Real Estate Negotiation:

The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real

Estate Agents Make
Table of Contents

Introduction................................................................................................................................... 3

Mistake #1: Not believing that you’re worth it............................................................. 5

Mistake #2: Failing to address your fee upfront.......................................................... 7

Mistake #3: Not understanding your value.................................................................... 9

Mistake #4: Wasting too much time on deals you will never get.....................11

Mistake #5: Beating around the bush.............................................................................13

Mistake #6: Not knowing whether you’re the favorite or the fool...................15

Have you reached your full potential as a real estate agent?............................ 18

Real Estate Negotiation: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make
Introduction

Most real estate agents are stuck in the paradigm of hoping, praying,
waiting, and convincing people to make deals. Far too often, they are
willing to spend countless hours chasing deals that will never happen.
And because they live commission to commission, they are happy
cutting their fees to close a transaction. Some money is better than
no money, so the thinking goes.

But what if you could make more money in less time and with less
stress? “Ridiculous” is a decent way to sum that up in one word.
And yet, with Black Swan methods, we helped a top-shelf agent
who makes $100 million in sales a year maintain her salary while only
exerting 20 percent of her usual time and effort.

The light bulb wasn’t created from the continuous improvement of the
candle. It was a drastic shift in approach to providing light where there
was darkness.

Real Estate Negotiation: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make 3
You have a similar choice. When you wake up tomorrow, you can be
an agent who is just as good (or potentially worse) than the agent that
goes to sleep tonight. You can decide to keep doing things the same
way you always have and cross your fingers for better results.

Or instead, you can commit to improvement, learn new tactics,

switch things up, and grow as a professional. The ball is ultimately
in your court.

If you want to be an effective real estate agent who can accomplish

more in less time, you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading to learn
more about the biggest mistakes real estate agents make and what
you can do to overcome them and reach your full potential.

Real Estate Negotiation: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make 4
Mistake #1: Not believing
that you’re worth it.

People in the business world are often given a 10 percent “finder’s fee”
when they help make deals happen. These people don’t do half the
work you do, yet they end up getting a bigger chunk of the deal than
you ever will.

Good real estate agents are worth more than their weight in gold. After
all, they help clients navigate one of the most stressful situations of
their lives. When they do their jobs right, they are irreplaceable.

Real Estate Negotiation: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make 5
Unfortunately, most agents are programmed to believe they will lose
business if they charge a full fee. Most agents never even ask for six
percent on a listing for that reason.

The fact of the matter is: There is no reason to lower your fee.

During the initial conversation, a prospective client will test your ability
to negotiate on their behalf. Think of this as an audition. If you are willing
to cut your fee and won’t stand up for yourself, how can the buyer or
seller expect you to stick up for them when the going gets tough?

So first things first: Believe that you are worth it because you are. If you
need to be convinced, envision future scenarios to prepare for the next
time you discuss fees. Nobody rises to the occasion—we all fall to our
highest level of preparation. Picturing yourself as a full-service, full-fee
agent prepares you for those conversations.

Believe that you are worth

it because you are.

Real Estate Negotiation: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make 6
Mistake #2: Failing to address
your fee upfront.

You are a full-service, full-fee real estate agent. It’s time to start acting
like it.

Many agents are trained to leave the commission discussion for last.
In fact, many hope it doesn’t come up at all.

This is the wrong approach.

Rather than hoping it doesn’t come up—because, who are we kidding,

it will—confront the elephant in the room as early as you can. The
best agents bring up the issue right away: We have a potential sticking
point that I want to put on the table right now. My fee is six percent, and
I pay the selling agent 2.5 percent.

Real Estate Negotiation: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make 7
You won’t deal with the elephant in the room by ignoring it or
denying it. In confronting it head-on, you prove that you are a calm,
fearless negotiator who is not afraid to get your hands dirty. At the
same time, you avoid putting in a ton of work only to find out there is
a problem.

When you deliver this news, pay attention to your tone of voice. Use
a downward inflection to channel your inner “Late-Night FM DJ”
and deliver the news gently. You want the unspoken message to be
something like this: I’m solid. I’m fearless. I’m deferential. I get along
with people. And I’m worth the full price.

Real Estate Negotiation: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make 8
Mistake #3: Not understanding
your value.

When we tell agents to talk about their fees early in the process, some
will say a variation of the following: How can we talk about fees when
I haven’t shown them my marketing strategies, credentials, and most
recent sales?

As Ronald Reagan once said: When you’re explaining, you’re losing.

In other words, we are not guided by facts, logic, and reason. We are
guided by emotions.

Getting six percent isn’t about explaining why you are worth six percent.
It’s about understanding your value. There is a high probability your
marketing plan and credentials probably aren’t much different than the
next agent. When you focus on these things, you misunderstand your
value as a real estate agent.

Real Estate Negotiation: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make 9
Your value isn’t in marketing plans. It’s in helping clients navigate one
of their most stressful experiences and end up in a happier, more
fulfilling place. After all, just about anything can go wrong in
a real estate transaction. When a client has already decided what
the future looks like, what difference does a marketing plan make?

Marketing plans aren’t what help clients navigate this process.

Emotional intelligence and Tactical Empathy™—the process of
thoroughly focusing on your client’s perspective so they have no
choice but to agree with you—are the tools effective real estate
agents use to close deals.

Marketing plans aren’t what help

clients navigate this process.

