How to Easily Overcome Seller Objections
If every objection in the real estate world was taken as a rejection, the real estate world would look very different. As hard as it can sometimes be, it is important to look at objections as opportunities for understanding more about the seller and how you can help them. We’ve put together some tips on how to turn common seller objections around:
Objection: “We’re not ready - we need to fix up the house first.”
Answer: “That’s a great idea - we want your house to be 100% of what it can be when it goes on the market. I have an awesome network that can help you get your house ready to go. I’ve found that having a date that you can line your repairs and improvements up with helps the process go quicker and smoother, so let’s go ahead and get you signed up and on the calendar.”
Objection: “We think we’ll try selling it ourselves, first.”
There are so many possibilities to back this one up, you can piece together the facts you feel would work best with the potential seller.
It is estimated that only 2% of all For Sale By Owners end up selling by the owners. That means that there is likely 98% end up being listed and sold by a real estate agent in the end, anyway. Wouldn’t you like to save yourself that extra time and effort that you would have to put in to see if you can make it in that 2%?
Buyers will almost never give you what you could get if you weren’t selling By Owner because they know you aren’t paying a professional. Homes sold by real estate agents sell for 16% more than without.
Most buying agents choose to work with other agents because it makes their job much easier. That means you would likely be missing out on many qualified buyers with real estate agents helping them buy.
Navigating the legal paperwork on your own could take months - not to mention is legally risky when dealt with on your own.
When getting a real estate agent’s help - you are getting a built in host of marketing help, much more than you could ever do by simply listing on your own.
Objection: “Another agent said they could get more for our house.”
Answer: “While you should absolutely be interviewing other agents, I would advise against basing your decision off of price. Someone saying what they think the home is worth has nothing to do with what the home ends up selling for. (And people are very good at telling people what they want to hear). I base my suggested asking price off of extensive review of Comparable Market Analysis that I will then present to you for an in depth discussion. This allows my price to be as accurate as possible with what will likely sell instead of promising you something that may not happen.” Side note: You can also talk about how maximizing interest is what things will really come down to, so to make sure they ask their potential agents about that piece. Then, by leading that question - you can offer up your own amazing answer!
Objection: “We are in! BUT we only want to give you a 30/60/90 day listing.”
Answer: “I understand how that would make it feel less of a commitment to you - however, in today’s market there is a 60 day average for a home to sell. To put all the work of listing and marketing only to cut everything off potentially right before a buy could potentially be a waste of time for both of us. Let’s think through your concerns of why the 30/60/90 contract would be necessary and how we can mitigate those concerns in other ways.”
Objection: “Let’s at least start high. We can always come down later.”
Answer: “You don’t want to price people out of even looking at your home, let alone having interest. Wouldn’t you rather have a bidding war than looking for offers that aren’t coming?” [Side note: This is of course a SMALL part of a much larger conversation around pricing.]