR attorney, CEO, and that was one thing that both MLS has brought up is that I mean, they've gotta have a reason to ask for that buyer broker agreement, which didn't make me feel better. It it can't just be an anonymous complaint. There actually has to be some teeth to it. Right? It's not, hey. I heard that you showed a property because ShowingTime told me last Saturday, we want your buyer broker agreement. Like, it can't just be an anonymous complaint. It really does have to have something of value before they're gonna start auditing, at least in my MLS here in Nevada, before they start auditing that agreement. Yeah. I I don't think they wanna open the can of worms of auditing everybody that wants to check and see if their buyer signed an agreement with another agent. That's just a a a big mess. Thank you for clarifying that. Okay. So educate on NAR settlement, but don't overeducate. Some will care and others will not move quickly to talking about them and their needs. I'm gonna be really upfront and say I am horrible at not overeducating. I did that in my script play last night at the at the six o'clock, and that was one of the things I felt like I bombed on. But, how are some ways that you either of you think of this, either when you're advising your agents or or you're in handling things in the past? Or how do you not overeducate and and make sure that you're kind of finding that middle ground? I'll jump on this one. So it for my agents to have this conversation with their clients, it's more along the lines of you have to feel it out. Some are just like, hey. I'm ready. I have the money. I wanna sign. Let's do it. Let's go. Okay. Cool. I gave you the info. Let's roll. We're moving. And then you're gonna have the other ones that are gonna ask that are and, put that out there. Typically, the engineers or the dads with the daughters helping them buy. They have five hundred questions. They wanna know all the details, and they're not signing anything until until you give it to them. It's just those those are the typical, like, conversations. So you kinda have to feel them out. You don't wanna rush them because then they're like, nope. I don't have enough information. I'm out. But sometimes it's just finding that commonality. It can be animals. It can be anything random that you guys have in common to, like, connect that. And then it's like, okay. Now they hear you. You can move through it, and then we get to the next step. But, really, it's about feeling them out. I don't think one way is gonna work for each client. No way. No. And, you know, last week, I was talking about, you know, value propositions and perhaps senior pitch, you know, just as far as your value. It's the same thing with the statement of not overeducating or you know, you wanna understand where your client's coming from, so it is gonna be different every time. You know? The the engineer may wanna know every nuance, the reasons why, how much was paid, whatever. Or then you may have someone else who doesn't care. So, you know, it's that kinda goes to the whole psychology of this topic is what do they need? It's not about you. Mhmm. It's not about NAR. Right? It's what does your particular client at that moment need from you. Yeah. Yeah. And and how this settlement changes how we meet those needs, really. But it is it's completely about their needs, which is a great segue to the next slide. Right? So buyers specifically worry about value versus cost. Right? What's our plan for fees? Will it change their ability to buy their dream house? And and we have got to really address these head on. Do either of you have anything you want to to specifically share about this slide? Yeah. I'll You know what? Go ahead. No. You go ahead. No. I was just gonna say, like, again, where it says, you know, be honest, be address them directly, don't beat around the bush. Part of the settlement was that it has to be specific. How much time, how much money, what's it gonna take? Yes. I'm gonna do everything on the other side, as far as what the plan is, but this is where we are. Don't hide it. These are the options. Educate them. I'm a big fan of giving them a blank contract and saying, hey. Let's talk about all the things, and all the possibilities if that's what you if that's what they wanna deal with. If they just come in and say, hey. I can pay my own stuff. I don't need to negotiate that, then go forward that way. Again, it's about meeting them where they are versus giving them over information and complicating the process when it doesn't need to be. Yeah. Absolutely. There so today, I had a conversation with an agent in Texas. He's a team lead. He's just killing it in Texas. And, it was a really crazy conversation that we had. It was in our broker corner that we've been doing Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from noon to two, which is just kind of an open q and a for the last few weeks going through all these BBA changes. And, today in the session, he starts sharing that he executed a contract today for a total of eight percent commission, five percent for the listing side, three percent for the buying side. And I'm like, wait a second. How did you do this? He said, well, the the property had been on the the, on the market for a few weeks, and he the the seller decided he wanted to drop it fifteen thousand dollars to try to be more aggressive to sell. And he said, hey. Wait a second. I've got a better plan. If you're willing to walk away from fifteen grand, let's do something different. Let's offer, you know, eight thousand or seven thousand to a buyer in concessions. Let's offer a buyer's agent three percent upfront, and he just kinda carved out this plan to help meet that exact seller where they were and talk about a win win for everybody. I mean, it was incredible. And and it was an eight percent deal. The listing agent walked away with five percent, and everybody was okay because everybody was transparent about it and everybody saw the value in it. So I think when we talk about value versus cost and and, you know, I really think that Patty nailed it when she said it's all about where they are. And for that seller at that moment in time, that's where he was, and the agent kind of found a way to make it a win win. Well, and I look at this slide kind of almost back to the old days. You know? Think about you know, you have a buyer, maybe you're ten thousand dollars apart, and, you know, they're the buyer is, like, stuck on that ten thousand dollars. And let's say