The Art of Negotiation

Negotiation is an art that separates the top agents from the average. Getting agreement on price between buyer and seller is the point that makes or breaks the deal. In my Coaching Tip today I’ll help you learn to negotiate with the best so you can be the best.

People are basically driven by fear more than any other emotion. It’s the fear of loss, or of not getting what they want, that influences both buyers and sellers. If you understand how this works you can use that heat in the deal between offer and acceptance to bring your clients to the decisions they must make in a timely manner.

Make sure you’re clear on the terms and conditions of the agreement you’re negotiating because that contract will be binding around the buyer’s name, solicitor, deposit amount, inspections, finance clauses, date of settlement, and of course, purchase price.

Negotiation is best done face-to-face. Because decision-making is emotion driven you must be with the client throughout the process to read them and respond accordingly.

A basic tactic is the yes, no and maybe situation in which you encourage your client to make a decision by explaining how a “maybe” is actually a yes or no. Pivot negotiation is based on pricing the property at market value with no room for reduction so the buyer is more inclined to make their highest offer right away.

Your most effective approach is to simply be the trusted advisor so your clients feel comfortable following your lead and taking your advice.

The desired outcome is to negotiate the best current market price possible for buyer and seller. To help your clients maintain perspective always talk in terms of percentages rather than dollars. $50,000 sounds like a lot of money, but it’s only 5% of a million-dollar property. Don’t let them miss a great opportunity over a 5% difference.

Leverage positive emotions as well as sense of urgency. A little humour in the right place can alleviate indecision. You also need to remain neutral so the deal is about the clients, not that you desperately need the business. These are the elements of negotiation that result in a maximum sale price. Be straight, be clear, be consistent, and make your clients feel like winners.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

Ep 48 — Everything Price Reductions

This High Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents covers everything price reductions, beginning with Alexander’s explanation of when and why they sometimes need to occur and how to have that discussion with the vendor. Josh notes how inadequate market knowledge leads to poor pricing recommendations, and Alexander tells how he stays ahead of his market. He describes how vendors set their pricing expectations, ways to guide them to a more realistic view, and how to effectively have that conversation. They discuss the importance of producing prospective buyers once a price reduction is decided. Alexander lists ways to find and engage all possible prospects, and Josh reinforces the necessity for action. Alexander explains why he expects to see broader price ranges and more overpriced properties. Josh wraps up with the advice to become an adaptable, knowledgeable specialist around your market.

Where are the big opportunities in your business?

Instead of spending time and energy chasing new business, why don’t you pay some attention to the existing opportunity on the inside of your business? That’s the focus of my Coaching Tip today because if you’re not doing this you’re missing your best opportunities.

If you’re not a completely new agent you really don’t have to do any cold-calling at all because you’ve already met hundreds of people. Think about where they each might be in their lives right now. Then think how you could leverage those relationships as their trusted advisor and friend in the business.

First, make a list of the first 15 people you know from memory who are most likely to sell property in the near future. Now, call up those people and book appointments with as many of them as possible just to see if they might be coming to market soon, and to maintain them as key referrers.

Next, think back over your career and list your all-time top 20 clients. Take those people to dinner every few months and maintain those valuable relationships. These people are also key referrers as well as potential repeat clients. And don’t ignore the rest of your past clients, either. Call them on the anniversary of their transaction. Meet with them, evaluate their current property value, and make sure they remember you when they need an agent again.

Your past market appraisals are also prospective clients, so give them a call, ask them how things have progressed and offer your help. Yesterday’s buyers are tomorrow’s sellers, so follow up with your past buyers and find out if you can help them sell that property now.

