I think all of us are aware of the changes coming from the NAR Settlement that will likely be implemented in July of this year. One big component is that we will all be required to complete a buyer's representation agreement prior to showing any homes. We should have been doing this all along but if you haven't, start now. As Ninja's we are all working smarter to increase our income per hour which allows us to make more money, take more time off or both.

When working with buyers, a big part of this process is always meeting your buyers for a "Buyer Counseling Interview" before starting to show homes. Ninja Selling calls this "Act 1" of 3 acts when working with buyers. Most agents neglect this "Act 1" step which can lead to days and weeks of wasted time and frustration for both you and your buyers. The 10 steps to this interview are attached and go through questions to ask the buyers and explaining the entire process. This allows you to help them select only the homes that actually suit them, gives you great insight as to the buyer's sense of urgency, and allows expectations to be set early on in the property search.

This initial meeting, while valuable on its own, is now the perfect time for us to showcase our value as buyer's agents. Our Bellator Marketing team is working on a template in your Bellator Pitch tool of a presentation for this very thing and you'll need to customize it. Here's where we articulate our value to the buyer - see the list from Ninja Selling to pull from.

Make sure to strike anything that you're not doing and add things that you do that aren't on the list. There are several lists online to give you a starting point. We need to practice, practice and practice this buyer's interview so it becomes second nature to you and flows smoothly. A lot of us are really uncomfortable "tooting our own horn" but it's vital that our buyers understand what we do and the potential pitfalls on not having representation. Why? Because the form we'll likely be using in July will be mandated to have a dollar amount or percentage that will be due from the buyer from us. It's probable that we may still be compensated from the listing brokerage as we typically are now, or that we can work our compensation into the transaction, but having this figure on the form will likely be mandatory come July.

Why should we start now? Because we should have always been doing this. I spoke with an agent this week who had been working with a buyer for three weeks on her own listing. She asked up front if the buyer had an agent and he said that he didn't, but the buyer's agency form was skipped. This week, once the buyer was convinced that he wanted the property, he told her that he'd be contacting his agent to submit an offer. We've all been through this at some point and it is beyond frustrating. But now, thank goodness, it will be mandatory that we have this discussion and sign the form!

You, as a Bellator agent, an Expert Real Estate Advisor, are ahead of the curve because you are engaged, you are trained, and you have the tools that make you extremely valuable to buyers and sellers alike. We all need to work on articulating this value, but that will be the easy part once we practice.

Geoff Stacey, Bellator Executive VP, COO and Partner, shared an article with me this week that stated what I also think was at the core of this settlement. We may not like to hear this but there are far, far too many licensed agents in this country that aren't engaged and don't really provide value to their clients. Many, I would argue, provide negative value to their clients by harming them with a lack of knowledge and competence, often losing or compromising deals for their clients. I don't know this for sure but some of the initial plaintiffs in this NAR settlement case may have been burned by one of these sub-par agents. I believe that this change will likely reduce the number of those agents dramatically in our industry, thereby increasing the number of transactions available for agents, like you, who go above and beyond in being the very best advocate possible for your clients.

Start now. Save time and be a more efficient buyer's agent. Don't skip Act I.

Check out this resource on showing your value.