Question Objections, Don’t Just Accept Them

January 12, 2024

Question Objections, Don’t Just Accept Them

When it comes to objections, are you sure the objection you’re addressing is really the objection they have? Ask lots of questions to the heart of the matter!

Real estate professionals are also real estate coaches when it comes to helping buyers and sellers make decisions regarding the purchase and sale of their home, but are you questioning their objections or merely accepting them?

A POWER AGENT® asked recently about how to coach a seller who didn’t want to hire an agent, but instead wanted to use Redfin to sell their home. They were told they would get a rebate back once their property was sold. This agent wasn’t sure how to address this objection, and after I asked a few questions, we came to see that the real problem wasn’t the Redfin objection as she thought; it was that this agent wasn’t even clear on what the actual objection was.

The problem for most agents isn’t that they don’t know how to handle the objection, but that they aren’t asking the seller for more information. You cannot handle an objection if you don’t understand what they are really objecting to.

When you go to the doctor and tell him, “I have a pain over here,” what do they do? Do they come up with an instant diagnosis? Of course not! They start asking questions to rule out possible problems. Your answers help eliminate some, and clarify other, potential issues, just like your questions to buyers and sellers help you determine what their objection really is so you can accurately address it.

Coaching Dialogue

Using the scenario above as an example, when a seller says something to you that you aren’t clear on, or have never heard of, ask questions.

Can you explain that?
What do you mean, they’re giving you money back?
How much are they paying?
What do you have to do to get this money back?
Do you have to buy through them too? How much are you paying upfront?
Do you have to pay up front and then MAYBE get money back?

If something doesn’t seem right, you can say, “This doesn’t make sense to me. Something sounds weird, maybe even untrustworthy. My method is pretty straightforward, you don’t pay me anything upfront, you just have to commit to me. When I got married, I had to commit to a bakery before they would bake my wedding cake. I had to put down a deposit and sign an agreement because it takes them money and time. The same goes for the Hall and the caterer. I had to make commitments to people and businesses before they spent their money to prepare things for me. When it comes to me selling your house, you just have to commit to me, and in return, I commit to you, which is a pretty good deal because unlike planning a wedding, you don’t have to give me a deposit. You give me nothing, just say ‘I promise that you’re going to get paid as long as you do your job’.”

The Real Estate Agent’s Formula for Success

Now, when it comes to handling the iBuyer objection in this scenario, addressing the problem of sellers choosing iBuyers is an objection that comes up a lot, and knowing how to coach sellers though this is important.

Every real estate pro needs to believe in this profession and hold to the mantra: “You get what you pay for.” When coaching sellers about the process of selling their home, there are two avenues they could potentially go in: Traditional vs Disruptor.

Traditional

This is the method that most people think of when selling a home. They hire a real estate agent (you!), you list the home, market the home, and the seller pays a commission when all is said and done. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, “86% of home sellers worked with a real estate agent to sell their home, 10% sold via FSBO, and less than 1% sold via iBuyer.” As we can plainly see, most homeowners will list with a real estate agent and go the traditional route because they see the value in working with an agent.

Disruptors

These are pretty much any other way you can think of to sell a home, including For-Sale-By-Owners, discount brokerages, and iBuyers. Most discount brokerage companies will say, “Pay me this administrative fee and I’ll get your home on the MLS.” They won’t help the homeowner sell their home, but they pay the fee to have their home on the MLS. iBuyers are companies that use technology and data analysis to make quick cash offers on homes and they typically purchase homes directly from sellers, aiming for a fast and streamlined transaction, then turn around and sell the home for a profit.

The truth about these disruptors is that many of them end up going out of business. As an example, the iBuyer company Open Door just reported their revenue for Q1 of 2023. They brought in $3.1 billion, but that figure is down by 39% from 2022. Their number of homes sold is down by 35%. On every one of their numbers, they are losing a lot of money. At the rate they are declining, they will be forced to shut their doors soon. In fact, Open Door was just hit with a $62 million dollar lawsuit over misleading clients about the true costs of their services. Zillow is another iBuyer company that tried to open their own brokerage, and in less than a year, had sustained so many losses they had to close the brokerage doors, returning to their iBuyer model.

Why Traditional Real Estate Will Outlast The Disruptors

When you hear a seller say, “We’re going with Redfin because they will give us money back,” don’t get rattled and say, “oh, OK.” Ask questions. LOTS of questions! Ask, “What do you mean, they’re giving you money?” If the seller can’t explain it clearly, you know it’s a disruptor, because disruptors never make sense. This is why its so important to ask a lot of questions, so you can home in on the source of your seller’s hesitation.

Here’s the thing about the real estate industry: it’s been around for 200 years. People have tried every shiny penny, every technique, every possible idea to sell homes successfully without using real estate agents, and not one of them has ever worked. Sure, a FSBO can sell on their own, but they will rarely ever sell for the same price that an agent could. iBuyers have been trying to outpace traditional real estate and not one company has ever succeeded.

Traditional real estate methods and real estate agents have distinct advantages over iBuyers and discount brokerages, and no matter what other technique develops, it will outlast disruptors because if buyers and sellers really didn’t need real estate agents, it wouldn’t be a profession. Real estate professionals provide the human touch and understanding of clients’ unique needs, along with valuable advice and guidance throughout the buying or selling process.

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