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How To Overcome Objections In Real Estate Negotiations
Objections and differences of opinion are to be expected in any situation. The task of buying and selling real estate provides lots of opportunities to practice overcoming them.
The truth is, you can either learn to overcome them or sit back hoping things will change (and go broke in the process). The entire process begins with becoming a good listener. There are two types of listeners, those who listen to respond and those who listen to understand.
The people who listen to respond are truly not listening at all. Instead, they are hearing sounds, waiting for an opening to say something. Often, these type of people cut you off many times during a conversation. Have you ever been on the phone with someone like this? Someone who simply keeps butting in when it’s your turn to talk? How successful do you think you would be in negotiations of any kind with this sort of behavior?
Those who listen to understand allow themselves to hear what the other party is saying clearly. This method lessens the likelihood of misunderstanding or confusion and allows the speaker to feel as if they are being heard. When people feel that they are heard, they are at ease in the conversation, therefore, the ability for a positive outcome is more likely. When listening to understand, your only function when its time to speak is to ask questions in order to gain clarity on a point already mentioned or to help garner more information that is tied to what the other party is saying.
Next, a Mindset Shift: There is No Such Thing as a Seller’s Market – a property is worth what a buyer will pay. This fact goes along with the idea that only one party is writing checks in this transaction and that person is the buyer. Its also only worth what an appraiser says its worth if you are getting a mortgage. In the event the appraisal came back lower than the negotiated price, how would you respond? Would you bring the additional cash needed to the closing table? Would you back out of the deal? Would you renegotiate with the seller? Only you can answer this question.
Please understand that the seller is NOT in charge, you must understand this, however, don’t rub that fact in the face of the seller either. The seller needs to feel as if they are in a position of slight superiority for you to negotiate a successful transaction. This means that any ideas that you agree with or originate, needs to be positioned as if they are the seller’s idea. People love being right, and hate being wrong, use that as leverage in negotiations.
The bottom line is that the old saying “you get more bees with honey” completely applies here. Take the time to hear them out, ask good questions and listen for the answers. In the event you are unclear, ask better questions to help you gain clarity.