Posted by ericashaw on 1/10/07 1:35pm
Msg #170177

fees

I know you all think that we should get paid well for this job and I try to keep my fees where I think the average should be. I also know ALL of you say STICK TO YOUR FEES. So after three calls today not meeting my fee by $25, at what point do you give up and take the work you can get? Unlike all you pros, most of us do not have TC's ringing our phone off the hook willing to pay whatever we ask. I am trying to keep the faith with what I read on here but I could have signed 3 loans today and for doing what I am told I am signing 0 right now. Anybody got any help out there?

Reply by Blueink_CA on 1/10/07 1:42pm
Msg #170178

This is YOUR business and you need to run it as such. There are alot of variables in accepting an assignment. Distance and lender are the one's on which I base my fees. Don't give up and try to keep it as simple as possible without short-selling yourself. Good Luck!

Reply by PL on 1/10/07 1:44pm
Msg #170181

Your business, your rules

Could you have worked the three into one big trip? You know what your costs are, could you have made money at the end of the day? The thrust of this business is negotiation, if you can meet in the middle, then knock it out. You won't be able to every time, but working is better then not and making money is better then losing money. You will need to sit down, make bottom line decisions and move forward. Good luck.

Reply by MistarellaFL on 1/10/07 2:42pm
Msg #170187

My thoughts about sticking to fees

Sure, stick to your fees, but be ready to negotiate to your advantage.
If I was super-slow, I may accept the lower fee on a case-by-case basis.
I have bare minimums, that is for sure.
On a normal day, my regular fee is more than $50, but there are a few companies I accept $50-$75 from.
Why? Because they are less than 50 pages, within 10 miles of me, and the docs are ON'ed to the borrower for review before I get there AND take less than 20 minutes to complete OR it is only a few docs. And they help fill in the empty spaces in my schedule.
No, I wouldn't accept one of these during peak, especially when I expect there will be more profitable calls coming in.
When posters are telling you to stick to your fees, they are expecting you to use your common sense in the matter.
If time, distance and overhead costs prevent you from accepting $25 less than your regular fee, so be it.
But don't shoot yourself in the foot over $25, when times are tough and you'll be making a profit.

Reply by MikeC/NY on 1/10/07 3:10pm
Msg #170191

Someone once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result.

Personal opinion: sticking resolutely to your fees works if a) you've got an established client list, or b) you're in a market where your services are in high demand and the number of potential suppliers is low, or c) you've figured out a way to differentiate the service you provide from what everyone else offers. If you're not in any of those positions, I think you need to be flexible.

A mentor who I respect suggested that I set a personal base fee - some number that I would absolutely not accept less than - and then set a fee schedule that gives me some negotiation room if I need it. It works. Sometimes I get what I want, sometimes I get a little less, and occasionally, if I can get them to make the first offer, I get more than I would have asked for. I walk away from the ones that refuse to negotiate and at least meet that bottom-line figure I've set for myself. $25 apart is not exactly the Grand Canyon; I'm willing to bet you would have gotten one or two of those jobs if you suggested a fee somewhere midway between what you were asking and what they were offering.

Good luck!

Reply by ericashaw on 1/10/07 3:19pm
Msg #170193

I guess I am just frustrated sitting here. I understand the concept of trying not to let them get away with lowballing us, but then someone is taking them for what I would not do them for. I guess I don't have the art of negotiating down. Usually the conversation is something like:"what would you charge for this" and I tell them and they say " I will call you right back if I can get that approved." Or today when I came back with my fee, same thing. There was no chance to negotiate. Am I missing the art of selling myself? One guy told me that he could find someone cheaper even if it meant cheaper work. I had worked for them before and he knew I would do it right.

Reply by MistarellaFL on 1/10/07 3:25pm
Msg #170194

Eric

This is a priceless way to begin negotiations, IMO.
When they ask "what would you charge for this?"
Try responding with a question like "what are you authorized to pay?"
If they go lower than your minimum, tell them you'd love to work with them, but could they meet you halfway at $XXX?
BTW, I understand your frustration.
I haven't had a closing since 12/29.
I have had 8 appts. in 2007, each and everyone of them ended up being a "dead loan" before I could print the docs or schedule the appt.
My area is sloooow right now.
Look for it to pick up mid-month, FWIW.

Reply by John_NorCal on 1/10/07 3:27pm
Msg #170195

**One guy told me that he could find someone cheaper even if it meant cheaper work. I had worked for them before and he knew I would do it right. **

This doesn't sound like someone I would want to hang my hat on. If he can't respect you for the work that you did previously, then I think you're better off without him. As others have said, look at your bottom line and EVERYTHING that it takes to make it, set your base fee and give yourself some wiggle room. You might consider asking people what they are authorized to pay for your service, some SA's find that helpful. Good luck Erica!

Reply by Larry/Ca on 1/10/07 3:40pm
Msg #170196

My line when asked what my....

fee is, "my normal fee for that is $XXX, can you pay that?". This usually opens the door for negotiations or gets an O.K. that's fine.

Larry

Reply by ericashaw on 1/10/07 4:04pm
Msg #170198

Re: My line when asked what my....

thats a good line I will have to try that. Thanks for all your help

Reply by MikeC/NY on 1/10/07 9:44pm
Msg #170252

"Am I missing the art of selling myself? One guy told me that he could find someone cheaper even if it meant cheaper work. I had worked for them before and he knew I would do it right."

Well, right there's a way to start selling yourself. Point out that you've worked for them before and that he knows what he's buying because your work is guaranteed - does he really want inferior work just to save a few bucks? You could then make a counteroffer, to see if he'll come up to meet you. I think a lot of these guys have some discretion, unless you're dealing with a real sleazeball company.

A combination of Misty's and Larry's approaches sounds good to me. Start off with "What are you authorized to pay?"; sometimes they'll surprise you and offer more than you were going to ask. If they don't bite at that and push you for a quote, you can come back with "I usually get $XXX, can you meet that price?". Either they'll meet it or tell you they can only pay $XX, which is when you can counteroffer some price in between.

Reply by Dorothy_MI on 1/10/07 10:12pm
Msg #170254

I usually couch it this way, "My normal fee for that area is $$, can you do that? Asking them what they are authorized to pay used to work, but they've wised up to the fact that sometimes they were offering MORE than was required to get the job done. Always, in any negotiation try to leave them room to save "face". Depending on the company, if you get the line, "I'll have to get that approved", respond by saying something like, "I'll hold while you ask your supervisor". Sometimes this works too.

Reply by sue_pa on 1/11/07 7:56am
Msg #170285

...Asking them what they are authorized to pay used to work, but they've wised up to the fact that sometimes they were offering MORE than was required to get the job done..

I so agree. Since I'm assuming part of a schedulers job is to keep the fees as low as possible, why does anyone think they will tell the truth. My personal opinion is that if a company offers more than someone would have asked for themselves, their fees aren't high enough to start with.