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Part 2 of Managing Expectations of Today’s Buyer
I was with Mark Harrill’s team up at Echota in Boone, NC on Monday, and the previous Monday, Chris Drury had me come back up to Kiawah to do a follow up training session. At both communities I spent a lot of time teaching how to get today’s buyer to buy today. Or, if not today, how to help them purchase in a reasonable period of time. Please reread my last blog entry as today’s entry is the second part of the process. The earlier blog explained what to say in the initial interview to set the stage for the offer that you hopefully will receive upon completion of your tour.
After the prospect has identified the home or homesite of their choice, but prior to making an offer, many times you will hear, “What do you think they will take?”
The response to this question is where many sales are lost! Unfortunately, I hear many agents respond to the question with something like the following: “I don’t know what they will take, but let’s make them a low ball offer and see how motivated they are!”
Many times the seller gets offended and doesn’t counter at all, or they come down some, the buyer comes up some, but they started so far apart that the sale never occurs. The agent loses, the buyer loses, and the seller loses.
Rather than the above strategy I suggest something like the following: “Well, Bill and Sally, I don’t know what they will take, but this home is priced to the market. At the top of the market back in 2006, it was valued at $650,000 and today it is listed at $400,000. It has already taken its 30% market adjustment and is a tremendous value at $400,000. To answer your question, I assume they will take $400, and if we get it for $400 we may be arrested for stealing!”
To which your buyer may respond, “Well I’m not going to pay them list price.”
To which I respond, “Well Bill, again, I don’t know what they will take. I don’t know if they will come down or not. It is a great value at $400 and whether we buy it or not, this will be one of the next homes purchased. If you want to offer them a little under $400 we can give it a shot, but like we discussed 3 hours ago back in the office before we started looking at homes, the homes where the sellers are realistic and have priced their homes to the market, those homes sell quickly at list, or close to it. If you want to offer them a little under $400 let’s give it a shot and see what they say.”
Try this with your buyers and I promise you will put more transactions together and have a happy buyer and seller!
As always, let me know if I can be of help with any of your training needs. This isn’t theory that I teach. My primary focus is my real estate practice with my son. I am in the trenches with you on a day to day basis. I hear the same objections you hear, and what I teach I know works in the market because I live and breathe it every day!
Have a great one and let me know if I can be of assistance.
Johnny
Posted on 10/27 at 12:44 PM
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