How I Turned “I Already Have a Realtor” Into a $2 Million Opportunity

By Dave Zajdzinski

Founder of Leverage Agent, guiding business owners to scale with virtual assistants. He also owns a successful real estate business with 20 years of experience and nearly 2,000 homes sold.

Agents, how many times has a buyer told you, “thanks, but I already have a realtor,” and you just let them walk? I used to hear that and think, well, there goes that one. But I’ve completely flipped my approach, and one recent buyer who said those exact words turned into millions of dollars in transactions. Here’s exactly how, step by step, so you can do the same.

Here’s the setup. Right before a holiday weekend, someone messages wanting to see one of my listings the next day. This is where most agents create friction, firing off qualifying questions, “are you pre-approved, are you working with anyone, sign this first.” I did the opposite: I just said yes. You’re in tomorrow, done. Then, on a quick intro call, the buyer told me the thing that makes most agents fold: “I do have a realtor.” Instead of walking away, or telling him to go have his own agent open the door, I said, no problem, let’s still get you in, I’ll take care of it. And because it was my listing, I could. That one decision, to serve first and remove friction, opened the entire door, and turned a stranger who “already had a realtor” into a client with two transactions.

When a buyer says they already have an agent, do not make them do the work. Picture the classic scenario: a buyer wants into your listing, mentions their realtor, and the agent says, “then have your realtor set up the showing.” Look at what just happened, you put the burden back on the customer, made it harder, and protected a commission you were never getting anyway. I do the opposite. If it’s my listing and a buyer wants in, I make it effortless, and I’ll even cover the cost to get them shown, out of my own pocket. The psychology is simple: when you make someone’s life easier and spend a little to serve them, you create reciprocity. They notice the contrast, “this person made it easy, and my own agent is making it hard.” That alone can start moving a buyer toward you before you’ve said a word about switching.

Build instant credibility without bragging. Once I’ve served them and they’re relaxed, they start asking questions, about commissions, about process. What I don’t do is launch into a monologue about how great I am; that puts their guard right back up. Instead, I send my resume link, my years in business, homes sold, reviews, and say, “take thirty seconds, read this, then let’s talk.” Let the credentials speak. It works, because now the trust is built on proof I showed, not claims I made. Then I ask one disarming question: “from that experience, can I ask what you’re trying to accomplish? Catch me up.” No pitch, just curiosity, and that’s when they tell you everything you need to actually help them.

Then bring them a solution their current agent didn’t. Once this buyer opened up, I understood his real situation and saw a path he had no idea existed. He assumed he was stuck. I was able to say, “actually, there’s a way,” and show him a solution most people have never heard of. That’s the moment it all changed, because from his side, here’s someone who made it easy, clearly has the experience, and just showed him a door no one else mentioned. And here’s what every agent should absorb: I didn’t win by being pushy or trashing his other agent. I won by out-serving, out-caring, and out-solving. Do those three consistently, and “I already have a realtor” stops being a wall and becomes an opening.

So here’s the bottom line. Every time you hear “I already have a realtor” and walk away, you may be walking away from millions in business, like I almost did. The agents who win in this market aren’t protecting their time and their egos, they’re removing friction, leading with proof instead of a pitch, and bringing real solutions.

That’s exactly what I coach agents on every day. If you’re an agent who wants to stop losing these opportunities and start converting them, call or text me at (480) 332-6468, email me at info@leverageagent.com, or visit blog.leverageagent.org. The difference between the agents who struggle and the ones who scale often comes down to how they handle these exact moments.