Marketing yourself as a problem solver, talking about the seller not yourself and admitting that you are in it to make money can make or break a deal. Effective negotiation includes having a concise tagline that defines who you are, creating a detailed customer avatar, listening more than talking and using language that positions you as an ally with the seller.
Every Person Is the Protagonist of Their Own Story
As an investor, you are just the guide. So instead of wasting a seller’s time detailing your accomplishments, try offering them solutions to their problem. You will immediately build rapport by asking the seller about themselves. This also helps you identify their pain points so you can guide them to a tailored solution.
Adopt the Strategy Of WHY, WHAT or HOW
Consider the marketing campaigns of Apple versus Hewlett Packard (HP). Apple focuses on a lifestyle using commercials that show people having fun while using their products. They rarely, if ever, show the product features. This is marketing to the WHY. On the contrary, HP appeals to the WHAT by focusing on the product features and capacity such as advertising a 2.4GHz Core 2 processor. Presenting yourself as a “Problem Solver” allows you much more freedom when offering solutions. Here’s how that can be confusing, if you are known as the “cash buying expert” and you start offering the seller a subject to option, the seller could be confused and lose the trust you have built up to that point.
Develop A Customer Avatar
Write out all the possible scenarios a seller could be going through. Create a sheet with three columns. One for the SITUATION, one for the FEARS, and one for the SOLUTIONS. For example, the situation could be numerous medical bills, car payments, etc. The fears would be everything of which the seller could be afraid. In your solutions column list, in one sentence, how can you solve as many problems as possible.
Act Like You Are Speaking to Your Mother’s Friend
When cold calling, think of it as if you are speaking to a friend of your mother who wants to sell her house. Speak human to human, not business to human. Be honest with the seller by using phrases like “We search public record to buy houses and your house is in an area where I like to buy. I can see that you are behind on payments, I would like to buy your property.”
When you are at the appointment talking to the seller in person, understand that this is their home. Find things in the house to compliment. Criticizing the house or discussing all the work that needs to be done does not create a rapport, and the seller knows what you are doing.
The seller may be behind on payments and cannot afford electricity so the simple act of switching on a light can create a negative emotional response. It is their house, let them show you through it. Standing shoulder to shoulder next to them creates a psychological feeling that you are on their side. If at an impasse, say “You and I are on the same side of the table and we have a problem on the other side of the table. The problem is you want to sell your house and I want to buy it; we are working together to solve this problem.”
When you get to the major problem with the house that the homeowner knows is the huge problem, minimize it by saying “that is no big deal, I can get that done for cheap.” This puts in their mind that you do enough volume to know what you are doing and that you are not inflating your numbers.
Do You Want to Help or Do Business?
Be honest and let the seller know that you are there to make money. If you reach an impasse on price, you, as the investor can say, “That doesn’t make business since to me.” If you have been selling yourself as the person who is wants to “HELP” people, then the seller can say, if you want to help me, give me the price I need. At that point, you have not only lost credibility, but you have also lost the deal.
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