Do You Want This Real Estate Deal? Maybe Not

For the last three weeks, we’ve been diving deep into the New Client Discovery Framework.

(Just joining us? Catch up on the overview, section 1, and section 2!) 

First we asked: Is there really a deal here? Then we asked: Is there a deal here with me? If the answer to both of those questions is yes, there’s one more question to ask in the third and final section of this conversation…

Do I want this deal?

So far in this process, you’ve uncovered the other person’s hopes, dreams, fears, and concerns, and you’ve communicated your understanding of those things back to them. They’ve determined that you’re the person they want to help them achieve those hopes and dreams and avoid those fears and concerns. 

Now it’s time for you to decide if you want this opportunity. Is this client and this deal in alignment with your standards?

In this section you’re getting your elephants out into the room. 

You’re presenting your standards up front to determine whether or not any of them are deal-breakers that would prevent you from moving forward together.

This part of the conversation can give you a giant leg up in separating the ELF (Easy, Lucrative and Fun) clients from the HALF (Hard, Annoying, Lame and Frustrating) clients. (Credit to Joe Polish for those handy acronyms.)

This is the section that lets you take control of your business and your life. Overwhelmed? Overworked? Raise your standards and make sure you’re pre-screening your prospective clients to confirm that they’re aligned with the way you work.

➡️ Get your elephants out into the room.

You might start with something like:

“Before we dive in together/commit to each other, would you object to going over a few things to make sure there are no deal-breakers for you in the way that I work?”

Then address whatever standards you may have. With sellers that may include pricing, home preparation, and commission. You may have standards around your work days and hours, or the mode and frequency with which you communicate. 

Whatever standards are essential to you in how you do your business, these are the things to call out up front. This is how you start off a relationship firmly grounded in collaboration and respect. This is how you begin to set expectations.

As you go through each of your standards, remember that what you’re doing is getting out in front of any negatives. You’re minimizing the chances of getting blindsided later on, or getting too far down the road with a deal that is wrong for you or wrong for the client before realizing that you never should have taken it on to begin with.

➡️ Address your standards.

*With buyers, this is where you’ll present the Exclusive Buyer Representation Agreement*

With Sellers, this may sound something like:

Home Preparation: IF preparation is a standard of yours, address it now with something like: 

“For me to be effective on your behalf, there are going to be some things I’m going to ask you to do that you are absolutely going to hate.  Those things are likely to include repairs, painting and staging.”

Listen up. Label their thoughts and concerns. 

This is a tricky area for people. It’s inconvenient. It can be very expensive. They often don’t believe that it’s necessary for success. If they come out firmly against doing any of the things that you believe are crucial for success, that may be a deal-breaker for the both of you.

We often fail to bring up a challenging concept and to solicit a client’s thoughts when we fear the client might not want to do what we need them to do. 

Somehow we think that if we just don’t let them say it, then they won’t feel it. Especially if we jump in first and explain what a great plan we have. Negative thoughts and feelings only grow larger when they are unstated and unacknowledged. The way to defuse negative thoughts is to shine a light on them, and get them out in the open. 

Pricing: If pricing is a standard for you—if you don’t take overpriced listings—you may approach that with something like: 

“In terms of pricing, we might want to make sure we’re aligned in our expectations. You probably have an ideal price in mind?”

That wording is intentional: You probably have an ideal price in mind. Because they do. And if they’re unwilling to share it with you, that’s a big sign that you are not the favorite, and perhaps you missed something earlier on in the conversation. 

Whatever number they mention will serve as an anchor with which to continue the discussion to get an idea of how realistic they may be. You may end up with a clear idea of their dream price and their nightmare price (remember our previous blog and framework on Pricing with Sellers). You may land at a price range at this time, but the intention is not to determine a list price.

Commission: Preface your fee with an Accusations Audit or two. That may sound like: 

“This may be a deal-breaker for you.”

“I am very expensive.” 

“My fee is X.”

I know that you are reading this and thinking, “Are you kidding me?!? WHY would you say that you’re really expensive?”  Because when you say that, the prospective client immediately begins to imagine the worst. Their mind races to very high numbers. Whatever you say after that will seem less expensive than they feared. (Yes, practicing Tactical Empathy at the highest level does take guts.)

As you present all of your standards, listen closely to their responses, and look closely at their reactions. 

If you’re receiving questions on your standards, but it’s not yet clear that it’s a deal-breaker, keep exploring. 

Are they registering objections or are they asking clarifying questions or making observations?

This is a pivotal moment for agents; a moment when they start to back off of their standards and to begin giving things away.

This is a moment to make sure you are coming from a place of CURIOSITY rather than a place of fear.

If you are tapped into your fear, you will hear every question—or observation—as an objection. You will feel it as pushback. 

You will become immediately uncomfortable. And when you are uncomfortable, your instinct is just to get comfortable again as quickly as possible. And you tend to start giving things away, that you have no business giving away—so that you can just make the “objections” stop, and you can feel comfortable again. And what you give away may not even be what that person actually wanted or needed.

But if you are tapped into your curiosity, you will hear every question as a question, you will respect every observation as an observation.

You will listen at a higher level, you will hear what is truly being asked, you will see what the person is pointing out, and you will respond from a place of Empathy.

You will provide the information or the understanding that the person actually wants and needs in order to move forward

Going into the New Client Discovery Call with clarity around our own standards is one of the things that allows us to focus on the other person. 

If we are clear on our standards, we will not be distracted by our own inner monologue around ‘what am I going to have to offer up in order to get this listing?”

Instead, you will be focused on the client and you’ll be able to discover what the client wants and needs, you will discover whether or not you are compatible with what that client wants and needs, and you’ll be able to let them ‘leave in a limo’ if it’s not the right fit.

Because if you truly have a standard, it’s a standard for each and every client. 

And if your standard is a deal-breaker for your client, it’s a deal-breaker for you.

In presenting your standards, make sure that you are working to ferret out any real push-back or misalignment. Be on the lookout for counterfeit “yeses.” This is your opportunity to save yourself from going down the road with the wrong client. This is your opportunity to save hours, weeks and months of time misspent. 

You will not have room in your business or your life for the things you TRULY want unless you LET GO of the things you don’t want.

Learning how to let go of the clients who are incompatible with your standards will revolutionize the quality of your business and the quality of your relationships.

It can be the thing that keeps you in this profession, because it will save you from burnout. 

If that’s where this conversation has led you, here’s how to Exit Gracefully and “send them off in a limo:”

“This is really unfortunate. I was hoping that we could make it work together. If, as you continue this process, you do not find the Trusted Advisor you’re looking for, and you’re not opposed to revisiting the conversation, I’d love the chance to work together.”

OR

“It sounds like we’ve hit on some real deal-breakers for you. If you feel that you can get the same result or better, that you can have the same experience or better, by working with another agent who charges less (or requires less preparation or believes in a higher price), you should absolutely do that. I truly wish you the best of luck and the best experience. If, in the future, you find that you’re not opposed to revisiting the conversation, I’d be happy to pick up where we left off”

Remember how crucial tone is when you’re delivering this language. Employ your friendly, non-threatening Accommodator tone here, or you run the risk of sounding condescending.

Things to remember throughout the conversation:

Approaching the conversation from a place of true curiosity will always serve you well.

We don’t need to change what people are thinking—we need to understand what people are thinking.

People communicate more nonverbally than they do verbally. Don’t let subtle cues go unaddressed. If you feel it in your gut, call it out.