Author: Carl Schiovone
Source: ezinearticles.com
Introduction
For the Real Estate Investor that has purchased or sold an outstanding investment opportunity, nothing can bring on more excitement than to know you did a great job with negotiating the price and terms of the deal. Although there may be instances when you will be “handed” or “give-away” a fantastic opportunity based upon extreme motivational factors like a divorce, foreclosures, illness, etc. The majority of deals will require some level of give and take effort from both sides. Although all negotiations should have an objective of a win/win strategy and outcome, it is usually the side that has prepared the most effectively that may come away from the table with a bigger piece of the pie.
This guideline has been written to provide an overview of basic negotiation techniques that you may want to apply. The following text is broken down into sections starting with some background information and leading into the three stages of the negotiation cycle.
Section I Background Information
Practicing Negotiations by Role Playing
All successful negotiators have established their own style of approaching a negotiation. During your training as a negotiator, it will be critical for you to work on your approach and modify it as you see how things work out. One popular training method that will help you to establishing more confidence in your negotiations is to do role playing. Role playing will allow you to experiment with your approach and to develop more confidence without the fear of losing a deal. If possible, conduct the role playing session with someone who has experience in negotiating so they could provide constructive feedback on the session.
One technique that will provide you with great input as you conduct your role playing sessions is to record them or even better, do a video recording. Having the ability to review these sessions will be extremely beneficial in your development of your negotiation skills. By having recordings, you can “see” the progress you are making over time.
Reasons for Rejection
There are many reasons why your offers may not be considered or you can’t even get them to agree to meet with you. During your real estate investing career you will come across many people who are in difficult, sometimes life changing situations. The successful negotiator will try to embrace the possible reasons for rejection and adjust their approach based upon the particular situation with that person. The following section will highlight the most common reasons for rejection and will provide recommendations on how you may alter your approach to counter their pushback.
Illustrate Why This Deal Is Good For the Other Side
As part of your negotiating strategy, you should include a discussion on how the offer you are making will benefit them. In many situations, the other side may be very familiar and knowledgeable with their potential benefits. However, you will come across opportunities when that will not be the case. As an example, let’s say you are trying to convince a property owner to hold a mortgage and they are inexperienced in this area. If you provide an overview of the anticipated principal and interest payment verses them taking a lump sum at closing, you may be able to convince them that this option may be better than counting on typical investment instruments like CD’s, mutual funds, etc.
Educate “The Other Side”
As part of your negotiation strategy, you may need to provide some education to the people on the other side of the table. Throwing out an improperly staged offer that in the eyes of the other parties is a ridiculous offer will only make them push back even further or perhaps discount the deal and maybe you completely. However, if you know that the other side’s position is perhaps based on inaccurate data, than you should take advantage of the opportunity and offer any data that may be helpful to them seeing things accurately. Of course in their eyes you may have a direct benefit and they feel they must ignore your data. However, it can certainly be worth your while to give it a try. An example of this could be let’s say they are providing a Pro forma that is indicating a proposed vacancy rate and you know it is understated, perhaps if you were to compile data from the local property management company’s stating the actual vacancy rates of similar buildings, you could be in a position to further negotiate. One way to establish credibility on this type of situation is for you to disclose the source of your data and suggest that they confirm the information you have provided to them using a third party.
Find a Connection with the Other Side
It can really be beneficial to break the ice on a new relationship or negotiation by discussing non-business and non-confrontational topics. Using this technique, you can gently ease into the discussions of conducting business. In addition, these social discussions can provide some clues to you on who you are dealing with and if you potentially need to modify your approach.
An example of this technique occurred during one of my meetings with a homeowner to discuss purchasing their home. Based on the horrible conditions of the property that existed for many years, I did not know what to expect during our meeting. My first goal was to spend some time with them so we can get to know each other. As I’m approaching their door on the day of my appointment I’m thinking what on earth will I discuss to break the ice with these people who are being portrayed as the slobs of the neighborhood. As I entered the home and introduced myself, I quickly observed that the entire living room was filled with fishing poles. I thought to myself Bingo! I struck gold because I was an avid fisherman. After spending the next half hour discussing the local fishing scene, we got down to discussing business.
Other examples of creating ice breakers based on your initial observations could include the following:
Carl Schiovone has been actively involved in real estate investing for nearly 30 years, he is the co-founder of Cypress Investment Properties, which specializes in the acquisition, rehabilitation, and property management of residential properties. Carl is also the Founder and President of Carl Schiovone and Associates Real Estate Coaching, Inc. this organization provides both group and one-on-one educational programs for all levels of investing experience. Please visit our website http://www.CarlSchiovone.com