Tag: realtor personal development

Wishing you and your loved ones a fun, memorable and relaxing Christmas Season.

Thank you for a great 2024.

Best wishes,

Wade

A gratitude list may feel like the last thing you want to do in 2024. While the feeling is understandable, even with the current challenges in the world, there are still things to be thankful for during this time. I know all these things may not apply to you. Still, I hope this list will inspire you to remember the things to be thankful for. Here are 101 things to be grateful for.

1. Sight. I know there are a lot of people in this world who are blind. Even if you are, there are still other things to be grateful for. Those of you who aren’t blind, even if you must wear glasses or contacts, you can be grateful that you can see. Even if everything you see in the world isn’t as pleasant sometimes, still be grateful for the pleasant things you can see, like the nice green colors of nature outside.

2.  Hearing. Similarly, to sight, many people in this world are deaf. They’ll never be able to enjoy the sounds of music or hear the voice of someone they care about. Be grateful that you can listen to relaxing music when you feel stressed.

3.  Smell. As small as this may seem, I’ve heard of people who’ve lost their sense of smell, and it completely changed their life. Have gratitude for still having your sense of smell.

4.  Taste. When one loses their sense of taste, they lose their ability to enjoy all the flavors of food. We can be grateful for still being able to enjoy the taste of fruits, vegetables, and all the foods we enjoy in the world.

5.  Walking. Being able to get around is more of a blessing than we realize sometimes. There are people who must use canes, crutches, and wheelchairs to move around. Be grateful for being able to walk on your own two feet with relatively little pain.

6.  Lungs. If we don’t have any lung issues or must use any machines to breathe in oxygen, that’s something to be grateful for.

7. Hand movement. I must type a lot to make these articles on here. I’m grateful that I have hand movement that’s free of any arthritis. Whatever you use your hands for, be grateful you can still use them.

8. Teeth. Be grateful if you’ve not lost any of your teeth, and they’re not in any pain.

9. Neck movement. As someone who deals with neck pain from time to time, even I’m grateful that I can still move my neck from one side to the other. If you can as well, you can write that on your list.

10. Memory. As we get older, our memories may not be as good as they are now. Be grateful you can still remember the things that you want in your day.

11. Heart. There are people currently waiting for heart transplants in the hospital right now. We can be grateful that we have a working heart that still beats normally.

12.Bladder. Leaky bladders are an inconvenience that we can be grateful we don’t have to deal with.

13. Stomach. As someone who’s had stomach challenges, it’s something to be grateful for when your stomach isn’t in pain. Burning inside of it is no fun. I’m grateful for when my stomach doesn’t experience that, and that I’ve been able to improve it little by little.

14. Bones. I once saw a commercial with a little kid who was born with brittle bone disease. He’d broken his bones hundreds of times. There was also an inspirational speaker who had this disability but managed to live an extraordinary life. Not only we can be grateful for having healthy and strong bones, but we can be inspired to do more with the abilities that we’re lucky to have.

15. Overall health. My health hasn’t been the best in the most recent years of my life, and maybe yours hasn’t either. Nonetheless, no matter our health challenges, we’re still alive. We can be grateful for our overall health keeps us here. I’m grateful that my health is good for the most part.

16. Health insurance. I know not everyone reading this has health insurance. Those of you that do, be grateful your insurance helps to reduce your medical bills.

17. Meditation. There are many simple activities in life that can help improve our overall health. I’m grateful for meditation being one of those things that’s easy to do and helps us feel better.

18. Medicine. There have been many advancements in technology that have helped to heal many sicknesses that couldn’t be healed decades ago. Medicine is one of the top health things we can be grateful for in life, especially if you can afford it.

19. Doctors. In these times we’re living in, there are few people more deserving to be on this list than doctors. We can be grateful for all of them that dedicate their lives to making people feel well.

20. Exercise. It may not be the most fun thing to do for some of you, but be grateful if you’re physically able to exercise, and help keep yourself healthy.

21. Therapy. Mental health is just as important as physical health. We can be thankful that there are mental health professionals available to help us cope with the stress of the times.

22. Sickness. Yes, we can even be grateful for sickness. Going through it in a way makes us more appreciative when our health is good.

23. Fruits and vegetables. Some people are not in position to afford fruits, vegetables and other meals that keep us well. Be grateful you can enjoy the proper number of fruits and vegetables you need in your life.

