5 Steps to a Successful Negotiation

Eighty-nine percent of people who were polled in the NAR Profile of Buyers and Sellers considered negotiation skills to be very important in their real estate agent. Alexis Bolin, who was ranked as the #1 ERA agent nationwide three times and named in the top 300 real estate agents nationwide by NAR, has over 5,000 closed residential transactions and is an expert negotiator. She recently appeared in the Secrets of Top Selling Agents webinar and shared her Five Steps to Successful Negotiation.

1. Preparation

Never go into a negotiation ill-prepared. By learning everything you can about buyer, seller, and agent motivations, you are able to negotiate from a position of strength. Before meeting with the other agent, research their party on Google and Facebook and look at the agent’s past sales in the MLS. Double this with the latest market information and you will be well on your way to defending your party’s interests in any situation.

2. Discussion

Ask the other agent more questions about their party’s situation, issues, and participants. You can avoid problems further into negotiations by knowing ahead of time if the other party needs to close by a certain date or if they have specific things that “have to” happen to make the deal work. Once you have this information, you and the other agent can set reasonable goals for what you hope to accomplish during negotiations.

3. Proposition

According to Bolin, “You don’t sell by telling. You sell by asking questions.” Use questions to solve issues that pop up in negotiations. Questions such as, “If we could meet those objectives, would you…” and “is there anything else that would cause you to…” can help you not only clear up issues before they arise, but also make sure that whenever you make a concession, you also get something in return.

4. Bargaining

Using what you know about the other party’s situation and desires, anticipate their comments and concerns and be prepared with responses that create a win-win situation for everyone. Having your responses prepared ahead of time will help you remain “calm, pleasant, and unflappable.”

5. Agreement

Bolin observed that, “more deals are lost because of the two agents involved in the transaction than are ever lost because the buyer and seller could not get together.” Make sure you are not the one causing an issue in a deal. Find ways to agree with the other party and never respond with an offer that is unlikely to be accepted. Use your knowledge of the market and both parties’ objectives to reach an agreement. Also keep in mind that not every deal can be closed. Know when to stop negotiating.

For more information on the five steps to successful negotiation, watch the full webinar, Negotiating Contract to Close: Tactics and Tips to Succeed! Here you will learn about six different negotiations, four great scripts, as well as the five steps to successful negotiation. Then, come back later this month to hear about The 4 Simple Life Hacks of Super Producers with Michael Maher!

To view the original article, visit the Homes.com blog.