Master These 6 Negotiation Tactics to Close More Deals

Negotiation skills went by the wayside in real estate the past few years because the market was so fast and furious. Now, being able to negotiate not only for your client but, more importantly, with your client when moving ahead is more important than ever. 

So, today, I’m breaking down the six most important negotiation skills you need to have to build a thriving real estate business. 

6 Negotiation Strategies for Success in Real Estate

A lot of real estate agents have put negotiation skill-building on the back burner. But in this new era of signing buyer agency agreements before touring homes, you must be able to negotiate with buyers.

You also need to negotiate with sellers. This has always been the case, especially when it comes to—

• what price to list the home
• agent compensation
• the terms of the contract. 

All these things involve negotiation. And if you don’t have the right skills and the right delivery, it can sabotage your efforts at building trust with both buyers and sellers and cripple your growth as a real estate professional. If you can’t sell them on the benefits of working with you (as opposed to someone else), why should they trust you to negotiate successfully on their behalf? 

Read on for six strategies every real estate agent should know to sharpen their negotiating skills and close more deals.  

Strategy #1: Start with a Question

Anytime someone wants to negotiate, I’m a big believer in this advice: “Don’t negotiate against yourself.” Once you know how to keep yourself out of that hole, negotiations get a lot easier. 

The key is to ask them what they’re looking for. Don’t give a number. Don’t start cutting the price, cutting compensation, or changing the terms. 

Just ask them:

“What did you have in mind in order for us to move ahead?” 

That’s going to be your starting point. Because when you use this approach, you might be able to protect some of your compensation, as well as the price you want to list the home and the terms of the contract. 

So, asking them—instead of just throwing out numbers and starting to negotiate without understanding where they stand—can be a very effective strategy, both for clients and with clients. 

Strategy #2: Give Them Options

The second strategy is to provide multiple options. Optionality, as Sam Hinkie would say (for all my Philadelphia 76ers fans out there) is important. People want to know what options are in front of them. 

If you tell them, “You should do this,” or “We have to do that,” people are more likely to push back.

Instead, channel your inner Phil Jones and say this:

“We have three options. We can do X, Y, or Z. Which one’s going to be best for you?”

Explaining each one of those options and walking through them is an effective strategy.

Strategy #3: Build Rapport

When negotiating, it’s important to stay calm, be friendly, and develop rapport. 

Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. If you say, “Oh” with a defeated tone, or you’re visibly rolling your eyes, that’s going to quickly undermine any rapport you’ve built up until then.

You want to smile, listen, make eye contact, and stay friendly, authentic, and curious. 

That also applies to phone conversations. Because, whether you realize it or not, your body language affects how you come across, even when the other person can’t see you.

Remember, they’re asking you questions because they want to work with you, not the other way around. Staying friendly and building rapport will go a long way when you’re negotiating with clients and other agents.

Strategy #4: Focus on Motivation

Strategy number four (and this might be the most important) is to constantly bring it back to the client’s motivation. 

Constantly bring it back to how everybody wins. Because negotiation is a means to an agreement. And the agreement gets the client where they want to go. 

Here’s a script you can use with sellers to communicate that their motivation is the primary driver behind everything you do for them: 

“By listing your home, you’ll be able to move into the great new property that you just bought that’s closer to your kids. My focus is to make sure we get you there and get you as much money as we can for the home so we can move ahead in this way. Does that sound okay to you?”

With this, you’re focusing on the most important thing—not the fees, compensation, a month off the listing term, or anything like that. 

It’s what they want out of this whole experience that matters most. Because remember, buying and selling real estate is one of the top five most stressful things people go through.

So, if you’re talking about how to take the stress out of it, getting them to their end game is going to allow people to see the bigger picture. Because they wouldn’t be negotiating with you if they didn’t want to work with you. 

Strategy #5: Prepare Yourself for the Appointment

Then there’s the preparation. As a real estate professional, understanding all the information and knowing how to communicate it to the buyer or seller is critical to building trust in your ability to get the best possible outcome for them. 

This goes for any appointment. And it’s really important during a listing or a buyer negotiation, with your clients or with the consumer on the other side. When you have deep knowledge of the market and of changes in the industry that impact consumers—and you’re able to communicate it well—you’re already ahead of the curve. 

Even with that deep knowledge, though, you’ve got to prepare for your appointments and ensure you have the data at your fingertips. If you can’t remember it all, have notes in front of you. Just make sure you know what you’re talking about and can deliver it confidently.

That’s going to help you get to the end of a negotiation that results in a win for everybody:

• You get the business
• You get the deal closed
• Your client gets what they want

Clients who get what they want—and more—are the ones who leave glowing 5-star reviews, refer you to others, and recommend you to everyone they know who might need an agent now or in the future. 

Strategy #6: Be Aware of Timing

Lastly, be aware of timing. Are there deadlines that your client needs to meet? 

• Capital gains tax?
• A new home being built?
• Getting their kids into school? 

There could be a lot of deadlines that are time sensitive to the consumer or to the transaction. The better you can adhere to those and make sure the schedule stays in place, the more successful the negotiation’s going to be. 

So I know this may all sound basic. But when you master your negotiation skills, you’ll win more business and have more clients who are happy with your performance (and who happily refer you). 

The negotiation process is something you have a lot of control over. Just make sure you use the strategies I’ve described here to get you and your clients exactly where you want to go.