Thank you to Sean Bugg for contributing this article.

Reading the news these days as a buyer’s agent, it’s easy to feel that you’re just not wanted.

You’re not alone. Our industry, as a whole, is going through some seismic changes, from a market that simply doesn’t have enough homes for everyone who wants one, to a national settlement that aims to preserve the choices consumers have regarding real estate services and compensation.

For Realtors® who came to their careers after the housing market crash of the late 2000s, this may be the first time that handling existential dread has been added to the daily to-do list, alongside reaching out to your sphere and handing out five business cards a day.

I’m here to tell you it’s going to be okay. Note: I did not say it’s going to be easy. And I am not saying that the market is going to suddenly shift in your buyer's favor. “Being okay” doesn’t mean everyone will suddenly be wildly successful and all our problems will disappear into the wishful ether.

To be honest, some Realtors may be afraid that earning their commissions may become a more difficult task. But with work, focus, and clear thinking, Realtors® can overcome any challenge and continue to thrive in the real estate industry. To start, don’t over-focus on the media coverage of the upcoming settlement terms or the various “Chicken Littles” urging you to run for cover. That’s worrying about being wanted.

Our value as Realtors® comes from being needed. And as buyers’ agents, part of our job is displaying our value by showing our clients (and potential clients) exactly how we’re needed.

The first thing is understanding the settlement. While you shouldn’t over-focus on the coverage, you should focus on how it will affect you and your clients (NVAR has support for you here). The public has a lot of questions — and plenty of misconceptions — about what’s happening with the real estate industry. You should be their primary source. Don’t let news sites and social media take your place.

We’re lucky that we work in a market where one of the major focuses of the settlement — buyer agency agreements — is simply the way we’ve done business for years. Many people in our local market don’t realize this protection because much of the media has taken a national perspective. As a Realtor®, you have the opportunity to provide the local perspective.

You’re the expert. You’re ahead of the curve. That’s part of your value.

Next, spend some time considering what a buyer’s agent is for (you may already be doing this thanks to the aforementioned existential dread). Potential clients have all sorts of ideas of their own, driven by news coverage, reality-show fantasies, and supposed money-saving schemes from cable shows.

Here’s my own way of framing my role as a Realtor®:

I grew up working in my father’s custom body and frame shop. My dad knew engines as well as he did bodywork. Heading to college, I knew my own way around an engine. Decades later, could I handle regular car maintenance and repairs on my own? Sure. Would I?

NO!

Why? Because while I know the basics, cars today are far more complicated than the older models I learned on. I don’t want to invest in a bunch of equipment beyond my set of socket wrenches. I have more valuable and productive uses of my time than learning a complicated system that I’ll use at most once every two to three years.

Finally, if my amateur efforts go wrong, I could end up costing myself multiple times what it would have in the first place.

That’s what a mechanic is for, whether their customer is a gearhead or someone who doesn’t know that transmission fluid is, in fact, a thing.

And, in a very real way, that’s what I’m for as a Realtor®. I’ve worked with buyers who are on their third home, and I’ve worked with those who don’t know the basics of a mortgage. I bring value to both. I use my experience and training to ease the process, overcome obstacles, and if possible, save them real money.

That’s my story as a Realtor®, to explain what I’m for. Take the time to craft your story. Or, heck, take mine — though you should probably at least know how to drive a stick!

Finally, ask your former clients about what value you brought them. Every client, every transaction is different. Perhaps your knowledge of a particular HOA helped your client navigate a persnickety door-color requirement. Maybe you caught the problem in the unfinished basement/cellar that could have turned a client’s dream home into a money pit. Maybe you were their cheerleader as they finally found their first home. Maybe you gave them a shoulder to cry on while they went through a divorce.

Every client, every transaction has different needs. It’s our job — what we’re for — to meet those needs or find the professional who can.

That’s our value.

That’s what we must communicate to our clients and customers. Be ready to give specific examples of what you do to meet their needs.

Forget about the analysts, pundits, and social media influencers trying to convince you that you’re not wanted.

Remember that you’re needed.