Are You a Good Negotiator?

Negotiation is just par for the course when you’re a Realtor®, but how do you know if you’re being as effective as you can be at it?

How to Evaluate Your Negotiation Skills 

According to Marty Latz, founder of the Latz Negotiation Institute, you need to keep track of what you’re doing and what works.

“One relatively objective way to evaluate a crucial element of negotiation success is to compare the terms of your final deal with what you initially would have done if you had not negotiated it. The difference will be the relative impact of your negotiation effort,” says Latz.

Negotiation Tips From the Pros 

Negotiation is an art form—but you need a solid foundation on which to build your talents.

Author and business coach John McKee says you should always start out by getting all the facts.

“It’s not enough to just understand the market. You also need to know what the other side is likely to throw at you,” says McKee.

It’s often a good idea to push the idea of scarcity, whether your client is the buyer or the seller.

“Sold-out products create a sense of immediacy for customers; they feel that if one product is gone, the next item could also sell out," says Paul Messinger, a University of Alberta professor who’s studied the scarcity of items and scarcity’s effects on consumers.

It’s really about urgency—and if you’re convincing the other party in the negotiation that there’s a reason to act quickly, they’re more likely to concede to your terms (and do it fast). This is true whether your clients are buying or selling. If they’re buying, you can let the sellers know that their home isn’t really “one in a million” and that your clients can easily find another; if they’re selling, you can let buyers know when you have better offers on the table or when you’re holding out for full price.

According to Rony Ross, founder and executive chairman of Panorama Software, the key is really taking your ego out of the equation.

“I’ve been in so many negotiations with men who start with ‘I want this, and I want that,’” says Ross. “If you talk instead about how ‘we need to reach a solution,’ it’s a very different approach. It doesn’t gratify your ego requirements, but it reaches a much better deal.”