Bob Dixon

Prudential Savage & Company

It was the passage of federal disclosure laws that made Bob Dixon decide to be one of the first to represent buyers in his community of Richmond, VA. When it became the law for all licensees to reveal whom they represented in a real estate transaction, the need for someone to represent the buyer became obvious to him. So, he broached the subject to a forward-looking broker at Prudential Savage & Company and his career as a buyer’s rep was launched.

“I looked around and saw there was a serious lack of information available to the consumer about buyer representation. I saw an opportunity to hit this thing from a service angle and provide that information,” says Dixon. He began by discussing buyer representation with consumers at the time he made the agency disclosure required by law. It was a quick step from there to be the development of his very successful “Keys to Successful Home-buying” workshop for buyers. In it, he highlight seven critical keys necessary for successful home-buying experience such as the benefits of being pre-approved for a mortgage, money saving tips, and formulating, presenting and negotiating an offer. He awards students a certificate of completion at the end of the workshop.

Today, Dixon’s preeminence in buyer’s representation in his market has led to a unique problem for him – he has too many clients. As a result, he has forged referral relationships with other ABR®s in his area. “I prefer to work with only three to five buyers at a time,” he says, “so I refer the rest out. That gives me more time for my real love – consumer education: getting hold of people who don’t know something’s available to them. I like developing trust. That’s what really makes me tick.” In his future: teaching other brokers and agents how to do home-buying workshops. He believes that, with the inventory going on the Internet, all buyer’s reps will need to emphasize and improve the services they provide to the buyers.