Is It A Negotiation Or A Conversation?
It’s been a busy week prepping for my upcoming Articulating Your Value class. After 28 years in real estate I’ve had more than a few ‘why should we hire you’ and ‘why should we pay you’ conversations.
In prepping for the class, I’ve also talked to a lot of agents, owners and managers to see what they are experiencing. It’s an important topic and I want to make sure that this class leaves you feeling confident and ready for your next appointment.
Being able to answer these questions is essential to selling homes.
I used to be terrified of them. Driving to my appointments I would chant ‘please don’t ask’ over and over in my head, hoping they would just sign the contract without any awkward negotiations.
My batting average (I’m a baseball mom, so I couldn’t resist the reference) was pretty bad when I first started out. I mean who would want to hire a 24 year old agent with limited life experience, let alone real estate experience?
But I kept at it, and leaned into every awkward negotiation I could.
For the record, I’m an enneagram 9, which means I’m hard wired to avoid conflict. It’s a wonder I didn’t give up and change careers entirely.
Eventually, I got pretty good at it. To the point that I actually look forward to that moment in the meeting when they ask why they should work with me. Now I bring it up even when they don’t.
One of the biggest things that helped?
I started viewing it as a conversation vs a negotiation.
What’s the difference?
- Conversations are about uncovering needs and sharing value.
- Negotiations are about convincing and over powering.
Conversations require confidence and a clear understanding of the difference you make – and being able to articulate it in a way that is meaningful to the client.
Ready to have better conversations? Wish you knew what to say? Join us May 8th. I’ve got you covered.
To your success!
Nicole
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