How to win the listing when you're not the cheapest agent
Why discount competitors only win when you let them, and what to do about it
Let's be honest about something first.
Discount agents are not going anywhere. The 1% operators have been in your market for years, and they will keep attracting business with the promise of saving vendors thousands of dollars.
Here's the thing though: they are only a real problem when owners see you as a commodity.
If an owner thinks all agents are roughly the same - similar process, similar results, similar everything - then of course they will go with the cheapest option. Wouldn't you?
The solution is not a clever one-liner, or a closing technique. It is not a script you memorise and deploy at the right moment.
It is this: you need to make it obvious that you are not the same.
If your listing presentation looks and feels like everyone else's, if your process is indistinguishable from a discount operator's, then asking for a higher fee is a tough sell. Most owners aren't stupid. They will not pay a premium for something that feels identical.
But if you walk in with more knowledge, more preparation, more genuine insight into their property and their market, and you can clearly articulate what that means for their final result, the fee conversation becomes much easier.
The one thing you need to do before your next appraisal
Sit down and write out your three genuine points of difference.
Not the generic stuff that every agent says: "I work hard," "I have great communication," "I really care about my clients." Every agent says those things. They mean nothing to a vendor trying to choose between you and someone offering to do it for 1% less.
Real points of difference sound like this:
- Your database: "I have sold 14 homes in this suburb in the last two years. I know every buyer who offered but missed out. Three of them are still looking."
- Selling process: "My average days on market over the last 12 months is 22 days. The area average is 41. We can use the same exact process for your home."
- Problem-solving ability: "I sold a property on [Street Name] last year that had been listed with another agent for 90 days and not sold. We had it under contract in 19 days. Here's how we did it..."
Specific. Provable. Relevant to what that vendor cares about most: getting a great result without the process dragging on.
If you cannot write down three genuine points of difference right now, that is important information. It means you need to go and build some, urgently. Because trying to out-talk a discount agent without a real point of difference is an uphill battle you will keep losing.
Front-foot the fee conversation - don't wait for them to raise it
Most agents wait nervously for the vendor to bring up commission. The discount operator's name comes up, and suddenly the agent is on the back foot, defending their fee.
Turn that around. Bring it up yourself, before they do.
Try this:
"Mr and Mrs Owner, our commission is X%. There will always be someone who will do it for less. I'd be surprised if you haven't already spoken to someone offering a cheaper rate. But I'd encourage you to ask yourself one question: if they are willing to discount their own value that quickly, what does that tell you about how they will negotiate on your behalf when it comes to protecting your sale price? My job is to get you the best possible result. That starts with how I value my own service."
By raising it first, you control the frame. You are not defending yourself. You are making a confident, reasoned case before the comparison is even made.
The value stories framework
Before we get into scripts, let's talk about what actually changes a vendor's mind.
Vendors don't make decisions based on logic alone. They make them based on confidence: confidence that you are the person most likely to protect their biggest asset and get them the result they need.
You build that confidence through stories.
In a hot market, this is easy. You talk about the auction that went $200k above reserve. The tender that attracted eight offers. The record street price.
In a tighter market, you need different stories. Better ones, actually, because they are more relevant to what the vendor is facing right now.
The stories that work in today's market are:
The rescue story.
A property that sat with another agent and didn't sell. You took it on, changed the approach, and got it sold.
"We listed a property on [Street] earlier this year. It had been on the market for 11 weeks with another company and hadn't attracted a single offer. We relaunched it, repositioned the price, changed the photography and the method of sale. It was under contract in 17 days."
The speed story.
A property sold significantly faster than the market average.
"Our average days on market over the last 12 months is 22 days. For this area, the average is closer to 40. That gap represents weeks of stress, additional mortgage payments, and ongoing uncertainty for the vendor. Speed matters."
The protection story.
A deal that could have fallen over but didn't, because of how you managed it.
"We had a sale last year where the building inspection came back with issues the buyer wanted to use to crash the deal. We managed that process carefully, kept both parties talking, and got it unconditional. A less experienced agent, or one without a solution-focussed mindset, might have let that one fall over."
Pick two or three stories that are genuinely yours (or at least from your office). Write them down. Practise them until they are smooth and natural. These are worth far more than any script.
The "what does cheap actually cost you?" close
This is the response framework for when the vendor directly raises the fee, or tells you they are considering going with someone cheaper.
Don't get defensive, or immediately offer to match the lower rate. Instead, try walking them through the maths.
