S.E.C. Real Estate Observer

• Tweet

• Tweet

Just two letters, but “If” is one of the biggest words in the English language. “If” allows one to presuppose a situation in the future, try it on for size, so to speak, and see how it feels. Combined with the words, “would you even consider it?” the word “If” can let you “try on” a future situation. You are only being asked “if you would even consider” committing to a future action. It is very easy to answer yes to such a question, since you are not committing to anything except to “consider” doing something in the future.

Let’s take a look at an example. You have a client who had a property appraised two years ago for $1,000,000. Not wanting to waste your time taking on an overpriced listing, you ask in your listing appointment, “Will you take $750,000 for your property?” Wow, that’s tough. You are asking your client for a firm commitment right now. You don’t even have the cash to dangle in front of her and yet you are asking her to commit. There is still a chance her White Knight may come riding up and offer her $999,999 cash and take her out to dinner to boot. If she says yes to you now, she misses that chance, however slim it may be… It’s unlikely she will say “yes”.

Compare that with, “If I were to bring you an offer for $750,000 cash, would you even consider such an offer?” Well now, that is a different story! If there is any chance in the world she would even consider a $750,000 offer in any circumstance, she is free to say yes. She loses no future White Knights. She can always say no later on. You have just made it very easy for her to say, “Yes.” If she does say no, you can easily continue to raise the price until you discover what she would be willing to “even consider.” You allow your client to safely try on a future situation and see how it feels with no danger of losing out on something better in the interim.

Let’s look at another example. “If I bring you a proposal where someone assumes your $750,000 mortgage and you can walk away with no money out of your pocket, your credit intact, and no more delinquent payment notices, would you even consider such a proposal?” With no danger, she can see how it would feel just to be free of a property that is taking her down. Compare that with, “You really have no equity, are you ready to walk away with nothing?”

Realistically, once someone says that they would consider a possibility, the chances are excellent that, if presented with that real situation, they will say yes to it in the future. Their brain has already said “yes” in the past. Because you have given the brain a chance to decide rationally regarding the situation in the past without all the mental baggage of a “yes/no” final decision, the brain is able to decide rationally what is in its best interest when presented with the real situation. When presented with the same situation in the future, the brain will remember the previous decision and it will be easy now to make the best choice.

Now let me ask you – the reader – a question. “If you could make a simple change to your old habits that would make life much better in the future for you and your clients, would you even consider trying to change?”