2016 Buyer and Seller Considerations

Four Steps to Mastering Arguments

We have great news for highly skilled, trusted real estate advisors.  This may be one of the best opportunities in history for skilled agents to generate business.  Never have the arguments for buyers and sellers been as compelling as they are under the present market conditions.

There are literally dozens of arguments that can be used to motivate sellers to:

• List now
• Price reduce
• Successfully negotiate an offer to purchase

Conversely, there are at least as many reasons or convincing arguments that can be shared with buyers to get them to get off the fence and buy now.

In the coming days we will be identifying the issues separately for both buyers and sellers.  The proper presentation of this information is critical for maximum benefit.  There are four steps involved in presenting any one of the key points that will be presented in the coming days to help your buyers and sellers make the best possible decisions by identifying and managing the risks associated with their decision to buy or sell.

They are:

1. Fact: what is the key fact, or issue, that you want to make to encourage your buyer or seller to move forward? For example, you may want to discuss the present election uncertainty.  The key fact or issue you will be sharing is the uncertainty caused by the presidential election.
2. Impact: The second point in presenting your argument involves identifying the impact that the issue could have on your client’s decision. For example, once the elections are over will the results make it more difficult for a seller to sell, or possibly improve the market requiring the buyer to pay more?  It’s very likely that the election results will have an impact that will affect your client.
3. The Question: Based on the issue and its potential impact, what is the question that you could ask your buyer or seller that would help them identify the risk of waiting until after elections? For a buyer, is it possible that once the uncertainly of the elections have passed, consumer confidence will improve causing more buyers to want to buy, requiring you to pay more for the home you like? Conversely, for sellers, what if market conditions deteriorate because of deficit issues or other hard choices the government will have to make after the election? Could prices drop even further?
4. Proof: The final point in making the argument is to validate why your client should be concerned about the worst case scenario actually happening.  In the above example, for election purposes, we all know both Republicans and Democrats are “kicking the can down the road” by delaying making tough decisions to ensure that they don’t upset voters.  Once the elections are over, tough decisions about government spending, tax cuts, tax breaks, and unemployment must be addressed and are likely to have a dramatic impact on the economic recovery.

By addressing each issue using the four-point approach above, you’re forcing your client to take the risk of that issue into consideration instead of subconsciously rationalizing what could be a poor decision.