Try this:
"I completely understand wanting to keep costs down. That makes total sense. Let me show you how I think about this, because I think it's worth taking 60 seconds to look at the numbers.
If your home sells for $750,000 and my commission is 2.95%, that's roughly $22,000. The agent offering 1.95% would charge around $14,600. So the difference is about $7,400.
Here's the question I'd ask: if my process, my buyer database, my negotiation, and my market knowledge attract even just one extra buyer, and that extra competition results in your home selling for even $20,000 more than it would with a cheaper operator (and in my experience the gap is often larger than that), then the extra commission is an investment which gains you an extra $12,600. Maybe more."
Whether you go with me or not, focus on choosing the salespeople who you believe has the process to get you the best possible sale price. That's the number that really matters."
Then stop talking. Let them sit with it.
The negotiation angle
This one is subtle but effective. Most vendors have not thought about it.
Try this:
"Here's something worth thinking about. The way an agent handles their own fee tells you something about how they will handle your negotiation.
If an agent caves on their commission the moment you push back, if they discount themselves before you've even signed the paperwork, ask yourself: what will they do when a buyer makes a low offer on your home? Will they hold firm and fight for your price? Or will they fold quickly because they just want to get the deal done?
I charge what I charge because I know what I'm worth, and I back myself to deliver. That same mindset is exactly what I bring to the table when I'm negotiating on your behalf."
Used at the right moment, this reframes the fee entirely - from a cost the vendor is trying to minimise, to evidence of the mindset they are hiring.
The follow-up script - when they're still sitting on the fence
You leave the appraisal and the vendor tells you they are thinking it over. You know the cheaper agent is still in the mix. Here is what to send within 24 hours.
Email subject: A few more thoughts after today
Hi [First Name],
Thank you for having me over today. I enjoyed the conversation and I'd genuinely love the opportunity to work together.
I've been thinking about our discussion and I want to leave you with one last thought on the fee question.
The difference between what I charge and what a cheaper operator charges comes down to a few thousand dollars. In the context of a $700,000+ transaction, that gap is real but it's also relatively small compared to what the right - or wrong - outcome looks like at the other end.
What I'd encourage you to think about is not just what each agent charges, but what each agent has demonstrably done. Ask to see their average days on market. Ask about a sale that was difficult and how they handled it. Ask how many homes they have sold in your area in the last 12 months, and what those results looked like.
Those answers will tell you far more than the fee will.
I'm happy to answer all of those questions about my own record, any time.
[Your name] [Phone number]
When is it ok to adjust your fee?
With all those fee-objections covered, are there (at the end of the day) still times when it is ok to drop your commission?
The short answer is, YES. I personally believe we should be flexible on commission, depending on the circumstances.
It all comes down to supply and demand.
If you don't have any listings right now, you should be prepared to adjust your commission to whatever level is competitive (with the permission of your manager, of course).
Once your skills improve and you are getting close to your listing capacity, you can and should increase your quoted commission rate.
At the same time, many salespeople are far too quick to drop their commission pants out of desperation to secure a listing.
Before dropping your fee, have a few role-play sessions. Work out your key listing stories and practice them. Offer to share your next listing opportunity with a top-notch agent, who will know how to protect their commission, so you can learn what they say in the heat of the moment.
Get better at your craft!
Note: It can also make sense to discount your commission if the property will be great for your profile. For example, it's on a main road and/or will attract a large number of buyers which you will be able to add to your database.
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Three more tools to help you win listings:
We all go through periods where our confidence takes a dip. It's natural and normal, especially if you have had a run of missing out on a few good listings.
What matters is how you bounce back. How you pick yourself up and be ready to make the most of the next listing opportunity that comes your way.
Andrew Duncan
Most owners will interview 3 or 4 salespeople before selecting one. The Agent Scoring Matrix helps them to make a well-thought-out decision. Similar to the way a company might look at hiring a general manager: Evaluating candidates in a fair and consistent way, rather than falling for the person who built the best rapport and talked a big game, potentially without having the process to back it up.
The magic of this approach is that an agent scoring matrix provides equal importance to all aspects of your proposal, not just commission, appraisal range, or how much you pumped the owners up about their home.
Commission rate becomes just one piece of the puzzle, not the key deciding factor.
Andrew Duncan
Most agents spend far more time worrying about what price to appraise a property at, rather than thinking about how they can add value to the owner's journey and provide an exceptional level of service.
Use this guide to take your appraisal process to a world-class level, and in the process, take the focus away from your appraisal range and commission rate.
Andrew Duncan
