Showing tactics

B - All Buyers Are Liars: Where did that come from?

All buyers are liars

Many agents are taught a skill to use after a buyer shows serious interest in a home, but then states a reason for not wanting it. This is a technique that by-owners can also use. It's very effective and easily employed when interested buyers state why the house isn't for them. 

The technique:

At the conclusion of a showing and the buyers are very positive about a house, they tell the agent that they really like the house, but it isn't for them because _____________. 

The veteran agent then responds with a polite comment that probes to see if that obstacle was eliminated, would they buy the house: 

 “If the house didn’t have (or did have) ___________ would you buy it?”

 Example:

For example, after the agent asks the buyer (who has already expressed real interest in the house) if he wants to consider making an offer. He responds, “Great house, but I really wanted a larger kitchen.” Now, the agent uses the buyer’s reason for not wanting to proceed further and asks the key question, “If it had a larger kitchen, would you consider buying it?”


If the kitchen size is truly the buyer’s real objection, then you would expect the buyer to say, “Yes, I would buy it.” 
If he does, the agent can ask why he wants a larger kitchen, and possibly provide solutions to this obstacle (knock out a wall to the dining room, replace the cabinets with taller ones if cabinet space is the issue, eliminate the large center island, etc.).

But if the buyer responds, “No, I wouldn’t buy it,” then the buyer wasn’t being honest that the kitchen is the reason for not buying the home. 



This is how an agent (politely) finds out if the buyer is a “liar” (that the kitchen size is not the obstacle).  This technique opens the door for the agent to now probe deeper into what is the buyer’s real objection to buying the house and see if solutions can be considered.  

If you see the potential in this procedure in your home selling endeavor, see how you can apply this seller tactic as a FSBO.  

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