What to Do in the First 9 Months

Become a Better Negotiator

Depending on your personal preferences and/or skill set, negotiation may be an aspect of real estate that you love or one you dread. Yet, almost every part of the real estate transactions—from establishing a commission rate with sellers to reaching the final terms of the purchase contract—requires negotiation. Whatever your current abilities, improving your negotiating skills will help you to better serve your clients and get them the best sale price or purchase price possible.

Here are some practical tips to help you beef up your negotiating skills:

• Make a list of what you and your clients want to achieve from the negotiation. Then rank those goals from the most to least important.

• For each negotiating point, determine what ranges you can work within, including minimums, targets, and maximums.

• Determine in advance what concessions you can make, based on your clients’ ranking of goals. With each concession, ask for a tradeoff (“If we can come down by $3,000, then will you remove this contingency?”).

• Try to anticipate what negotiating demands the other party might make, and prepare and practice your responses to those requests.

• Maintain a demeanor that is calm, pleasant, and unflappable. Concentrate on creating an atmosphere of joint problem-solving that focuses on the benefits to all parties.

• Learn as much as you can about the situation, issues, and the participants and learn all of the participants’ needs.

• If negotiations stall, point out what the other side has to lose if you’re not able to come to an agreement.

• Make sure that your body language, tone of voice, and words convey the same message. You won’t be believable if you’re giving an ultimatum but you shuffle your papers nervously. At the same time, observe the body language and tone of the other party during the negotiations to determine what’s truly important to the other side and how they feel about your offers.

Presenting an Offer

Get purchase contract negotiations off on the right foot by presenting your clients’ offer effectively.

• Always try to present the buyers’ purchase offer in person to the sellers. If that’s not possible (with out-of-town sellers, for example), then try to arrange a conference call when all of the decision-makers can participate.

• Anticipate possible sellers’ objections ahead of time, and try to gather the information you will need to respond to the objections (an updated CMA, etc.).

• Use language that shows the sellers that you’re both working toward a common goal. Don’t say, “My buyers,” but instead say, “Our buyers.”

• Don’t just concentrate on the price. Flexibility on closing time, no contingencies, and a well-qualified buyer are all strong aspects of an attractive offer.

• If the sellers won’t accept the terms of an offer, wait two or three days and present the offer again.

Counteroffers

Crafting and presenting counteroffers is another test of your negotiating skills. Try these techniques to work toward a win-win situation.

• Keep all counteroffers focused on the big picture. Remind sellers that the value of the concession is probably far less than the profit they are making on their home.

• If you think the price is reasonable, do your best to prevent your seller clients from negotiating for the sake of the game. Remind them that a counteroffer is an entirely new offer that makes the first offer nonbinding. So the buyers could walk away from the deal if they don’t like the counter.

• Help sellers put a lower-price offer into perspective. On a $250,000 home, an offer of $245,000 is only a 2 percent reduction.