Real Clues

[RealClues] #320: Stop Defending (part 3)

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A Special Invitation: Our Second Annual Really Awesome Women in Real Estate Conference will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from April 21 to 23. If you are a woman who holds a leadership position in CRS, Women's Council or if you hold an executive or management position at your Board, Association, or company, and would like to know more about this conference, please email me at Bernice@RealEstateCoach.com. This event is by invitation only. We wanted to make it available to those of you who support our efforts here at RealEstateCoach.com. Don't wait--we only have a few slots left.

This week at www.LuxuryClues.com:
Capture More Luxury Listings and Attract More Web Clients
Creature Feature: A Glimpse into the Future of Real Estate
Are You Taking Care of the Most Important Part of Your Body?

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Table of Contents
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1. CoachingClues: Stop Defending and Start Closing, Part 3 of 3: The Art of Negotiation
2. Welcome Notes: The Secret to Performing Well in a Tough Market--Negotiation
3. Reprise: Market Smarter with Sixteen Key Marketing Questions (Part 1 of 3)
4. Create a Better Life: How to Attract More Income and Higher Quality Clients
5. Positive News for Positive Realtors(reg): Good Economic News-Why Now is the Best Time Ever to Buy Property
6. Featured Products: Convert More Web and Print Leads
7. Increase Your Production with Personal Coaching
8. Give Us Your Feedback on this Newsletter
9. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe

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1. CoachingClues: Stop Defending and Start Closing
(Part 3 of 3): The Art of Negotiation
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Are you having a tough time closing your buyers and sellers? If so, the knowing the correct questions to ask is one of the easiest ways to increase your sales.

In our last two columns, we looked at some of the key questions that will help you be more effective with buyers and sellers. Today's column looks at key negotiation questions that can help you defend less and close more.

1. It's your choice, what would you like to do?
This may be the most important question in real estate. Agents who try to control the negotiation often lose the transaction. Ultimately, it's your client's house and it's their decision. Instead of trying to be the expert, act as a conduit of information. You're there to provide your clients with the best possible information so that they can make the best decision possible. The way to do this is to outline the various options available to your client. Then ask if there are any options that you have missed. If not, turn the decision back to the clients. This strategy is extremely effective. The clients feel that you are supporting them, not trying to manipulate them. Furthermore, when the clients are in charge of making the decisions, you greatly reduce the risk of litigation.

2. It was never my intention to make you angry--what can I do to fix it?
When one of your clients becomes angry, don't argue or try to defend yourself. You will only escalate the situation. Instead, listen carefully to what the person says, take notes, and then ask what you can do to correct or fix the situation. Notice that there is no admission that you have done anything wrong. This is extremely important if the client is making noises about suing.

3. Would you be willing to write a counteroffer to see whether we (the agents) can put this together?
Many buyers today are writing low offers. It's tempting to call these buyers low-ball-ers, bottom feeders, or some other disparaging term. A much better approach is to take all the emotion out of the situation by saying, "I would have liked nothing better than to have brought you a full price offer. Instead, the buyers have elected to write an offer substantially under the asking price. About half the time, we can put these together. Would you be willing to write a counteroffer to determine whether this is one of that 50 percent that eventually will convert into a closed sale?" If you don't write a counteroffer, there's no sale. This question usually motivates the sellers to write a counteroffer, even when are reluctant to do so.

4. Mr. and Mrs. Seller, you have an important decision to make; are you going to stay here and wait for the real estate market to improve or are you ready to accept this offer and get on with your life?
When prices are soft or when homeowners have to sell for less than they hoped, it's often hard for them to accept the reality of the situation. One of the best approaches is to outline their choices. Sometimes sellers think that they or the agents are in charge of determining the selling price. The truth of the matter is that it's the buyers that determine what prices are. A great analogy to use is, "The real estate market is like the stock market. If you paid $100.00 for a stock that is selling at $60.00 today, you have one of two choices. You can wait for the market to improve or you sell at today's current price." Remember to end this statement with, "It's your choice, what would you like to do?"

5. How would you like me to negotiate this offer on your behalf?
This is an important question to ask when you're working with buyers. It's extremely important when you are representing a buyer in a multiple offer. Avoid making recommendations about how to negotiate. Instead, here's what to say. "Mr. and Mrs. Buyer, there are three ways to negotiate this transaction. You could write an offer as if there were no competing offers on the property. If you really want this house, you may want to consider writing a full price offer. If this is the only house that will make you happy and you absolutely have to have it, you may want to consider writing an offer over asking price. How would you like me to negotiate this offer on your behalf?"

