With rising interest rates and longer listing times leading to buyer hesitancy, improving your negotiation skills is critical now. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting out, mastering the art of negotiation is critical to success.
As good salespeople, our job is to help people overcome their fears and hesitations and achieve the goals they set.
A true negotiator possesses a high level of skill and is able to discern all the details of a deal, work through their own emotions, anticipate potential future pitfalls, assess personalities, and guide communications. The more skilled you are as a negotiator, the faster your deal will close. In this market, master negotiators will shine. After years of negotiating over 3,000 deals, here are some of my tips.
When meeting with clients, discuss the fact that you are a strong negotiator. Share your reviews and testimonials with them to showcase your negotiation skills.
Richer product knowledge gives you confidence. Preview properties and research the market daily. You can then confidently talk about the products available on the market. Talk to your lender on the first day of each week to get an overview of the market and plans and trends you can include in negotiations.
Memorize basic scripts to focus on the person in front of you. Speak clearly and calmly to avoid confusion and indecision. Continuously coach and consult with them to help them understand the value of an amazing offer.
Pay attention to their motivations and concerns. Build real rapport by talking about them, not you. Ask meaningful questions and tap into their emotions and provide logical data to help them make decisions.
Take control of your ego and emotions. Calm your emotions so you don’t add to your client’s anxiety. Calm down and slow down. Provide acknowledgment and validation, and provide a way for them to save face during difficult negotiations.
Eliminate argumentative language and soften your tone. Come from curiosity rather than judgment. “I’m glad to hear you’re not stressed and I agree with whatever you choose to do. So, what other options would you like to pursue? Could you keep the house and buy a new one? Maybe renting it might be a good option. Let’s take a look. However, depending on your current mortgage, you may not be able to withdraw enough cash and may have negative cash flow. If not, maybe we should give this offer another look.
Focus on making them happen instead of making them go wrong. If things get intense, take a break and come back stronger. Be patient and anticipate objections and questions.
Learn from your failures and ask yourself what you did right, what you didn’t do well, and what you could do differently next time.
Do your research and be prepared for the meeting. Set a standard for any negotiation you have to handle. Give yourself 24 hours to prepare, and set aside 15 to 20 minutes before entering a meeting or conversation to shut off the world and allow yourself to be fully present.
More choices and data can lead to indecision. Evaluate what data they need due to their personality.
The simpler, cleaner, and calmer your communication, the better off you’ll be.
Don’t give up too easily. Provide ongoing consultation, guidance, and questions to help your clients understand the validity of their situation.
Here are some books I recommend to help with negotiations: Emotional Intelligence 2.0 Gene Greaves and Travis Bradbury, Never split the difference chrisworth, The Seven Powers of Questions Author: Dorothy Leeds, and general speaking Author: Jay Sullivan.
Debbie De Grote is the CEO and co-founder of Forward Coaching.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the HousingWire editorial staff and its owners.
To contact the editor responsible for this article: [email protected]
