Alpha Agents

Alpha Agents are just that, they thrive on having the upper hand. They want their clients to know that they are in control. They think they are taking charge. They say they are on top of their game. Ironically, they rarely are, but don't tell their ego.

Once in a while I run across one of these types and just roll my eyes. While the rest of us play for a win-win, they simply don't. My buyers don't expect to get everything they want, because what they really want is a house. The rest is truly gravy. My sellers know they may have to concede their expectations and they won't get Zillow's unrealistic the highest price they can imagine in order to move on with their life. Experience has taught me to give that expectation up front. Alpha agents don't. Their entire schick is, "I will get it done no matter what," and then gamble that everything will work in their favor. Many times "getting it done" comes at a higher cost than actually getting the house sold. But don't tell their ego that either.

Earlier in my real estate career, I used to be afraid of these yahoos. After all, they would say my name repeatedly as they made slightly unnerving comments. They would also use words and phrases such as, "I can't believe" and "obviously" and "reevaluate" and "I am shocked you don't realize," Alphas gaslight with snark like, "Mary, I can't believe how much you don't care about your clients? If you did, you would see things my way..." or "Mary, I think you need to go back and reevaluate your actions, maybe then you can see where you screwed up. I am shocked you don't realize, what you did. Obviously, if you did you would never have..." or (my favorite) "Mary, my clients are disappointed you didn't pay for the termite inspection like you said you would. So, are you going to live up to your word...?" (I never said I would pay for such thing, by the way.) It is as if Alphas are the utmost authority and everyone else simply should believe what they say, because noise comes out of their face.

Alphas were bullies in former jobs. Frankly, they still are. They tend to surround themselves with lackeys whose sole role is to feed the ego of the Alpha. And when they stop, the Alpha dismisses them with such drivel as, "Lackey, obviously you just don't want success as much as I do, otherwise you would have done..." and other passive-aggressive ugliness that is supposed to pass as coaching.

I had one Alpha Agent--the one who made a crack about the termite inspection--who, when I didn't kowtow to his crummy behavior, personally threatened me. Marty Sunshine insisted I get an Order of Protection, but I didn't want to give this jerk that much power. I figured he would go away when his buyers lost out on the house they wanted. He did go away, incidentally. He also sent me a half-apology via text message. "He hadn't been himself," he said. I would hate to see what "himself" really looked like.

Alphas no longer unnerve me. I see them for who they are. The easiest way to derail one is to just do my job correctly. I work for the client. That means I do what my client wants, not what I want. Clearly understanding my job makes my communication and intentions much more defined. I am clear what I do, and how I do it. And, if I get confused, I have a contract in place to remind me.

This past week, I had an Alpha Agent, tell me he wasn't happy. That's fine, I work for my client so the Alpha's happiness isn't important to me. My client's happiness is. I also pointed out in the contract where it said if my clients weren't happy with the dump home he was selling, they could back out. His sellers agreed to that too. Quoting the purchase contract just happens to be the second easiest way to derail an Alpha Agent.