It happens all the time. I’m facilitating a workshop for real estate agents about pricing strategy and someone says, “A seller just wants to talk about pricing so I go ahead and show them the CMA before anything else.” Yes, they do want to talk about pricing first and I want to sugar to be a food group but is it a good idea?
In one corner is the group that feels talking about pricing first is a great idea because if the seller is not going to be reasonable you need to know up front. In the other corner is the group that never talks about pricing until after their value proposition. Who is right? Here are my thoughts….
Given that all sellers have a price established in their head AND given that price is typically higher than the market will allow then our job becomes helping the seller see their house through the eyes of the buyers. Only through the buyers lens will they be more open the market information.
How do we guide the seller to this place of being open to the information? Simple…by developing trust. I don’t know about you but if I don’t trust someone I will not believe what he or she says about the value of my biggest possession. So, a seller must trust you to believe you.
Where does that leave us in the respect of where do you talk about pricing?
Here’s my answer; if the seller already knows you and trusts providing pricing information up front could be appropriate (notice the words I chose was ‘could’). This depends on the relationship between you and the seller. If the seller does not trust you the best action for you and the seller is to wait as long as possible to present pricing, which allows trust a chance to develop.
So you might say, how do you prevent them from pestering you into giving pricing information too soon? Tough question.
Please consider this…making a bad pricing decision will cost your client a lot of net and will suck you dry of time, energy, enthusiasm, and marketing budget. Likely your single most important job in a listing presentation is to ensure the seller makes the best pricing decision. Therefore, YOU have to be accomplished at holding that conversation until your relationship is ready.
Here’s a script that can be used at the beginning of the listing presentation or when you arrange the listing presentation by phone:
“Mr. and Mrs. Seller, I have a process that works really well. First, we will be discussing your needs, secondly we will be discussing what I do to get the most net in your pocket and lastly we will be discussing what the market is saying about your house. Many people will ask if they can talk about price first and I completely understand that. Frankly, if our roles were reversed I would be one of those people. But my job is to help you make good decisions and the most important decision you have to make is the asking price. To ensure you make correct decision, this information I will be sharing with you before price will be critical. Can you see how it’s important to talk about the other information first?”
The power of this script is it removes the objection of talking about price before they have an opportunity to object.
What are your scripts for maintaining control over the listing appointment?
For a FREE copy of my guidebook, “Lessons Learned: Tales From 20 Years of Real Estate Sales, Coaching, and Training”. First up is “Top 10 Pricing Lessons” CLICK HERE