Real Estate Negotiation: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make 10
Mistake #4: Wasting too much
time on deals you will never get.

It’s not a sin to not get the deal. However, it is a sin to dedicate a ton of
time and still not get the deal. So stop wasting time on someone who
will never close a deal with you!

From what we’ve seen with our clients, it takes as much time to lose
a client and not get a deal as it takes to close two deals. Said another
way, you could spend your time chasing a client who is on the hook
but won’t ultimately lead you to a payday—or you could cut them loose,
optimize your approach, and close two different transactions in the
same amount of time.

Real Estate Negotiation: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make 11
Joe Polish of Genius Network believes that there are two types
of people:

† HALF People † ELF People

Hard Easy
Annoying Lucrative
Lame Fun
Frustrating

Which kind of people do you prefer working with?

There are tons of people who want to work with you because you
are a rockstar real estate agent. Spend your time on people who are
a good match for you, and great things will happen.

But how do you know who’s a good match? The answer: They will
have no problem paying your fee, and they won’t ask you to be
flexible about it.

Real Estate Negotiation: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make 12
Mistake #5: Beating around
the bush.

When it comes to telling the truth, agents always face a dilemma: If I

tell the truth, I’ll lose business because another agent will fudge the truth!

Not at all. The best agents consider truth-telling to be a core principle.

They understand that people want to hear the truth and deliver on
those expectations.

That said, how you tell the truth matters. As silly as it might sound,
your tone of voice plays a huge role in how your message is received.

Real Estate Negotiation: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make 13
People do want to hear the truth, but they don’t want to be hit with
a brick in the face. To this end, a gentle tone of voice (remember the
“late-night FM DJ” we talked about earlier) can go a long way toward
making sure the truth—especially bad news—lands smoothly.

Remember that this tone of voice isn’t something you should only use
with your clients. The agent on the other side of the transaction is likely
panicking as well, so you need to calm them down too.

Most agents try to put a positive spin on bad news or work around
it, which can be off-putting to clients. To stand apart, kick off the
conversation like this when you have bad news to deliver: I’m sorry, I’m
afraid I’ve got bad news. Then, pause for a moment to give the client a
chance to brace themselves. Then say: This is going to break your heart.
Pause again for the same purpose.

Humans are incredibly resilient when they think bad news is coming.
With this approach, whatever your bad news is, your client will be
relieved because they will have imagined something much worse
during your brief pauses.

Because the last impression is the lasting impression, you will leave
these individuals with a feeling of relief and gratitude, supercharging
your referral engine.

Humans are incredibly resilient

when we think bad news is coming.

Real Estate Negotiation: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make 14
Mistake #6: Not knowing whether
you’re the favorite or the fool.

Imagine this: You get a call from a seller, and they want you to come
to their house for a potential listing. (Most agents are eager for these
types of phone calls.) When you show up for the appointment—either
at the property or, these days, over Zoom—you go in thinking there is a
chance you can make the deal.

In the world of real estate transactions, there is no such thing as an

open mind. In most cases, the client has already made up their mind—
or at least made up their mind halfway.

Real Estate Negotiation: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make 15
There’s the old saying that tells us that if you don’t know who the fool
in the game is, it’s probably you. So before sitting down for a long chat
or driving to a property, you need to do some legwork to determine
whether you’re the favorite—the one who is likely to get the deal—or
the fool—the one wasting time. If you’re the fool, the prospective client
is just looking for a competing bid and has no intention of actually
signing a contract.

Recall that agent we talked about at the beginning of this e-book.

She’s pulling $100 million in sales a year, and she’s putting in 20 percent
of her usual effort. At the beginning of our engagement, she was
confident that her success was because she pursued every opportunity
that came her way, burning the hours and doing the legwork.

She reclaimed 80 percent of her time because she embraced

the “favorite-or-the-fool” paradigm and applied it every day.

Instead of saying yes to the next appointment that falls into your lap,
ask for a 15-minute phone call first. During the call, find out whether
they are calling you—or calling “agents.” You can do so by asking
Proof of Life™ questions to determine if there’s a deal to be made:
Why me? Why did you call me? Why is it important to talk to me?

Real Estate Negotiation: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make 16
The word why makes people defensive. If you’re the favorite, they will
let you know because they will start defending you, essentially selling
themselves on your skills. If they tell you a list of reasons why they are
talking to you, they are already envisioning doing business with you, so
you can roll up your sleeves and get to work.

On the other hand, if they can’t answer your questions and deflect them
back to you, you will want to cut ties right then and there. In the worst-
case scenario, you position yourself to pick up the business if their
preferred agent falls through.

If you’re the favorite, they will let

you know because they will start
defending you, essentially selling
themselves on your skills.

Real Estate Negotiation: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make 17
Have you reached your full potential
as a real estate agent?

We live in a Las Vegas world. There are a bunch of different tables in

Vegas, some of which have considerably larger payouts than others.

Chances are you’ve been playing at a table where you win 20 percent
of the time. At Black Swan, we want to walk you to the table where
you win 80 percent of the time, shaving the odds in your favor.

If any of this content resonates, we encourage you to continue

this process. Click below to join us for a live real estate discussion
every month!

To take the next step in your journey, sign up for monthly performance
coaching calls with rotating instructors.

Real Estate Negotiation: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make 18
 When you’re ready to continue your learning,
sign up for team training sessions today and see
why our clients are 20 percent more effective in their
negotiations after they’ve learned our methods.

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