According to John Gillam, broker of record at EXIT Realty Home & Ranch in Colorado, not every real estate business leader understands the new dynamics of this era of real estate.
“Most people don’t bring in the right people to do the right diligence,” he said. “We are so caught up in the mindset of, ‘It’s gotta be quick.’ No, it doesn’t need to be quick, it needs to be right.”
A storied coach of buyer agents, Gillam has found the post-settlement landscape to be both an important and difficult time to be doing what he does—getting agents ready to better serve clients. In an exclusive interview with RISMedia Content Director – Premier, Jesse Williams, Gillam broke down many areas where buyer agents in particular are facing opportunities and challenges to succeed in a new post-settlement market.
“We’re still not giving the information the way that we need to be,” he said. “We’re so focused on talking about the compensation still…if I spend my time focusing on the services and what I’m going to do, and if I have a really strong base in what it is I do, then the conversation of compensation becomes a lot easier.”
Filmed at NAR NXT in Boston last year, Gillam breaks down all the little changes that can make the difference in an agent’s success, from what kinds of tasks you should—and shouldn’t—be doing for a client, to how specializations are evolving.
“You have to have the competence to have the confidence…to communicate what it is you do,” he said.
Learn more about Gillam’s thoughtful exploration of the new world of buyer agency, including:
0:49: Educating consumers beyond compensation
2:24: How “friction” around buyer agreements can be a good thing for everyone
4:40: Why experience makes such a difference in negotiating seller commission concessions
6:41: Why “confusing confidence with cockiness” is a huge pitfall for experienced agents
8:45: What a new buyer agent can do that experienced agents aren’t doing
10:20: Looking at due diligence and contingencies as a benefit to sellers
13:45: Listings as a priority, but buyer agency as a necessity
16:53: What agents need to stop doing right away to build success
