The Virtue of a Well-Stocked Pipeline
If you’ve never made a living 100% on commissions — and not selling apparel or widgets, but big-ticket, capital items like homes — it can be terrifying.
Not only are the paydays few and far 
between, but, especially in today’s housing market, there seem to be more steps along the way, and more things that can go wrong.
Right up to and (sometimes) continuing through the closing.
Virtue of Patience — and a Big Customer Base
It’s also the case that agents feeling financial pressure can succumb to the temptation to pressure clients.
Unh-unh.
Not only do clients sense that and (rightfully) react badly to high pressure sales tactics, but it’s a violation of the agent’s fiduciary relationship, which requires that they put their client’s interests ahead of their own.
Which is where experience and longevity in the business come in.
One of the advantages of being a more established agent is a deeper and longer pipeline of clients.
I like to tell slower-moving clients that the reason I don’t “need” them to do deals this year or even next (and they don’t need to feel guilty about it) is because . . . . I’m busy working with clients I said that to three years ago.
None of which is to say I can afford to work with unmotivated Buyers or Sellers.
It’s just that, many Buyers and Sellers take a long time to get to the starting line, and how long that takes is (properly) up to them.