24. Having money. While we may not have much in our wallet or our bank account, we can always be grateful we have some money to buy some things. There are a lot of people that don’t have any at all.

24. Earning money. You’ve probably seen how many people have had their jobs lost recently. If you’re still able to earn money for yourself, that’s a lot to be grateful for.

26. Little (or no) debt. It’d of course be nice not to have debt at all, but some people have 100’s of 1000’s of dollars in debt. If you’re one of the few who has low debt, it’s worth being grateful for.

27. Paid bills. Sometimes people reach a point where they can’t pay their bills for the month and their whole world is about to fall apart. It’s a blessing you can count if you can still pay your bills.

28. Shelter. Homelessness is an unfortunate crisis around the world. Be grateful if you stay in a home protected from the elements and able to live comfortably.

29. Food. I don’t have to tell you about starving people in the world. It’s sad and hopefully we can continue to improve it. Being able to have food on your table everyday can be in the top 10 of your thankful lists.

30. Clothing. It’s not just clothes we can be thankful for but being able to have clean ones through the luxury of our washing machines and dryers.

31. Clean water. Hearing about the water crisis in Flint a few years ago reminded me how lucky we are the water we drink is clean.

32. Clean air. China is one of the most heavily polluted areas in the world, with many people that end up developing respiratory issues. If you live in an area where the air around you are clean, it’s another thing to be grateful for.

33. Trees. Studies have proven being in nature is good for our overall wellbeing. Be grateful if you have lots of trees around where you live.

34. Sunshine. In some places it rains most of the time. Even if you live in a place like that, you can be very grateful the few times the sun comes out.

35. Animals. I find the sounds of the birds chirping and the movements of the squirrels to be peaceful. If you have these or other kinds of animals in your area, perhaps you can watch them for a moment. You might be thankful to just be able to see and hear nature in action.

36. Personality. You are who you are. There may be things about yourself you don’t like, but there are also things that you can appreciate. Whether it’s your intelligence or your kindness, find those things about yourself that make you thankful.

37. Childhood. Obviously not all of us had the best childhoods. Myself personally, I’d say mine was decent for the most part. However, your childhood was, find one or two memories in that make you feel nostalgic and grateful.

38. Knowledge. We have more access to knowledge than ever before. We can be thankful to be able to learn things that improve our understanding of the world and make us better people.

39. Family. The people that are there for you and help you out in life, whether they’re related to you or not, that’s the family you can be grateful for.

40. Someone special. When you think about it, it’s an incredibly rare experience to have someone special in your life. If you have that now, that can be near the top of your list.

41. Future. You might be thinking, If the future is looking bleak, why be grateful for it? The reason we can be grateful for it is because there’s always a possibility it can get better. I’ve lived long enough to see it in my own life and other people’s lives.

42. Experiencing romantic love. Unfortunately, there are people who live long lives without having that experience of romantic love. We may not know how we got lucky to enjoy it, but we can be grateful we have.

43. Soft bed. After a long day of making through another day, be glad that you have a nice soft bed to lie in and get some good sleep.

44. Waking up. As we all know, some people don’t wake up to see another day. Be grateful that you did and those that you care about did as well.

45. Making it to the end of the day. One of the things I always reminded myself during difficult days was to just make it to the end of the day. I was and still am grateful whenever I can do that.

46. Productivity. We all can be lazy sometimes. It’s great when we have days where we get most if not all the things we wanted to accomplish done If you accomplished that, you could add it to your thankful list for today.

47. Growth and perspective. I learned a lot in my 40s, and I’m still learning a lot in this next stage of my life. No matter what age, we can be thankful for growth and perspective that helps us to be calmer about the world we live in.

48. Travels. Traveling has many benefits to our health. We can not only be grateful for what it does for us now, but the memories it gives us to enjoy looking back on.

49. Creativity. Whether you can sing, write, draw, or dance, our creative passions give us an escape in life we can be thankful for.

50. Kindness. It may seem like there are meaner people in this world today, but there are still people that are kind. Be grateful for the kindness you receive, and the acts of kindness that still happen every single day.

51. Open-mindedness. It can be a frustrating thing in society when people aren’t more open to different ideas and viewpoints. Be grateful when you come across people who are open-minded and willing to change their mind.

