It
amazes me how many people spend countless hours finding a deal, fixing it
up, then when it comes down to selling the house they become dumber than a
box of rocks.
What is the highest paid profession in the world? Sales. No surprise. If
you own a house and want to sell it yourself, what profession are you in?
Sales. Now, the big question... How much sales skill have you had? For
most people the answer is little to none and for those that have had some
sales skill the likelihood is the skill was inadequate. Right now let's
show you how to make the most of face to face negotiations with 4 simple
techniques.
Example: You own a home and want to sell it for $XXX and your meeting with
a prospective buyer. Inevitably the price will come up and there are
several things you can do to maximize your gain and your position.
4 Magic Negotiation Techniques Anyone Can Master
1. The Cringe: This is my personal favorite. The buyer has just made you
an offer and now the ball is in your court. Imagine that you just took a
big gulp of sour milk and it would be socially unacceptable to spit it
out. Your body is repulsed by the distinct sour taste, but you have to
swallow the sour milk. Your face contorts, your stomach tightens, your
eyes squint and your entire body stiffens and then you swallow the pungent
milk and then you make a muffled grunt..."oughhh." Now, that's 'the
cringe' and after the making the muffled grunt you remain quiet.
The silence will be awkward and the buyer will sense your displeasure with
their offer. With only one grunt and non-verbal communication you've put
yourself in a position to get more for the property and the buyer will
likely volunteer a higher price if you give them time.
2. The Home Is Probably Worth More Than I'm Asking: After the buyer has
made you an offer you reply with "the home is probably worth more than I'm
asking." This simple sentence helps establish the value of the home and
implies to the buyer that the price is already at a discount and a great
deal. It's a very polite way of holding your ground and keeping the price
up.
3. Blame Your Partner: Respond with "I don't think there is any way my
partner (wife, company, brother, dog, etc) would be accept that." When a
buyer wants a house they are looking for reassurance that things can be
worked out. By placing the decision on your partner you are in a much
better negotiating position. This is a version of good cop, bad cop. You
can respond by saying "I might be able to get them to consider $XXX, would
you like me to try?"
You might be asking if this technique really works? Well, have you ever
gone in to buy a car? It's no accident that the car salesman has to go to
his boss and several times he'll come back with "I tried, but we just
can't make that work. If I you could offer $XXX I think I could get the
finance manager to approve it." And back and forth they go working the
price up and maximizing there gains. They know the game so well that they
won't let you sit with the decision maker because that would cost them
money! Now you know.
4. Split The Difference: Many buyers have to make an offer in order to
feel that they have negotiated. If all else fails and you are willing, you
should offer to split the difference. Often this will be what they
EXPECTED and you'll be able to complete the sale. But, splitting the
difference is the last choice because you are giving away profits you
might be able to capture using one of the other negotiating techniques.
There is no doubt that saying a few words or making the right
expression can be worth thousands of dollars to you and that's
on just one deal. Imagine the cumulative effect over your
lifetime.
And, one final lesson. Did you notice that in some places I used the word
'home' and in other places the word 'house'? This is no accident and an
example of using known selling techniques. Whenever I'm buying it's always
a 'house' and when selling it's always a 'home'. Why? Do you live in a
house or home? Which has a stronger emotion attached to it?
So when I'm buying it's a house because I don't want the seller hanging on
to 'their home', I want them to disassociate with the building and start
calling it a house which best serves that purpose. And, when selling I
want the buyer to fall in love with their new 'home', a place where fond
memories are made. And, in this case a 'house' just doesn't cut it.
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