Many agents do their best to not upset their clients when something goes wrong while they have a property under contract. The result is that most buyers and sellers have no idea how much we do to not only market a listing, but to put it under contract, and get it closed.

A key example is what happens in multiple offers. The seller may think that all you had to do is to put up a sign and then put the property on the MLS. If you get 10 offers, however, you’re now doing ten times the work on the negotiation process. On the buyer side, they may put in 5-10 offers before they finally are able to purchase.

Moreover, when properties sell over asking price, the appraisal comes in low. This often causes the buyer to cancel or ask for a price concession. Managing low appraisals and ultimately closing takes time and extremely strong negotiation skills.

In each of the examples above, we don’t get paid until the transaction closes. In other words, many times are we are working very hard and never getting paid.

This is why it’s important to let sellers know what is really going on during the transaction. Explain all the forms. Let them know the appraisal may come in low and discuss strategies for dealing with that.

The better informed your clients are on the services you provide, the more likely they are to value you as an agent, pay a full commission, and send you future referrals.