Get intentional about your business and remember, your best chase list is derived from the opportunity on the inside of your business already.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

Ep 47 — Selling Vendor Paid Marketing

In today’s High Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips focus on vendor-paid marketing. Alexander explains how vendor-paid advertising can solidify vendor commitment. Josh describes how most junior agents approach entering the market and Alexander outlines his own strategy for pre-launch. They discuss recent changes in marketing costs and how to sell the most effective marketing during the listing presentation. Alexander details the elements of a successful marketing campaign and how to help the vendor make the best decisions for presenting their property. Josh warns against underselling marketing to secure a listing and tells how to use the auction bidding record as an example of what works. Alexander talks about misconceptions around international buyer influence on local markets, and Josh closes with understanding what’s truly happening in your marketplace so you can be the trusted advisor.

Being Consistent and Persistent

Marketing only when your business takes a downturn is too little, too late. In my Coaching Tip today I want to talk to you about being consistent and persistent with your marketing, and tell you how to set up systems that allow you to do this easily.

Your marketing should never be an indicator of how well or poorly your business is doing. Consistency will ensure that you are always visible and relevant to customers whenever they come into your marketplace. What it takes is a decision to set a marketing plan and follow it on schedule, all the time.

You may have concerns about spending funds for marketing, but how much are you willing to invest in building a million dollar business? Start thinking about content, not cost, and how you want to deliver your message to your customers.

You could do a short video each week, a quarterly direct mail update to past clients, and regular email market updates to targeted categories in your database. The key to streamlining the process is building templates. Not only do templates make the process faster, they also maintain your branding and ensure you’ll be persistent in sending out your marketing on schedule.

Relevant content is necessary to maintain customer interest. Some topics to include are current volume of properties in comparison to this time last year, how many people are coming to open homes, how many bidders are registered for auctions, and noteworthy news such as changes in legislation or real estate industry trends. Keep the conversation interesting and fresh, and people will read your messages.

Every person in your marketplace has a brief moment in time when they will be looking to buy or sell a property. Your goal is to make sure you’re being consistent and persistent in your marketing so that person will see you and contact you when they’re ready to choose an agent.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

Ep 46 — Doubling Your Business

In this High Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips discuss ways you can double your business. Alexander maintains momentum, growth and goal-setting double his numbers each year. Josh notes the important numbers to watch and Alexander elaborates on how those affect your business and lifestyle. They discuss recent increases in average sale price, and Alexander compares factors of price and volume noting how adaptability expands your profile. Josh explains how switching markets as trends change keeps momentum and volume high. Alexander shares his preference for fast-paced business and Josh describes the Rule of 72 formula for growth. Alexander describes the rigors and rewards of working in the industry today, and Josh ends on staying hungry for a better future.

Getting Intention to Have a Great Day

You never have to have an unsatisfying day at work again. In today’s Coaching Tip I’m talking about getting intention to have a good day, and it’s all about preparation and clarity based on a few simple rules and habits.

Setting your intentions not only helps you get the most out of each day, but it helps everyone who works with you. Most importantly, it teaches others to respect your time. Begin by setting a few basic rules for each day:
• The time you wake up
• The time you arrive at the office
• How soon you make your first phone call
• The time you have lunch
• The time your day ends

Starting your days a little early at the first of the week gives you momentum and also allows you to be home early some evenings. Making sure you allow for quality personal time helps you avoid burnout and maintain longevity in your career.

You’ll do your best work when you are relaxed with plenty of energy in reserve. The key is to stay ahead of the curve and practice renewal. Having a checklist of daily priorities will help you stay on track without having to think about what you’re doing next. My checklists look something like this:

Monday – Open for inspection callbacks
Vendor reports
Tuesday – Call potential sellers
Review past market appraisal customers
Wednesday – 10-day open for inspection callbacks
Prepare for midweek opens
Thursday – Call past clients
Inspections
Review advertising
Friday – Work potential buyers/sellers
Work market appraisals
Prepare for Saturday opens

These are all simple tasks and having them outlined helps, but many of these tasks should be delegated to your team so you can focus on prospecting and appointments. In particular, you need an assistant to handle incoming Internet and phone inquiries. Responsiveness is especially critical as you scale your business.

