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Not long after she entered the real estate industry, Mollie Wasserman encountered the all too common question that invariably is posed from prospective buyers and sellers. As she recalls, “My colleagues and I were constantly being asked by our clientele: ‘Why is your commission so high?’” Our initial response was that we justified the amount we asked for by the services we performed, but we each knew that answer wasn’t exactly the entire story.”
Why not tell the whole story? Mollie believes the answer is simple, albeit unpopular. “Most agents are scared to death of revealing to the consumer the real reason commissions are so high,” she says, “they are nothing more than a thinly-veiled insurance policy. It’s a high-risk, high-reward scenario.” Unsatisfied with this narrow approach, Mollie began searching for a way to provide more customized solutions for her clients, and happened upon a novel concept that she embraced with open arms.
In her search for a better way to receive compensation for her expertise and counsel, Mollie took a cue from other consulting-based industries like law and medicine, and came to the following conclusion, “Rather than trying to justify a commission on the services I provide, which is more commodity-focused, I base my fees on the expertise I utilize, which is more consultative-focused.”
One of the first agents to embrace the “Fee-for-Service” model, Mollie explains it’s beneficial for agents to provide their clientele with a much wider variety of compensation alternatives. “When I meet other agents, I constantly recommend that they consider broadening the compensation options at their disposal. One tool cannot possibly build or repair every device, but a diverse assortment of appropriate tools will always get the job done.”
On this week’s RISMedia/iSucceed Business Development and Training Call, Mollie explains her unique “Fee-for-Service” model, where agents become consultants who offer a broad range of services and act as objective information interpreters rather than subjective interested parties whose advice is ultimately tied to their commission check.
In the integrity and pioneering spirit of Keller Williams Realty, Mollie Wasserman (ABR, ePro) has always enjoyed playing matchmaker – identifying customer’s needs and finding just the right products or services to match them. Her team, The Home Consultants, services greater Boston’s western and southwestern suburbs. Mollie has a knack for embracing the opportunities presented by change, while at the same time avoiding its pitfalls. She is an industry leader in the implementation of technology and other innovative concepts, such as consulting fee alternatives to the traditional sales commission model.
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Dina Raneri
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Mollie Wasserman
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