You're making a listing presentation to an owner and you tell them the price you think their property is worth. Upon hearing this, the owner then tells you that the agent you're competing for the listing with has appraised the property at a substantially higher value.

If you've been in business for awhile, you know that this is a trick that some agents will often utilize in an attempt to get the owner to list their property with them. They figure the owner is more likely to list with them if they tell the owner they're confident they can sell the property for a higher price. Then oftentimes this agent will later get the owner to reduce the price if the property hasn't leased or sold in the weeks and months after the listing was originally signed. This is clearly a case of an agent looking out for their own best interests above and beyond those of the client the agent is supposed to be serving.

When a top producer like Mike Monteleone encounters a situation like this, he first goes over the comparable sales information with the owner. Ideally, in this situation, the owner will see that the value the other agent has quoted is not warranted based upon the comps themselves. Then Mike turns to the owner and asks a question like, "What do you think an agent's underlying motivation would be in telling you your property is worth more than it really is?"

This is a brilliant question to ask, particularly after the owner has seen that the comps don't substantiate the higher value he's been quoted. With 31 years of experience in the business, Mike knows what property is worth in the areas he serves. He also knows when a price is extremely unrealistic, too.

But instead of asking the question above, what would the owner feel if Mike had said instead, "The other agent is just giving you that price because they want you to give them the listing."

Sounds like sour grapes, doesn't it?

By asking instead of telling, Mike's directing the owner to think on his own about why the other agent would be giving him an inflated value for his property. Once the owner starts thinking in this direction, the chances are extremely high he'll say something like, "Maybe the other agent is just trying to get me to give them the listing." And when the owner both thinks this and says it out loud himself, it's far more powerful than if Mike had made the statement out loud himself.

I would add one more question to utilize in this situation. When the owner says, "Maybe the other agent is just trying to get me to give them the listing," I would follow-up with the following question right back to the owner: "And what's your opinion of any agent who would tell you your property is worth more than it is just to try to get you to give them the listing?"

The owner's response to this final question ideally will eliminate the other agent as your competition for the listing. When you learn how to ask the questions that guide your clients towards listing their properties with you, you'll continually become more successful and you'll close a greater percentage of your listing appointments.

Published: June 18, 2004

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