Always knowing what’s happening in your business whilst being able to focus on your scheduled daily tasks will ensure you’re getting intention to have a good day every day so you can enjoy becoming the best agent you can be.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

How to Scale and Build

You have a greater capacity for growth than you think. In this month’s Growth Leadership and Management Tip I explain how to scale and build your business through clarity of vision, organisation, and building a quality team.

Most agents think in limited terms of layered growth, simply improving exiting systems and resources a little bit each year to make 2 times their current numbers. But what if you could achieve 10 times your current success rate? That’s a 2X vs. 10X mindset. Real growth requires getting clarity on what you want to achieve and projecting on what it would take to make that happen.

Getting clarity begins with focusing on the Big 3 activities you should be doing. Then look at the tasks you actually spend most of your time on. The problem with doing too many tasks yourself is that you can’t do any of them well, and you won’t get the work done that you really should be focusing on. You need to hire people to do those necessary secondary tasks for you.

An organizational chart helps you visualize everything that must get done and who you need on board to do them. The most important position is an office manager who coordinates all your daily operations so you don’t have to. Review the chart periodically, and add positions and people as your business expands. Always be thinking ahead about roles you need to hire for and talent you want to recruit. This will help you make better decisions toward building your team.

Once you have clarity around your Big 3 and your organisational structure you can focus on projects you want to work on throughout the year and over the next 90 days. Put together an execution team of people who are not directly selling or managing properties. Meet with them to establish each role’s Big 3 and their part in your long and short-term goals, and have them chart their own plans for the next 5 years

This is not going to come together in a day, so allow time for everyone to get clear on your proposed goals and expectations. Once everyone is on the same track your momentum will really take off.

Examining what other successful agencies are doing can help you decide how to scale and build your own business, but don’t focus on externals like branding and marketing. You want to know how they’ve structured their internal organization and what kind of people they hire because it’s your people who will drive your operations and allow you the freedom to focus and achieve your true potential.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s Growth, Leadership and Management Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next month.

The Hierarchy of Work

Just one listing can change everything, yet so few agents follow a hierarchy of work to get it. Today in my Coaching Tip I’ll show you how to structure your prospecting and discover the opportunities you’re missing.

When you first start out in real estate your prospecting goals are mostly based around getting new clients. At some point your focus needs to shift to working more with the people you already know. These people already see you as a trusted advisor and they would rather work with an agent they know than take a chance with your competitors. Not only are they potential buyers and sellers, they are also your key referrers.

You may think you won’t work with a recent client again for years, but sometimes people turn over a property within days, or even hours, of settlement. Life can switch from red to orange to green in seconds. You want to be top of the list to handle that client’s next transaction whenever it happens. Past clients and key referrers are at the top of your hierarchy.

Landlords are often overlooked as multidimensional customers. Most agents only consider the properties they manage, but landlords have homes, too, and they may live in some of your most lucrative markets. Find out where they own property and put them inside of your database for targeted marketing in those categories.

Buyer work comes next with follow-ups to people you’ve met at open for inspections or who have made online inquiries. Then look at potential sellers such as market appraisals you’ve spoken with.

It’s common to target new potential markets from a geographic base, but think about your relationship areas where you already know a significant number of people. This is a market where you are already relevant and can quickly expand your influence.

There are usually only a couple of things you need to focus on to really boon your business and those activities involve keeping current with people you already know, including your personal relationships. Following a system for contacting all your prospects will ensure you have consistent opens and listings. Always be thinking of people you know but haven’t reached out to and put them into your hierarchy of work.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

Ep 45 — Narrowing Your Focus

This High Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents features Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips on narrowing your focus to areas where you bring the most value to your business. Alexander talks about building a solid team to do other tasks and Josh cites listing stock and lead generation as primary business growth factors. Alexander advises new agents on ways to manage all aspects of your business until you can hire your first assistant and let go of tasks they can manage. Josh notes the importance of systems, checklists and forms for staying on track and training team members, and they discuss how you should be spending most of your day. Josh ends with emphasis on hiring an assistant as soon as you can.