Previously on the REDX blog: we recapped our monthly Tele-Seminar for April. Our guest was Larry Faris, one of Burbank, California’s finest agents. Larry was so prolific on the call it was like drinking from a fire hose. Dedicating one post to sum it up hardly did it justice. If you want the highlights, continue reading.
Negotiating With Power
When Larry was young in the business, he met a veteran agent who taught him the ropes. This mentor figure showed how essential it was to proactively go after business, how to prospect to expireds, withdrawns, and FSBOs and perhaps most importantly, how to distinguish yourself from your competition. Larry is convinced that you need to bring something unique to the table that other agents don’t. If you’re the same, there are only two bargaining chips you have left. The first is to take on a listing at price you know you can sell it at and second is lowering your commission to undercut other agents. If you can show prospects why you’re different or better, you’ll have to resort to one of those two things. For Larry, the unique selling proposition is what he likes to call “negotiating from a position of power.”
So what does “negotiating from a position of power” mean? It means that he doesn’t list the property at a price that the buyer can wrestle down during escrow. Larry has 20 years of experience in this business. Anything that can go wrong in a deal, odds are he’s had to deal with it. That’s why he does his homework early. He lets his sellers know that his team of appraisers and inspectors will identify all the problems up front and then price the house accordingly so buyers don’t have leverage during the latter stages of the transaction.
The Art of the Appointment
At REDX we talk at length about how to prospect to set up these appointments. I thought it might be nice to draw from Larry’s wisdom on what to do when you finally do get in the door. At first, Larry takes a tour of the house. He makes sure to tell them how much he loves it. Then he sits them down and flat out asks them if they’ve been interviewing other agents. If they have been, here’s his pitch: “That’s great. I’m glad I have the opportunity to compete for your business. I’ve got one question for you though- If I can show you a way that I can net you more money than my competition (or more than you can on your own for a FSBO) would you give me the opportunity to list and represent you and sell your property?”
Though a little leading, he says they hardly ever say “no.” In fact, he finds the whole “if I could BLANK, would you BLANK,” closing model quite effective. Once they say “yes,” he walks them through his 20 years experience, building value in himself, then lays out the normal pitches other agents typically offer. Finally, he pulls out the big guns and presents what he will do that is unique and different from all the other agents vying for their business. For Larry, it’s this whole concept of negotiating from a controlled position. For you it might be something completely different. That’s great too. Just make sure you have something fresh to bring to the table.
Farewell Faris
We loved sitting down with Larry and are very grateful for sharing with his some of the staples of his success. We talk a lot about prospecting and the opportunity of expireds and FSBOs, but it was great to get some fresh information on how to approach appointments as well.
