Negotiation

Over the years I have learned that in every business venture, and in many life situations we are negotiating. Most of us learn negotiations as children with our parents. Mom offers a special treat if we finish our spinach. Dad might get that special toy for me if I get good grades. As we get older we learn how to turn these negotiations in our favor and suddenly Mom and Dad are at our mercy! Dad if you let me get that new smart phone you will be able to get a hold of me to make sure I am where I'm supposed to be, and besides, if I am in an emergency I can call Mom.

Our negotiation skills can determine success in our business life, our personal life, and in our financial life.

Here are a few tips on negotiating from a REALTORS(r) perspective, but first a short story:

One of the best salespeople that ever worked for me was horse trader from a very young age, he was around negotiations all of his life. He told me "Ron, when it came time to feed the horses and they were way off in the field grazing, I would shake the feed bucket, they would lift their heads, look at me and go right back to grazing. You see, they were too far off in the field to make it worth the trip back to feed. However, if I would take just 10 steps closer to them and shake the bucket again, they would come to me."

What I learned from this lesson is this, sometimes you just need to take a few steps toward the person with which you are negotiating in order to get them to come to you.

Tip # 1  Do your research! Why are they selling? More importantly, what is their motivation? A transfer in jobs is the why, however, the transfer of jobs because it is closer to family is the motivation.

Tip #2  Decide your limit before the negotiation. What is the property worth?  What are market conditions in the area? What is your exit strategy?

Tip #3  Be reasonable in your expectations. Not every situation will end up in a home run, sometimes you will need to settle for a single.