SELL WITH SOUL - Book Review

In basic real estate licensing classes, one of the first topics covered is the real estate licensee’s duty to his clients and to his customers. The academic definition of client is the person whom you represent in an agency agreement while the customer is a represented or unrepresented third party in the transaction. The simplest example would be if you had a listing you would enter into an agency relationship with the seller, who would be your client.

A buyer, whether represented or not, would be a customer. While there’s a whole list of duties to your client, the most fundamental is that you put the client’s interests first. Most assuredly before your own. Your duty to the customer is to deal fairly and honestly. In most situations, real estate agents get paid when the transaction closes.

That could mean that there might be an occasional situation where it could be tempting to pursue a course of action that might not be in the best interests of the client. There are those who maintain that the reason real estate agents typically rate so low on the public respect surveys is that too often the client’s (and customer’s) interests become secondary.

The very basic message in this book by Jennifer Allan is that in every circumstance you should put your client’s interests first, and that agents should strive to be competent real estate advisors and not employ traditional sales techniques. One may wonder how an author could fill 233 pages simply addressing that issue, but since the book is aimed primarily at new agents, there is almost an endless variety of topics that can be addressed.

Her writing style is not only informative, it’s highly entertaining. Allan began her real estate career in 1996 in Denver and quickly became one of the top producers in the market area. In 2004 she founded her own New Precedent Real Estate company in Denver. She is also a trainer and speaker. You can check out her activities and more details about this book and others she has written at her web site: www.SellWith Soul.com.

You can check out her writing style and message by visiting Realty Times, where she is a columnist (http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/jennifer_allan.htm), this book would be a mandatory read for all my agents.