How Minor Alterations Can Result in Long-Term Savings
Agents often justify unnecessary major purchases by rationalizing that all they must do is “sell just one more house a month.” A better approach is to look at where you can make minor alterations that result in long-term savings.
For example, if you spend $6.00 per day for a latte, over the course of a year, you will spend $1,560. Merely bringing your own coffee to the office or substituting a less expensive drink, can easily cut that number by 50-80 percent.
There are hundreds of places where you can save money by purchasing in bulk, buying products online, not eating out so much, or just being conscious of where the money goes.
So, here’s a bit of fieldwork for this week: Identify at least one place where you can save money in your business and one place where you can save money personally. At the end of the next year, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much more of your money that you kept.
(I decided to limit my cappuccinos at $7.00 with tax and tip to twice a week.)
Words to Never Use When Negotiating
If someone were to ask you, do you ever call your clients or someone else’s clients names, most agents would say, “I would never do that!” 
Nevertheless, how many times have you heard another agent describe a buyer or seller as being “greedy,” “a bottom feeder,” or a “low baller?”
If you have ever used any of these words when negotiating, you are probably creating a serious roadblock that could result in losing the deal. So, what should you do instead?
First, avoid using these terms. Instead, remove your judgment by simply stating:
My buyers have elected to make an offer substantially under the asking price.
There’s no need to justify or explain. Be sure to follow up by also saying,
About 50 percent of the time, we can put these deals together. Let’s keep the negotiation going to see if this is part of that 50 percent that will ultimately close.
A Simple Way to Negotiate Multiple Offers
With the severe lack of inventory in many markets, multiple offers are still common. When you are representing a buyer and they ask your opinion about how to bid, here’s what to say:
“There are four ways to negotiate in this situation. The first is to make an offer as if there are no other competing offers.
If you really want the house, the second approach is to offer close to asking price.
If you absolutely must have this house, the third strategy is to offer full asking price or slightly over asking price.
The fourth option is to withdraw your offer and see what happens. It’s your choice, what would you like to do?”
By placing the client in control, you eliminate virtually all pushback that you would normally experience in this type of negotiation situation. Furthermore, if your client doesn’t get the house, it was their choice rather than something you recommended.
Inventory Knowledge Never Goes Out of Style
No matter what your experience level is, maintaining a strong knowledge of the inventory is critical for real estate success. Top agents can rattle off comparable sales and correctly price properties without ever
having to check the MLS.
Agents with this level of expertise have a huge advantage, whether they are working with sellers or buyers. Clients want to know that their agent is an expert in the area where they are looking. Having a strong knowledge of the inventory is one of the best ways to demonstrate this expertise. Best of all, inventory knowledge is the one skill that never goes out of style.
When’s the Best Time to List a House?
When’s the best time to list a house? According to Zillow’s research data, the month a homeowner lists their home for sale has a powerful influence on the seller’s bottom line.
So, what’s the best month to list your house? It depends upon the weather! Depending upon where you live, sellers will sell faster and net the most money if they list their home in March. If you’re being hammered with snow in March, however, the best time may be the first week in April.
How can you determine the best timing? Watch for a significant increase in the number of new listings that normally takes place in late February or early March. The time to have your sellers list is several weeks later when this initial rush has passed and there is much less competition.
To take advantage of this fact, get your postcard marketing campaigns, mailing pieces, and keep-in-touch-with-past-client phone calls focused on this data now. And by the way, in case you didn’t know this, NAR says the best day of the week to list a house is on Friday.