The Objective is a Written Offer

A common mistake made by real estate investors is to forget why they knock on the seller’s door. By “forget,” I don’t mean the seller answers the door and the investor stands there with a stupid, lost look on his face.  I mean the investor doesn’t understand the basic objective of why he’s there.

Do you know the ultimate objective of meeting with sellers?  I mean, why are you there?  What’s the purpose?  Is it to be given a tour of the seller’s house?

Recently, I was working with a couple of investors.  By “working,” I mean I was watching and critiquing – the investors had the lead and were responsible for what happened in the house.  We went in the first seller’s house and got the grand tour.  In the end, the investors told the seller they’d get back with him, then left.  Same thing happened in the second seller’s house.

One of the hardest things about teaching is for the teacher to keep his mouth shut.  Oh, do I ever have a problem with this!  Not immediately correcting someone when they’re doing something wrong practically makes my eyes bleed.

Before going in the third seller’s house, I asked the investors, “When y’all are all done talking to the seller and are ready to leave, will you please ask if I have anything else to add?”

The third seller’s house was huge and beautiful.  It took thirty minutes to get the grand tour.  We ended up in the basement, standing around the pool table.  The seller was told how beautiful his house was and that the investors would get back with him.  Then the investors turned to me and asked, “Bill, is there anything else you want to add?”

Boy was there!  I asked the seller one simple, straightforward question: “Would you mind if we went to your kitchen table and I made you a written offer?”  The seller smiled and said, “Sure, I’d love that!”

The reason an investor knocks on a seller’s door is to get to the kitchen table.  You want to get to the kitchen table so you can ask Pete Fortunato’s world-famous question: Why are you selling such a nice house like this?  Pete’s question allows you to dig so you can better understand what the seller wants and why he wants it.

Now comes the THING.  Once you understand the seller’s what and why, you’re able to construct a win-win offer that helps the seller get from the uncomfortable situation he’s in, to a situation where he’s more comfortable.  Remember: If your offer doesn’t help the seller to improve his current situation, he’ll turn your offer down flat!

So remember the ultimate objective of why you meet with sellers: To make them a written offer!