Negotiation Skills – Identifying The Consequences Of Your Client’s Decision

Both Fear and Incentive can be used as motivators to help your client make the best decision. Motivating your clients with incentive occurs when you ask them; “If you were to buy (or sell) today, what would that mean to you.”

Let’s not, however, let your clients off the hook by focusing on the warm and fuzzy benefits of moving forward with the Real Estate plans. Let’s hold them accountable for their decision and perhaps even instill a little fear into their thought process by showing them the consequences of their decision. You can do this by using Tom Hopkin’s “If not, then what?” approach. Consider the examples discussed below:

 

For Sellers– When your sellers choose not to lower the price, or accept an offer, ask them the following;

“If you don’t sell your home, then what will you do? And, How will that impact your life?”

In other words, encourage your Buyers and Sellers to live with their decision right now to let them see how it makes them feel. A similar question would be;

If you don’t move forward with the sale of your home, how does that adversely affect your life?

 

For Buyers- When a Buyer refuses to submit a reasonable offer, or just won’t move forward with making an offer, ask them the following:

If you were to make an offer and it was accepted, what would it mean to you? This question will help identify the benefits of buying.

But , also look at the other side and ask:

“If you don’t get a house now, or this house that you like, then what?

And; “How could this decision affect you and your quality of life”?

    

Finally, you must have a ready list of things that you can share with them, and you must write down all of the reasons their decision to move forward can help them, and all of the ways not moving forward can hurt them.