Halloween is over, and you know what that means. It's the unofficial start of the holiday season, which means, starting this week and continuing until January 2nd, you'll be hearing a lot of "we want to wait until...(insert: after the holidays, after New Year, Spring)” etc. Well, we know that it’s not always in their best interest to wait, so I'm going to give you my top five best responses to this objection that will blow any others you've heard out of the water.
Here's the top Holiday Objection real estate agents hear from our clients:
"We want to wait until after [insert holiday/date/timeframe]."
Here are the top 5 Holiday Objection Handlers for real estate agents:
Use the following top five holiday objection handlers for real estate agents and start setting more appointments and taking more listings. For more scripts and objection handlers, join us Monday, November 6 for our VIRTUAL tour stop, where I'll be live streaming the Top Producer Business Plan. Register here >
Holiday Objection Handler Number 1:
“You know what's interesting about what you just said about waiting?
You're the 7th person this week alone that has said that same thing to me and can I tell you why that concerns me?
If everyone is waiting until after _________ , what do you think that will do to supply when everyone ends up listing around the same time? Drive it up…exactly!
I don't have to tell you, when supply goes up, with no increase in demand, prices come down.
So my question is, would you rather sell now when you have less competition and more serious buyers or would you prefer to wait like most others to compete with all the new listings at that time?”
Holiday Objection Handler Number 2:
Simply ask the question... "if you don't mind me asking, in your mind, what is the value of waiting until ____________?"
Or
"What specifically are you hoping to gain by waiting until after ____________?"
Many times it's not what we think it is and before I get into the other handlers and after I use the "You're the 7th person to say that" script, I want to know where their head’s at, so I know where to take the conversation.
The lesson here, and for ALL objections for that matter, is that you should never attempt to handle an objection until you fully understand their perspective on it. You could have the best scripts in the world and no one will care if it doesn't address their specific feelings on something.
Write the above questions down, commit them to memory, and practice until you have them fully internalized.
Holiday Objection Handler Number 3:
"Let me ask you a question, if given the choice, would you prefer less showings but only have showings from people who HAVE to buy or more showings but that also includes having showings from non-serious, ‘tire kicker’ buyers?
The reason I ask is because the month of January is the biggest month of the year for corporate transferees to start their new jobs, which means they have to shop for homes in the months of November and December!
Putting your home on the market now will ensure you are an option for buyers who MUST buy now, which means you'll have buyers who are willing to look past certain things and/or are willing to pay MORE for your home because there's less to choose from right now.
Make sense? So, let's go ahead and have me out now so I can show you EXACTLY what one of those serious buyers would be willing to pay right now. Are you available later today or tomorrow? I just need 20 minutes or so to have a look."
Holiday Objection Handler Number 4:
The clients STILL want to wait til Spring or after the new year? Respond with this next...\
"You really are in a position to have the best of both worlds right now - you get to list your home when there's SUBSTANTIALLY less competition AND by the time it's pending and closing you'll have ALL the options to choose from, from the people who said they wanted to wait until after the first of the year!
What's even better is that I am able to negotiate time in the home after closing so you're not rushed to move in the middle of the holidays or in the middle of winter, putting you in a position to really time the market. Sounds like a win/win, right?!"
Holiday Objection Handler Number 5:
Here are a few final handlers to use after you've tried everything else:
"Many times when sellers want to wait until after the holidays, what they really are saying is that they don't want to deal with showings, sign in their yard, etc when family and friends are over and that's understandable so one of the things we do for our sellers who recognize the value of having less competition is we actually temporarily pause showings and can even take down the sign and remove the lockbox, so it's like the house is not even for sale from say Dec 20th to Jan 2, that way we can accumulate a list of interested buyers to show the home to as soon as Jan 2 rolls around, or whatever date your comfortable with, make sense?
Finally, since I am sure you do some holiday decorating, many of my sellers have me come out now to help give suggestions to get the home ready for sale (since they have more time off to do small projects this time of year) and even have me take the photos, that way we don't have to rush to get your decor down after the holiday to grab photos. Let’s get 'em now while the house shows well and we can always grab a new front photo when we go live so it appears current, sound fair?"
You now have FIVE days worth of dialogues and word tracks to use every time you hear someone wants to wait this time of year. If you use these objection handlers, you will absolutely have more people say “yes” to you now than you would have if you just accepted their desire to wait. There is no value in waiting and you have to help them understand that.
Where to get more real estate scripts and objection handlers
I have several other scripts I'm going to be sharing that are relevant to the market we’re in right now during our LIVE, virtual tour stop on Monday, November 6. Check it out here and get our 2024 Top Producer Business Plan from the comfort of your home or office!