True or False On top of the “payout” commission listed on MLS, Sellers will sometimes dangle an extra incentive for Buyers’ agents. The most common (and straightforward) is simply a cash bonus, payable upon successful closing. How smart is that ” and in what situation(s) is that most effective? Read through the following three scenarios,...Read More
MLS Agent Remarks: “$10,000 Agent Selling Bonus!” [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway (“Berkshire”), or any other entity referenced. Edina Realty is a subsidiary of Berkshire.] After seeing virtually no sales incentives offered to Buyers’ agents seemingly for years, I’ve now...Read More
Thanks for (Almost) Nothing No, that’s not actually what the email from my cell phone carrier (rhymes with “Schmerizon”) said earlier this week. That would be this: “It’s time to celebrate! Thank you for another year. In honor of your account anniversary, we’ve added 2,000 Smart Rewards points to your balance. Now, that’s a sweet...Read More
3,000 Bonus Points vs. $60 Quick! Which sounds more valuable? Sixty dollars, or 3,000 bonus points? If you guessed the latter, you’d have lots of company — and be flat wrong (at least, according to the terms of a year-end credit card promotion I just received). Conversion Confusion Assuming 15,000 points converts into a $300...Read More
“You Know a Housing Market’s Hot When . . .” I’ll occasionally get marketing pieces from agents active in Scottsdale, Florida, or other warm spots Minnesotans are known to congregate, especially in the (very) cold winter months. But, I don’t recall getting a pitch from someone based in Denver, soliciting referrals, like the one I got...Read More
Not Biting the Hand That Feeds Them: Academe’s Deafening Silence on Runaway Pay “Yale President Richard Levin could have been in investment banking, he could have been in venture capital, he could have run a corporation. Obviously, if he’d gone into other fields, the compensation would be orders of magnitude greater.” –John Pepper, Yale compensation committee;...Read More
