You’re not trying to scam anyone.
But try telling that to the seller…
With the number of people who guffaw at the first offer you make on their house, bystanders would think you’re the modern equivalent of snake oil salesman.
But I know that’s not true.
And you know that’s not true.
In fact, your low-ball offers allow you to run a profitable business which actually helps people in difficult situations sell their house fast for cash. You’re not making low offers on people’s homes because you want to rip them off, but because you’re trying to run a profitable business, there’s demand for the service you offer, and (let’s be honest) the home isn’t worth even close to what the seller is expecting to get for it.
Knowing that is one thing.
Getting the seller to understand why you’re making such a low offer on their home (without offending them) and then guiding them to accept that offer… that’s something else altogether.
Which is why I’m going to walk you through 6 tips for getting sellers to accept low-ball offers (even if they already said “No”).
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1. Determine the prospect’s motivation for selling
This is one of the first things you should aim to ask when you get on the phone with a new prospect:
Why are you wanting to sell?
Similarly, How would selling your house fast for cash make your situation easier? and How can we serve you beyond just making a cash offer?
Those questions reveal why the seller is calling you, what pain they’re experiencing, and what they’re hoping you can do for them.
The better that you understand the seller’s individual situation, the better you’ll be able to guide them through understanding the benefits of working with your company and paint a vivid picture of how doing so will help them.
People won’t work with you until they have a vision in their head of doing so (a vision that inspires them to action). When you know why they want to sell, you can help paint that vision for them.
2. Explain all the benefits of working with you
When you make your low-ball offer, most people will gasp…
Huh!
But don’t let that discourage you.
People who gasp or get upset at the first offer you make often don’t fully understand their own situation and the service that you offer — they don’t understand that your offer actually is reasonable.
Simply explain the other benefits of working with you (beyond just getting paid money).
You can give them cash in just a couple weeks for their home…
They don’t have to worry about evicting tenants…
They don’t have to repair or clean anything…
They don’t have to pay any selling fees or closing costs…
Reminding the seller of those perks can help them to understand that, hey, maybe accepting your low-ball offer is worth it after all, considering all of those additional benefits they’re going to receive.
3. Remove your offer from the table
As salespeople, we sometimes come off needy.
Please work with me! Please buy my product! Please sell me your home!
Neediness is bad for sales. It makes us seem… desperate. And who wants to buy from a desperate salesperson?
(Not me)
A great way to eliminate the appearance of neediness and urge stalemate sellers to take action is by removing your offer from the table.
How?
Well, in Ryan’s Facebook post below, he explains how he removes offers from the table when prospects are playing games. You can use a similar strategy and adapt it to make it your own.
4. Email the actual contract when you make your offer
Dilbert giggles aside, people love to have a physical representation of the deal that they’re going to make.
Even if you talk through all the details of your offer on the phone, nothing tangible can happen until the seller signs a contract with you. For that reason, consider emailing the contract to the seller right after you make them the offer on the phone (even if they say “No” — just say something like “I understand. I’ll email you the contract in case you change your mind”).
With a contract in hand, the offer becomes tangible.
And when the offer is tangible, it’s more enticing, difficult to forget, and easier to return to than a simple phone conversation.
5. Compliment the seller (authentically)
Dale Carnegie wrote in How To Win Friends and Influence People,
“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and vanity.”
And he’s right.
Human beings — your prospects included — make decisions based on emotional cues. Once the decision is made, they (we all) justify that decision with rational and logic.
For instance…
Man, I really want to sell my house by next week. Imagine not having to clean it out and deal with it anymore!
The decision is already made at this point, and then we use logic to justify that emotional decision…
Plus, their offer really isn’t that low. It seems fair since they’re going to have to do a lot of work on the house.
Complimenting sellers (“I think you’re handling this difficult situation really well. Seriously, I’m not sure I could do the same” or “You’re quite the negotiator! Seriously, it’s clear that you know what you want. I really respect that”) can be a great way to emotionally encourage them to work with you.
Authentic compliments make you more likeable. And prospects work with people that they like, because, after all, we’re emotional creatures with big egos. 😀
6. Realize that most conversions will happen during the follow-up
Ultimately, keep in mind that most conversions and closed deals will happen after the first phone call… during the follow up phase.
Which makes sense. It would be unreasonable, after all, to expect sellers to immediately accept a low-ball offer from someone that they don’t know and have never met before…
Crazy, even!
So follow up consistently using the above tips, focus on building a valuable long-term relationship with the seller, and watch as more people accept your low-ball offers. Because, in the end, most people don’t tell you “No” because your offer was too low, but because they don’t understand your offer fully, they don’t trust you yet, or they need more time to go through the decision making process.
Your job is simply to guide them along the way.