Can’t Figure Them Out

The weather has turned cold and rainy here – like what October is supposed to be like in Southwest PA. But last week was unseasonably warm so I started my day biking on the Montour Trail. It’s darker & darker each morning, but my bike has a good headlight so I can still be out there. Riding in the dark is a strange feeling – the headlight reaches out a few seconds ahead of you, but you really only see a small window of what’s around you.

So I’m zipping along – there’s not much to see, when suddenly there’s a guy walking toward me right it the middle of a trail! I won’t say I almost hit him but when you’re not staying to the side of the trail your chances of taking a handlebar to the chest is significantly elevated.

So it begs the question – what was that guy thinking? He was walking toward me so I know he saw my headlight long before I saw him. He didn’t have a dog at his side, he didn’t have his back to me, in short there was no obvious explanation.

But that happens every day in business. People do crazy stuff.

I wrote last time about a tenant bailing on a great opportunity. Why would they do that?

A seller gives you their house – why? Do you think it doesn’t happen? It does happen.

A tenant leaves in the middle of the night. An “investor” buys in an area they know nothing about. A buyer gets cold feet and walks. A seller accepts an offer the investor was so embarrassed by that he almost didn’t present it.

That last one is my favorite. But people do crazy stuff all day long.

You should try to step into the other person’s shoes. When you craft an offer to buy it really helps to know why the seller is selling. Was it divorce, job out of town, settling an estate, and on and on? You’ve got to ask questions – that is critical. It directs how you position yourself. Address their problem or you are likely wasting your time.

I’ve seen scripts for talking with sellers that include asking three times why they are selling – in three ways. Could you believe the seller may not give you the full story – the first time, the second time, even the third time? I don’t know that you need to ask three times, but it sure pays to let a seller talk. You never know what you’ll learn.

But just remember, it’s possible you won’t fully understand the other side’s position. Do your best & move forward, and just know that people do crazy things. Never assume the person you’re talking to wouldn’t do something just because you wouldn’t do it.

Even my early morning walker had some reason for heading straight for me. Would I have done that – nope. But I did my job of not smacking into him regardless of his actions. Now go do your job – even when you can’t understand the other person.