How to guide buyers to a winning offer
Picking up where I left off yesterday on the buyer urgency convo but today's specifically helps you with having that tough conversation with a buyer who needs to lower their standards because they either aren't getting their offers accepted or are getting frustrated with the options that are available right now.
What I know is that after 3-4 weeks of showings and/or 2-3 offers written, their confidence in us as their agent is starting to wane and the only way to "bring them back" is to have what I call a "re-consultation" and it will most likely include the following dialogue:
"I know securing a home today can be frustrating and as you can see, you're not the only one looking for exactly what you're looking for. Can I share with you how we can increase your chances of making your next offer the one that gets chosen? Let's look at one or two of the following areas that we may have a little give on to modify our search criteria, so you're not competing with as many buyers. Which one of the following areas would you be willing to be flexible and sacrifice a little on so that you don't keep spinning your wheels and losing out?
Lets start with the Schools, any flexibility there?
How bout the square footage, could we decrease it a bit?
What about the garage or amount of bathrooms, could we give up one stall or one shower?
If we can make a few small tweaks without sacrificing your quality of living too much, I think I can get this done for you with the very next offer we write, fair enough?"
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Use the above when you detect they are losing confidence in you and get their confidence back up to where it was when they first met you.
Until then, lets make it an unreal Wednesday!
Before the re-consultation, rank the buyer’s must-haves out loud and tie each concession to a real sold comp: schools, square footage, garage, bathrooms. Add a 48-hour deadline, because 3-4 weeks of showings has already burned their trust. If they’re selling collectibles to bridge the gap, the latest Pokemon card values can tell you whether they stretch for the garage. Then write one offer, not five.
Three to four weeks and two or three rejected offers is when the re-consultation should happen, but before that call, log which criterion killed each offer—schools, square footage, garage, one stall or one shower—and price the concession against resale. A few of the better AI tools for ranking those trade-offs can make the ask less arbitrary; then ask for one sacrifice, not five. Otherwise buyers hear “lower your standards” instead of “target a smaller competitive pool.”
I started printing a one-page trade-off sheet before every re-consultation. After 3-4 weeks of showings and 2-3 offers written, I ask the buyer to circle what they'd drop: a garage stall or a shower. My last couple used a buyer re-consultation worksheet to make those sacrifices visual. The 'fair enough?' close works better when they see it in writing.
This article provides excellent strategies for guiding buyers through tough conversations about adjusting their expectations in a competitive market. I found it helpful to jot down these insights using a markdown to Word tool, which allows me to keep my notes organized and easily accessible as I navigate these discussions with clients.
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