interest rates are, you know, five percent. Right? So what does that look like in a payment? A thousand dollars at a five percent interest rate per month. Right? Ten thousand dollars, I mean, we might be looking at, what, fifty dollars in a payment? You know, that's how I used to explain it when these buyers would get stuck. It's like, so yes. Ten thousand dollars may seem like a lot of money, but the reality is it's gonna cost you forty five, fifty dollars a month on your mortgage payment. What what's more, you know, what's more important to you, this house or the forty five dollars a month on your mortgage payment? Don't look at the big number because, ultimately, you know and I speak for myself as well. Like, I'm a I'm a cost driven person. What is it gonna cost me every month? Not, how much value is this Range Rover gonna have for me at this minute? No. What's it gonna cost me a month? Eight hundred and sixty dollars. Yeah. So I do look at, like, when you're a buyer and whether you're wealthy, a first time home buyer, whatever your situation is, it's you have to look at the buyer, what is important to them, making sure that your your commission is not interfering with their ability to purchase. And I think just, you know, the the broker real estate police in me that it's that it's a little thing that concerns me is that we're gonna be putting our commissions in there, and interfering with with a person's ability to purchase, and we're gonna be right back to where we started. So add your value. Your client is first. Your commission is never first. Right? And meet them where they need to be. I mean, if I were practicing real estate right now and I had a three percent buyer broker agreement, I'm not even gonna call the listing agent to find out what they're offering. Right? I'm just putting it in the contract, period. Everything's negotiable. Depends on what the offer looks like. You know? And if I were practicing real estate, I would say to the buyer, look. Like, we're only moving forward when this makes sense for you. This isn't about me. It's not about my commission. We're only gonna sign on the dotted line or the counteroffer until this makes sense for you. And I think that is what buyers are probably most worried about because they're cost driven. Mhmm. Do you as a follow-up to that no, Jen. As as a follow-up to that, do you do you foresee buyer agents using buyer net sheets more often now, especially Absolutely. They if you're not, you should be. Right? Yeah. That's another thing. It's like when you're having that buyer that written listing or buyer agreement conversation, you need to be talking about price, location. And, I mean, here's the other thing. If you if you have a first time buyer and they're getting an FHA loan, right, and they barely have the three and a half percent down payment, you better have a net sheet. Otherwise, you're entering an agreement that really probably is never gonna come to fruition. So, yes, seller net sheets, always buyer net sheets for sure. Yeah. And if you need those numbers, like, everyone should have that one lender on call that can educate and help them and say, hey. This is what's happening. Like, you need to be talking to those lenders and finding out what those fees actually look like, what the max percentages you can use for seller concessions versus buyer agency. Is there wiggle room? Like, when you do that buyer net sheet, have those numbers. Know what your deed stamps. Know what the transfer fees are. Know what those things are for the county that they're buying in. And if you don't, find someone that does. Yeah. And and think finding a great lender partner and a great title company partner are invaluable in these things. So we we kind of already addressed this next slide about buyer agent compensation affecting their net. How will their choice of offered buyer agent compensation affect property performance on the market? You know, again, we've got to really, really directly handle these. Let's talk about negotiations for a second. You know, I love this language, that that Robert and the the leadership team have been using all week long about good drivers and bad drivers. Right? We're gonna see those bad drivers out there. And sometimes we've got to do the work to make sure that it all stays together and and correctly. So what are some tips that either of you have on working together through differing views? Because I know I'm hearing reports already, buyers reaching out to seller, I mean, buyer agents reaching out to listing agents, asking for things, listing agents refusing to give things, and feeling like the buyer agent is way out of line. How do we deal with this in between time? Be kind. Be kind. Everybody is dealing with this. Everyone is going to have differences of opinion. Let's have a conversation. I personally had to call another broker today because we had a comp agreement at two and a half percent, and we had two and a half percent concessions in the contract, which is not how our concessions work. They're flat dollar amount here. And I knew this was a mistake. My buyer's agent knew it was a mistake. I called the broker and said, hey. I think we have a problem. I don't think your sellers mean to give five percent. And he said, absolutely not. That is not what we meant to do. We had the conversation. We got it corrected with all the parties, and everybody was fine. But it was one of those instead of just saying, oh, well, it says five percent, and we're gonna take it and run. We knew it was an honest mistake. Let me call the broker. Let's have the conversation. Let's get it fixed because we are all going to struggle. Some agents have been to every single one of these meetings that we have done, and some agents haven't found the time to be here at all and or watch the recordings. It it it just is, and I know that. I getting text messages now of, hey. How do I handle? I'm like, where have you been? So I will deal with that after this. But it's one of those be kind. Understand that everybody has stuff. Whether it's agent, buyer, seller, everybody has their own stuff in their own lives. Be kind. Don't don't jump into well, duh duh duh. No. No. And if you can't and if you can, stay off of social media. There's a lot of misinformation out there right now. Stick to your local people. Stick to your brokers. Stick to the people you know are giving you the best advice. Your attorneys, your lenders, your brokers, but be kind. Really. Oh, and also be able to see big picture. You