Storytime! 

New lead from my website: "Hey, my wife and I are interested in X house. Any chance you can show it to us this afternoon? We realize it's last minute."

Me: "Great house! I'd be happy to. But do you mind confirming for me....Are you currently under contract or committed to working with another real estate agent?"

Lead: "We are not under contract but we have a good friend who is a Realtor and she will be representing us."

Me: "Great! I'm sure she will be more than happy to show you the home. Feel free to keep using my site to view properties and good luck with your search!"

Lead: "She's not available today and lives 3 hours north. We thought you could just show us the home."

Me: "Can you give me her contacts? I'm sure we can work out an arrangement since she's not local and will need the help of a local agent to assist with your showings."

Lead: "She doesn't even know we're going to be selling our home yet. If it's an issue to show us the home, we can just move on. Have a good weekend."

Me: "It's not an issue to show the home, I just need to prioritize my time for my clients. With all due respect, I encourage you to use your friend to sell your home up north and enlist the help of a local agent who understands the local market and is available at a moment's notice to show you properties. I do that for my buyer clients and would be happy to assist you in that manner if you'll allow me to represent you. If you change your mind, I'm available and happy to help!"

Lead: .......

Lead: "We'd like you to represent us and we'd love to see the house today if you're still available.

Me: "I'll meet you there!"

The showing goes GREAT! We totally hit it off! They sent me a text afterward saying they are happy to sign the contract and have me represent them on the purchase of a home within a budget of $500-700k. 

BOOM! I'm so proud of myself for professionally setting boundaries and still winning the business!