How to Handle Objections in Commercial Real Estate

Learning to successfully handle objections could have more impact on your commercial real estate success than any other skill. It will help you land more listings, take higher fees, put more deals under contract, keep them under, and protect your final commission check. Not only is the skill powerful, but it’s relatively simple to master.  Here are four techniques that will help you handle every objection more effectively.

4 Techniques on Handling Commercial Real Estate Objections

In this article:

1. 1. Don’t Take Them Personally
   2. Understand Them
   3. Have Evidence Ready
   4. Solve the Problem

1. Don’t Take Them Personally

Some clients have objections that are truly legitimate, while others will throw them up just to see what they can get out of you in a negotiation. Either way, remember that it’s just business and stay cool. Not only will it make the negotiation easier, but it’ll also show what a calm negotiator you are and, hopefully, boost your perceived value.

2. Understand Them

For example, when a client says that they don’t believe in exclusive listings, they could actually mean one of many things. They could be saying that they really aren’t serious about selling, in which case you might not want the assignment. In some cases, they just don’t understand what you can do for them if they actually hire you. Perhaps they’ve had a bad experience in the past. In this case, you’ll need to prove that you’re different from the agent that did a bad job for them. Once you know this, you can approach the objection the right way, instead of making arguments blindly. In fact, to be sure you got it right, restate the objection in your own words as you understood it. This is to make sure you’re all on the same page. Say it back to them and get their confirmation before proceeding.
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3. Have Evidence Ready

Some clients will not just take your word. Instead of telling them what you’ll do for them – show them by bringing samples of marketing you’ve done for other clients. If they disagree with your pricing, bring comps to support it, and be ready to explain why the comps they have are wrong. As another example, if they think you aren’t experienced enough to represent them, bring your senior partner with you.

4. Solve the Problem

This might seem obvious, but I’ve seen lots of agents fail at this. Once you’ve identified the objection, focus exclusively on it. For example, your track record isn’t the solution to a fee objection. Assuming that you already described who you are and what you’ve done, the client knows what your track record is. They just don’t want to pay what you charge for it. You instead need to point to the specific value that you add and why it’s worth what you’re charging.  You already had your client tell you exactly what their problem was, so you should be able to make a focused argument to solve their issue.

Remember, even if someone was to hang up on you, they are not rejecting you. Heck, they may have just got off the phone with an irritated client, or worse, an irritated spouse! Consistently be ready to address what comes your way. At the Massimo Group, we work with our clients in creating a playbook outlining an array of likely challenges and appropriate responses. With experience, you too can create your own playbook. The key is that you need to experience rejection first and often; from there, you will understand how to best apply these objection handling techniques.

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Up Next: 2 Prospecting Mistakes Made by CRE Professionals, and How to Avoid Them

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on August 23, 2015. It has been updated for quality and relevancy.