know, if someone tells you yeah. I know everything about the lawsuit, every nuance, every hypothetical, that is, I feel like, impossible. Right? So, like, to piggyback on Patty, be kind. Everyone is working together. Every day is gonna be a different question. Everything's gonna be a different scenario. I mean, I love to be kind. I love it. Good job, Patty. I don't know if anyone would Yeah. Keep me being kind. Be kind. I love that. Absolutely. Kindness wins. Right? So okay. One final slide, and, let's see. Clients care about cash. Right? Netting more for sellers, saving buyers money. They care about convenience. They care about a smooth and frictionless experience, and they care about compassion. You know, what are their needs? What are their goals? What is their current motivation to buy or sell? You know, I I I think about this, and, the first thing that always comes to mind for me is Chris Boss's book, Never Split the Difference, how to negotiate like your life depends on it. And I just there's so much richness in that book about listening to what the real why is behind their motivations, behind, you know, what's important to them. And I feel like right now, we're in this place where that kind of awareness is is, like, of so much importance when we're dealing with buyers in this new landscape. You know, with with sellers, it seems to kind of sort of be part of the contract that's always been in there, but we've never really explained it very, very well. And, we've never emphasized how negotiable it was. And now there's a whole new mechanism that splits it, so that's different. But for buyers, this is a whole new paradigm shift of how they have to rethink the buying process. What are some what are some tips that we can offer to help agents sort of be equipped with the capacity to go into those spaces with that mindset and help those buyers overcome that new hurdle. I'll go because I'm really shocked. I think it when I see this slide, it reminds me I used to do a lot of ninja sales training. It's a company, the group, out of, Fort Collins, Colorado. And I used to I trained I trained agents on ninja for, I don't know, fifteen years. And I look at this. It's like, where do you wanna go? Where do you wanna be? Everyone's motivation is different. And so you have to find out what your clients care I mean, literally, like the slide says, what do your clients care about? Is it convenient? Right? Do they have a job relocation? Do they need to move? Maybe they don't care about, you know, netting this exact amount. Maybe it's more terms than the net. You know? It I think it's just knowing your client, asking those questions, either a buy side or a seller side. Like, what's the most important to them? And it's it's really easy. It's, it's psych psychology. It makes a good salesperson. Yeah. I mean and I and I'll be honest, not just for, you know, buyers and sellers. I use it for my agents every day. Some prefer Facebook. Some prefer email. Some prefer a text message. Like, some prefer this. Some want right now. Some don't want me to ever call them. Like, you know, but it's the same with buyers and sellers. Like, how what are their needs right now? What are their long term goals? What does that look like for them? Because some, it's like, I just gotta sell this house, and I gotta get out of here. Like, it doesn't matter. I don't care how much I pay. I just wanna move. I have done that with two houses. I just need to move. I I don't care what the bottom line is. Sell it. Let's go. But now I'm in a position where, I might have to ponder on if I wanna sell right now. The amount of equity I have, do I wanna give it up? Do I wanna start over again on a thirty year mortgage? Like, those types of things. So what does that look like for your buyers and sellers? Is it are they military? Do they have an, you know, a specified amount of time? You know, if that's you know, if motivation is time, then those conversations are different than, hey. I just wanna put my house on the market and see what happens. You you kinda have to meet them where they are and figure out what that what that why is for sure. It's all I got. We can't hear you. Are you muted? Say, you're muted. I didn't chat to the to the backstage group, but I did just try to talk while I was muted. So there was my plug for the night. I would add another c if I could. Cash, convenience, compassion, and I think the last c for me would be curiosity. I think we've gotta go in these spaces with our clients. And sometimes when they say, hey. This is what I need, we we need to take that extra step and be a little more curious. Sometimes that's just kind of the the top layer, you know, like Shrek's onion analogy. So we we need to just be curious and stay curious. And sometimes, it's in the middle of the negotiation when you really finally hit on the real gold of their why. When you get into those spaces and maybe they've they've not really stumbled upon it yet until they're really looking at those figures and thinking about what's most important, that's when you might really connect with their why, but stay curious. Yep. Agreed. Agreed. We're at six thirty one. Do either of you have anything else you wanna throw out there for the rest of the group before we call it a night and let everybody have their evening back? No. I would just say, you know, like, I really applaud everyone for coming. I'm seeing a lot of the same faces on my trainings. Like, it I can say it, like, it means a lot to me that especially, like, anyone not on the West Coast, these are these are late trainings. So thank you for coming and investing in yourself. No. Absolutely. I think it was a great crowd, great questions, great conversation. We'll do it again. Absolutely. Oh, one one last slide. Let's see. We gotta we've gotta promote the rest of the the series here. Don't forget tomorrow or or later tonight, actually, we've got that, BBA toolbox at ten o'clock eastern. Then tomorrow, we start all over with coffee, the bulletproof overcoming BBA objections. That one is a great class. I was in on that one last night. You're definitely gonna wanna follow that one. Then you got the BBA toolbox again, empowering your sellers and then communicating your value, and you've got the schedule for the rest of the week. We will see you all later. Have a great night. Nice. Back at ten. I'll be here again. Alright. Yeah. With coffee. Bye then. Thank you. See you. Note: The transcript embed requires a player embed to be present on the same page.