Say This! Not That!
Have you seen the popular diet book called "Eat This, Not That"? It's practical advice on how to make small, and large, changes to your lifestyle...and lose weight. Well little changes can make all the difference, can't it? It adds up.
The same principle applies to what we say. We have the power to create the environment with our clients, other agents, inspectors, appraisers...everyone we come in contact with throughout the day. We can be mindful of what we say, and how we say it.
Since this is a blog post...you won't be able to hear the tone in the words, but I think you'll get the point. What if you said this?
- What a lovely listing you have
- Would you have any guidance for me in writing an offer?
- We do have another offer, I'm sorry that I can't talk about it's terms
- Can I answer any questions for your clients?
- Can you tell me more about the motivation your clients having asked for "blank"?
- How can we work together on this to find a solution?
- Do you have a time frame that I need to accommodate?
This is just a small example of attitude with the other side. The other side is not the enemy but there seems to be only two ways to handle the relationship...either we tell them everything (not representing our clients properly) or take a hostile stand of us-against-them approach. Terrible idea! What do you think about these?
- There is no way the sellers/buyers can accept this
- We have several other offers, so we are only considering "blank"
- You have 24 hours to do "blank" or we are going to cancel
- That's not possible
- We will not entertain a request for repairs
- What do you plan to do about it?
Can you feel the difference in attitude? Even if the results are the same, why take the negative approach? Small changes..little phrases that convey understanding and openness. Small changes, big results.
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