What Happens When You Don’t Pay the Commissions You Promised?

Here’s the background:

One of my coaching clients, a wealthy, successful, savvy and connected businessman, told me his daughter was moving from Calgary to Winnipeg – company move – and he was looking for a realtor in Winnipeg who would pay him a commission for bringing that realtor the business – an expensive home, no realtors involved yet, done deal – on a plate. His daughter is very high up in a well known business – they fly her around in a company jet – and she will be selling the house in Winnipeg again when she is transferred.

What I did:

I called a good friend of mine who is a travel agent in Winnipeg, and she referred her realtor to me. I called him, and he was falling all over himself to accommodate us very friendly – even offered us 25% of his commission. I told him I had dealt with realtors before and they like to play games, so he should make sure he will deliver the service and the 25%. I called my client and suggested he get the agreement in writing before making the connection, but he didn’t – he went ahead and his daughter bought the house from my friend’s realtor. In order to reward my friend for referring her realtor, my client called my friend and suggested the commission from the realtor be paid directly to her for travel for his daughter and her husband.

What the Idiot Realtor Did:

First, he hid away and we had to deal with his wife. When I finally got hold of him on the phone (he was ignoring my client’s emails) he was aggressive, and when he spoke to my client he basically found every weak, transparent excuses under the wintry Winnipeg sun not to pay any commission at all. Not only has he assured himself of extremely bad publicity with some serious players in Winnipeg, including a multinational, giant company, but Winnipeg is a small town, and my friend the travel agent and everyone else now knows what a dishonest person this realtor is. He will reap what he has sown, and he has put whatever reputation he has on the line.

What Could Have Happened:

Had this realtor been intelligent enough to have paid the commission, my friend the travel agent would have had a regular client with deep pockets, the realtor would have been on the receiving end of some serious business from a huge company, as well as multiple referrals from my client and his daughter, and even, perhaps, me, and everyone would have won.

Pay what you owe. Pay on time. Don’t play games. The return on investment is massive.