There are hundreds of ways to close more effectively by asking more questions. Whenever you feel yourself becoming defensive, pause for a moment and remember to ask, "What question can I ask to move this situation forward?" rather than "What can I say to persuade them that I'm right?"

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2. Welcome Notes
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Welcome to our new subscribers this week. Each week RealClues provides you with great strategies to improve both your business and your life. If you find this issue of RealClues helpful, take a moment to hit the "forward" button and send it to another friend in the business.

Why do so many top producers actually make MORE money in a down market? The answer is simple. They have excellent negotiation skills. For almost ten years, the market has been so good that agents didn't really have to do much to sell properties. Buyers were so eager to purchase that they were willing to waive loan contingencies, physical inspections, and other normal contingencies. Now, more than any other time in your career, your negotiation skills will make or break your business. There are numerous ways to improve these skills--List and Sell Real Estate Like Crazy (11 hours on audio CD plus 200 page manual), my book Waging War on Real Estate's Discounters, our scripts and dialogues library with over 200 proven dialogues on audio CD, and our individual coaches are each a powerful means to improve your negotiation skills and your business. Strong negotiators close more deals--can you afford not to have these important skills?

As I speak to people across the country, the market appears to be sputtering back to life. It's better, then it's slow, and then it gets better again. Tune into this week's Positive News to hear the good news about broker web traffic and what that traffic means for future sales.

Make it a great week.

Bernice Ross, MCC, and Byron Van Arsdale, MCC
www.RealEstateCoach.com, www.LuxuryClues.com, www.RossdalePress.com, www.ConferenceCallTraining.com, and www.TeleconferenceLine.com

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3. Reprise: Market Smarter with these
16 Key Marketing Questions (Part 1 of 3)
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Can't afford an expensive copywriter for your business? This article first ran in 2005 and was the result of an interview with James DeKoven, who has a long and impressive track record of helping businesses create real results from their marketing. Persuasive copy sprouts from probing questions. DeKoven has found the following questions to be among the most helpful in his arsenal. Before you spend more money marketing your services, evaluate your current marketing campaign by asking these key questions outlined in this important series of articles.

http://www.realestatecoach.com/articles_archive/art20050606.html

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4. Create a Better Life: How to Attract More
Income and Higher Quality Clients
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"We attract who we are." This is one of the primary tenets of coaching. If you would like to attract clients who purchase properties that are more expensive AND are a pleasure to work with, this inventory can show you how to do it. To learn more, click on the link below:

http://www.realestatecoach.com/assessments/agent/ast_2.html

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5. Positive News for Positive Realtors(r)
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February has good news on the job market, unemployment, and a number of other areas.
Web traffic looks good. Tune into Positive News to find out why now is the best time to buy ever! If you haven't listened in recently, please don't miss the opportunity to get positive, get excited, and close more transactions by spreading the word about what's great about real estate today!

http://listenandlearnrealestate.com/news.html

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6. Featured Products: Convert More Web and Print Leads
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For only $99.00, you can order Waging War on Real Estate's Discounters PLUS our 82 Waging War Scripts on audio CD PLUS 2 copies of Who's the Best Person to Sell My House? Waging War is a complete guide to capturing more listings. It shows you the strategies you will need to differentiate yourself from the competition as well as what it takes to earn a full commission. You can use Who's the Best Person on expired listing call as well as on FSBOs as well. To put these valuable tools to work in your business, click on the link below:

http://www.realestatecoach.com/wagingwar.html

To learn how to capture more FSBOs, read this article: http://www.realestatecoach.com/download/FSBOlistings.pdf

To convert more Expired listings, read this article: http://www.realestatecoach.com/download/ExpiredListings.pdf

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7. Increase Your Production with Personal Coaching
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Looking for a well-trained coach who knows the real estate business? Our coaching team can help you increase your production and make your dreams come true. Send an e-mail to Shane@RealEstateCoach.com and we'll help find the right coach for you.

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8. Give Us Your Feedback On This Newsletter
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We want your feedback-to share your thoughts and suggestions, please e-mail us at Shane@RealEstateCoach.com.

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9. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe
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Visit our Web site, http://www.RealEstateCoach.com to subscribe/unsubscribe to RealClues.

Copyright (c) 1996-2008, RealEstateCoach.com and Teleclass4U.com, LLC. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy or distribute RealClues as long as this copyright notice and full information about contacting the contributors to this newsletter is attached.

Contributors to this newsletter:
Bernice Ross, MCC, and Byron Van Arsdale, MCC, Owners, www.RealEstateCoach.com, www.LuxuryClues.com, www.ConferenceCallTraining.com; www.RossdalePress.com; and www.TeleconferenceLine.com
Shane Bowlin, REC General Manager

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