A real estate agent friend of mine called to share some ideas. Your buyer was reluctant to make an offer. The property had 90% of everything he wanted in a home, but that last 10% was bothering him. There was a cantilevered deck over a canyon, but no patio. She wasn’t sure what to say to get him to act. In your circumstances, what would you do? Here are some things I was considering:
- Tell him that the market is changing and that this is the best opportunity to get a great property like this at a low price.
- Indicate that the seller is willing to help a little more with the repairs.
- Explain that you still have 17 days to think about it before emergency removal.
- Point out that there is another offer on the way (which was true).
- Remind him of the 90% who liked the property and make some suggestions on how to remedy the remaining 10%.
- A mix of all of the above.
After she went through this list with me, I asked her what solutions he had for the lack of a garden.
- “What do you mean?” she asked me.
- “Did you ask him what he was going to do so there wouldn’t be a patio?”
- “No,” she said.
- “Well, ask him. Say: I know you are concerned that there is no patio. How will that affect your lifestyle if you buy this home?‘”
- She said, “I don’t want to ask him that. What if he decides that not having a garden would really affect his lifestyle?”
This is a common fear reaction sellers have when faced with a purchase concern or objection. We don’t want to talk about it, just in case it makes you inclined to say no. But in reality, people are not so superficial. If you encourage them to talk about challenges, you will have a better chance of asking other questions that steer them toward the positive. For example, suppose this buyer says that because he does not have a garden, he will not be able to garden. Well then ask him about gardening: “What kind of gardening do you like to do?” Eventually, if he doesn’t make the suggestion himself, ask him what kind of container gardening he could do. Maybe share a little information on container gardening (if you know anything).
Handling objections generously
To handle objections by letting the potential customer come up with their own solutions, you need to be able to do four things:
- Fully develop the problem and understand why it is a problem.
- Know where you want the sales conversation to go so you can guide it there.
- Have the skills involved in intelligent influence so that it can help you process your thoughts.
- Use your experience to ask questions to help you think about your problem from new perspectives.
This open selling approach will help you overcome most worries without having the perfect counterargument on the tip of your tongue.