One-stop-shopping jail Source: Real Estate Intellligence Report ©2001- Frank Cook There is a difference between 'attracting' the consumer and 'capturing' the consumer. If Julie Garton-Good is the Founder of the pro-real estate/pro-consumer "real estate consultant" movement, then Sheila Hensley must be its First Disciple. Hensley is living, working and profitable proof that consumers who are served well by a professional will pay her what she’s worth. Garton-Good, of course, is the creator of the Indianapolis-based National Association of Real Estate Consultants (NAREC). Taught correctly, NAREC believes professionals can be paid for what they know regardless of whether it results in a transaction. Hensley is president of Executive Relocation Services in Memphis, and was among the first to take Garton-Good’s consulting class. She also is among the first to put it to work. A conversation with Hensley the other day convinced me that she should be speaking at every Realtor association meeting in the country this year. Anywhere there is a session called "One-stop shopping," Hensley should be slotted right after it with a program entitled, "Rescuing your client from one-stop shopping jail." Without going into detail, the story is about what it took to free her client from a mega-brokerage maze. Mind you, it’s not so much a story of good over evil, nor even David over Goliath. But it is a story about what happens when dollar signs are built into corporate policy instead of consumers. The punch line, though, is this: Hensley rendered a service that had very little to do with her brokerage license – AND GOT PAID. And, quite likely, she got paid more than she would have gotten had she actually sold her clients a home. And, even better, the possibility of helping her clients buy a home still looms on the horizon. As the industry evolves, and the consultant-style "fee-for-service" concept gets better formed, I think we will see the emergence of a stronger, smarter and probably more personally courageous real estate professional. They will represent "the high road" of the real estate industry.