Negotiating with Home Sellers - Getting their real timeline

[Brian Gibbons]

The third step

you need to get the sellers feelings about how they really feel about certain issues.

You've got to uncover what the sellers real needs are

if the sellers have their head in the sand we call it the "ostrich syndrome" you need to find a solution to that

and you need to "kick the legs out from the stool", meaning you can eliminate the sellers options so that they enjoy your options the most

this is one of the hardest things to understand because people don't know what they look like when they're talking to the seller. I'm talking about "nonverbal communication"

If you watch the show Colombo with Peter Falk, you'll see the actor use his face to convey certain emotions.

If you make your eyes look big, you make yourself look naïve and innocent, which is nonthreatening.

If you have a scrunchy face or confused look, you usually have the seller feel like they need to go into more detail.

To be nonthreatening, put your feet in front of you, shoulders out, and, your stomach relaxed.

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So what do you say seller,

"so what are you hoping I could do for you here today?"

Most sellers will say I'd like you to buy my house right?

You want to know his real motivation for selling. You want to use what's called negative phrasing to get the seller to admit and become emotional about his problems with the property.

When a seller's emotional is going to make decisions on emotional basis. They'll defend them on logical reasons.

When you asked naïve questions, you can turn the sellers concerns into positive things. And the seller will correct you in strong language, and will tell you that the problem is a really big problem for them, remember to use "big eyes" in your body language.

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you: so what also be tried the past?

Seller: I listed with this real estate agent.

You: [big eyes] will great… And that worked really well for you?...

Seller: no it didn't work great, he was terrible, I  didn't get one cash offer...

(Note to investor: I know you feel like your acting stupid as a real estate investor when you do that technique above, but what you are doing is raising the emotional temperature of the seller. 

Some real estate investors want to act like the "expert" and act smart, but truthfully if you act like Peter Falk and Colombo, you'll get the seller to want to do it your way)

How to find out the Home Seller's time deadline

The sellers I can assure you keep their cards close to their "vest" as far as their true deadline.

You:  You know, I never asked you, when did you want the property handled? I mean, did you are handled in six months, 12 months, I mean ideally, when did you want to have it handled?

Seller: as soon as possible

You: okay… And the reason for that again? (scrunchy face)… You might have told me this but maybe I missed it…

Seller: I want to get on with our lives and move. That's our goal. Get rid of this house so we don't have to worry about it.

You: okay...so sell the house somewhere the next 3 to 6 months? (Scrunchy face, look confused)

Seller: We were thinking about ,you know, next week… Loudly: we want to do it as soon as possible, we don't want to wait!

You: Oh! so you're open to doing it quickly?

Seller: oh definitely.

You: okay good, I'm glad, for some reason I thought you wanted to wait longer.

Seller: no.

You: okay, well good.

(you have made the seller say they want to move fast several times, this builds urgency) 

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note: to all you professional salespeople out there this might be very difficult to do, it sounds like you're not being very attentive and you not listening very carefully, but if you use this technique to draw the seller out, and get the truth from them, especially finding out the real urgency, you have much more success, because many people in a negotiation will "hide their cards" and not tell you the truth.

In further postings I'll go through how to "knock out other choices" like listing it with another real estate agent or property manager or FSBO.