Three steps to diffuse a potentially hostile listing appointment.
I had a call 4 days ago from a very frustrated and actually angry seller. His listing had expired after 2 1/2 years and he was mad. He and his wife recieved my expired listing letter so he called but was suspect and demanding on the phone. I took my buyer's agent with me and by the end of the meeting, they committed to us, gave us their photo album to make pictures and were thrilled. What did we do? Three things.
1. We listened. They had so much to express and wanted an audience.
2. We gave them facts without judgement.. their price was too high but after showing them comps and the assessor's appraisal without questioning what they wanted to list it at, they softened... listened. "Mr and Ms seller, I hear you. Mr and Ms seller, here is what I found about values. Mr and Ms seller, I hear you."
3. We disagreed regarding unreasonable demands on our time and duties as a listing agent with dignity for them. For example, they wanted us to accompany all showings but we refused in a very gentle, informed way. It would have been detrimental to the sale of their house to do so in a rural area like ours... buyer's agents will not stand for it because it is so hard to make an exact time when the home is out of town. Another example.. they wanted NO showings without them being present for fear of someone stealing their "stuff" or falling, making them liable. I don't think anyone had ever spoken to them about selling their home, how to do it, etc. They calmed down and agreed after we listened to all their reasons and fears .. trust was coming.
We got the listing. They are very happy. Our job now is to DO what we said we would do. We did not over-promise. We did not over-price. The biggest thing that we did was listen to them until THEY actually felt listened to.
I love this job.
Three steps to diffuse a potentially hostile listing appointment.
Paula - It takes a lot of self-control to not react when someone is directing hostility your way. You defused it perfectly by listening, providing factual information, and showing them why it wasn't in their best interests to do some of the things they wanted you to do. This should be a Featured post.
Great work. Listening should be a top priority in our job, but so few people do it. It's good you didn't just dismiss the seller as an unreasonable person, but made an appointment and listened.
John and Irma... thanks for dropping by! Yep, I have learned the hard way not to succomb to an agreement I will regret ...that does not make good business sense.
Gail, thank you so much! I think the teacher in me came out... or maybe the parent! Let them get it out of their system and they did!
Mona, thanks for the comment. Yes, that was indeed the source of their frustration...the past 2 and one half years. The other agent is a very nice guy .. just sells in the "traditional" manner...waiting for someone to walk in the door.
Rob, thanks. Yep. The "facts" part was tough because I could not get frustrated and their "perceptions" were being threatened...but they did it..they moved mountains.
Debbie, thanks. I have a rule. I don't work with jerks. But I did not feel jerkiness... I felt frustration. They were both good people.
Pete, thanks! We will put our heads down and work on this one. There has only been one sale in this neighborhood in the past 3 years and that was one I sold to our buyer. I love the neighborhood so maybe we can get some life blood going again..who knows?
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