Vendor management that turns listings into sales

Last week we ran a webinar on Vendor Management. It was epic to see many of you there! This guide covers all the key takeaways.

It's a real deep dive, chock full of scripts and strategies you can implement immediately to turn those hard-to-sell listings into real commissions. So grab a coffee, get comfortable and have a read.

Members - scroll down to access the Youtube video of the webinar, plus appraisal scripts, how I reported campaign numbers to owners, why I chased low offers, the vendor review meeting agenda that secures price reductions, and the scripts I used to close a 10% gap.

Last week's session was about one thing: getting more of your listings sold, with owners who are comfortable with the price they accept.

Listings are harder to move at the moment. Buyers are cautious, open homes are quieter, and owners have no way of knowing what normal looks like in this market. It's easy for a campaign to drift for weeks without an offer.

Below are two ideas from the session you can use straight away: the question I'd continually ask every vendor, and how to set up the appraisal so price conversations are easier later.

The question that brings every conversation back to price

Every property would sell tomorrow at some price. The conversations that drag a campaign out are usually about everything else: the photos, the open home time, what one buyer said about the carport. The question I used to bring every vendor meeting back to price was:

"If we were sitting here today with a cash unconditional offer, what would you accept?"

I asked it at every meeting because the answer changes over time. Early in my career, I'd lead the witness. Owners would ask what I thought the price should come down to and I'd say, "If we can take $10k off, that could make a difference." Sometimes they'd already moved further than that. Asking the question lets them tell you.

If the answer is well above anything the market has shown:

"I'd love to be able to get that for you. With all the work you've done on presentation, all the effort you've put into marketing and the process we've been through, I believe if that price was out there, we would have found it."

If the answer is realistic:

"Let's price it at that and see how we go."

And when they ask to build in some negotiating room:

“Look, you can. But in my experience, you’re better off pricing it at an attractive level and having people competing to buy your home. If we price it too high and no one offers, it’s not going to help us.”

Buyers get the same treatment. After they've talked you through everything they don't like about the house:

"Bearing all that in mind, where would the price need to be to interest you?"

Then, whatever they say: “Cool. Let’s put that on paper and give it a go.”

If they ask you to just pass it on verbally: “Offers that are verbal are really easy to turn down. Let’s put it on paper and give it a go.”

I'm a Marketer, not a valuer

The more owners saw me as a valuer, the more I painted myself into a corner. Our job is to find out what the market will pay, bring offers at that level to the owners, give them all the evidence and let them decide.

That positioning starts at the appraisal: