How To Deal With Discouraged Buyers In A Hot Real Estate Market
What To Say Now Episode 43
Have you experienced the heartbreak, the pain, and seen that gut-wrenching look in your homebuyer's eyes when yet another offer fails to get a home under contract? You do all that work, show countless houses, and put in hours upon hours of your time to represent your clients and their contract, only to see it go by the wayside when the listing agent notifies you that your client's offer wasn't selected.
How can you turn a discouraged buyer into a happy client and a reliable referral source for the future? It all starts with this simple framework.
Listen on the go!
Show Notes and Links:
What To Say Now Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/whattosaynow
Full Show Transcript:
Dan Stewart (00:00): Good afternoon, I'm Dan Stewart. Welcome to Episode Number 43 of What To Say Now. Today's episode is going to hit home in the heart for many of you today if you're working with buyers.
Dan Stewart (00:27): Gosh, it's a tight market in so many parts of the US and Canada today that you almost certainly have seen that heartbreak, that pain, that gut wrenching feeling expressed in a buyer's eyes as yet another offer fails to get the home under contract. Well, if you've experienced that you've also almost certainly experienced the pain internally of having done all that work, of having expended all that effort, of having shown all those houses, of having written offer after offer after offer, only to see all your hard work go by the wayside.
Dan Stewart (01:07): What you need to get through this as a framework. You need a framework that helps your buyers change their perspective and you need a framework that will impact you in a positive way as well. The goals for today's episode is very simple. We're going to turn the frown on your buyer's face right upside down, that's what we're going to do. We're going to turn them into a reliable referral source that you'll be able to count on for years into the future and we're going to do it in a simple, simple framework that you can remember as easy as one, two, three.
Dan Stewart (01:40): Here's what you do. First, set expectations. You know what's going on in your market conditions. You know if you've got a buyer, particularly a first time home buyer, and if you don't set expectations for them you're certainly setting them up to fail. What I'm going to recommend you do is to have a frank conversation with these buyers before you even start the process of going to look at homes together. You need to help them understand that in these current market conditions it takes some extra effort to get a home under contract.
Dan Stewart (02:16): Recently, I was talking with a friend and client, Anthony [inaudible 00:02:20] in Tampa, Florida, and he was telling me that he's advising his buyers to look at homes 10 to 20% below what they can afford just so they'll have a chance of riding through the escalation and actually be able to get the home under contract. Your duty as a professional is to set expectations for your client in this market conditions. Help them understand, "Hey, we're looking at homes. Our goal is to find you a place that you're going to love, that makes financial sense for you. To achieve that in today's market conditions, here's what we need to do. Not only do we have to be financially prepared to get through the transaction efficiently and quickly, we also have to be emotionally prepared for some of the peaks and valleys that we're going to experience along the way."
Dan Stewart (03:12): Second part of the framework. Step one, set expectations. Step two is to hear what they mean, not just what they say. This is an active listening skill that's going to pay you dividends in these crazy market conditions. When you have that buyer who's on the phone ranting, "What do you mean they didn't accept my offer?" Your job is to listen. Your job is to validate their feelings and reflect that back to them so that they know that you're actually hearing what they have to say. Here's what that looks like.
Dan Stewart (03:53): "What do you mean, John Mangus?" I see you there, John Mangus. I see you there, my friend. Hope you're enjoying R4 in Orlando. I'm hoping to hit the road and get over there tomorrow evening, spend some time with you face-to-face. Here's what they say. Your buyers are all up in arms, "What do you mean? What do you mean? We raised our bid price. We said this, we said that. We conceded all these things and they still went with another offer?" They're frustrating. They're frustrated.
Dan Stewart (04:24): You need to validate that for them. You need to say things like, "I understand. I hear what you're saying and I know it feels horrible and you're right to feel that way. These are unique market conditions. Together we're going to get through them. Together we are. I promise you we'll find our way through and yet I want you to understand that my job is to help you get what you deserve, that's what I'm committed to."
Dan Stewart (04:53): Listen to them, hear them, reflect back to it, close it with a positive upbeat message at the end. That's going to help them re-install and re-invigorate their desire to go jump in the market where they're possibly going to lose again. It's also a good time to carefully reflect back on those expectations that you set. "Yeah. Gosh, I'm sorry about this too. I wish that we were able to get every offer we wrote accepted and yet that's just not reality in today's market, and I know we talked about that. Positive attitude. Let's get back there and let's find what we're looking for."
Dan Stewart (05:35): That's step two, active listening, validation, reflecting back what they're saying, reminding them that this is something that they should be prepared for, they should expect this in this market, and then encouraging them to move forward. Right? Let's review these steps. One, we're going to set expectations. Two, we're going to very closely actively listen to what they're saying. We're going to, step three, reflect that back to them. That's the process of validation that helps people be heard.
Dan Stewart (06:11): I'll look forward to your questions and comments. Thank you to those of you who contribute questions you'd like answered each session. The past two sessions we've covered some really great stuff and just coming up in the very near future we have some amazing webinar content on the horizon for you, so I'll be sharing that with you shortly. In the meantime, please post your comments and questions below. Myself or my staff will reach out, will respond to you. I hope you all have a great day. Bye now.