52. Exciting sports game. It can be exciting sports game or some other kind of live event. While there haven’t been many of them lately, we can look back at some of the ones we enjoyed most and be grateful to enjoy them all over again.

53. Inspiring speeches. I sometimes like looking back at old speeches in history. They can be uplifting in times of uncertainty. We can be grateful for all the people who had the courage and confidence to give inspiring speeches.

54. The moment work is finished. It’s always a great feeling when you finish your work for the day. Be grateful when you reach that point in your day.

55. A slice of pizza. Pizza is one of my favorite foods. Whatever yours is, it’s something you can be thankful for when you’re enjoying it.

56. A bowl of ice cream. While I’m more of a cookies and brownies person, I enjoy a bowl of ice cream every now and then. We can appreciate when we get to enjoy our favorite dessert.

57. Making someone laugh. When you make someone laugh, you make them feel good for a moment in their day. When we make people feel good, we make ourselves feel good too. Be glad when you can do that.

58. The quiet of the nighttime. Some neighborhoods aren’t as quiet as others, but when your neighborhood is quiet, stop for a moment and appreciate the peace of the silence.

59. Feeling relaxed. There are many moments in life where we feel stressed or anxious. That moment when you feel relaxed is one you should cherish and have gratitude for.

60. Faith. It’s an inspiring force in our lives, for those of us who are faith minded. If you are, have gratitude for faith’s influence and inspiration in your life.

61. Spiritual community. Connecting with a group of people who believe the same things as you can be comforting and make you happy. Be thankful for when you enjoy these times with your faith group.

62. Spiritual growth. Living a life of faith is a journey. Be glad for how far you’ve grown in your spirituality.

63. Prayer. I personally find prayer to be comforting, even if I’m not always sure it makes a difference in my life. It’s a nice feeling to believe you can ask for good things and good things may eventually happen. You can have gratitude for being able to pray.

64. Religious text. The words of a religious text can also be comforting. We can be thankful whenever we read something that comforts and inspires us in these difficult times.

65. Technology. We’re more able to connect with people and get information than ever before. If you have worked internet and a device that easily accesses it for you, you can be very grateful for these things.

66. Heating and cooling. The weather can be very harsh in some places in the world. Some live without access to heating and cooling to make their home comfortable. If you have that access, add that to your list.

67. Your own room. Lots of people don’t have the luxury of sleeping and being in their own room. Be glad if you have an area where you can be alone and completely yourself.

68. Shower. That moment that warms water hits your skin, have gratitude for the comfort of a working shower.

69. Clean floors. You can clean your floors and be happy to be able to comfortably walk barefoot in your home.

70. Happy moments. Even if the happy moments are few and far between, have thankfulness for when they do come. Cherish the happy moments.

71. Sadness. A study on crying shows that it can make us feel good and reduce the pain we feel. Hopefully, you won’t be sad for long, but you can appreciate your tears help improve your well-being.

72. Mistakes. No one wants to make mistakes in life, but they’re one of the few ways we learn lessons in life. Be glad that your mistakes help you to grow into the better person you’re becoming each day.

73. Accomplishments. There are things you’ve done in life that you’re proud of. You can have thankfulness for those moments you achieved something great.

74. Hobbies. Everybody has something in life they enjoy doing. You can do those activities you enjoy and be thankful you get to enjoy them.

75. Favorite movies and TV shows. I like looking back at old TV shows or movies I really liked all the time. I’m grateful for the good feelings they still give me when I watch them again.

76. Thunderstorm at night. Sometimes thunderstorms can help us peacefully fall asleep at night. If it helps you, add this to your list.

77. Peaceful neighborhood. Living in a peaceful neighborhood where you feel safe is a top thing to express gratefulness for.

78. Social media. While social media rightly gets criticized for the harm it can cause to our mental health, we can be appreciative of the good it gives us in staying connected with people that aren’t near us.

79. Car. It’s an amazing feeling to be able to get on the road and go wherever you want. Be glad if you have the luxury of doing that.

80. Instrument. I haven’t played my guitar in a long time, but I’m thankful for still being able to do that. Perhaps you can grab that instrument you haven’t touched in a while and have gratitude for still being able to play it.

81. Books. While I’m not much of a book reader, I know many people are. Be happy for the books that you can enjoy reading right now.

82. Shoes. We can be thankful to have shoes that protect our feet from the dirt, grass, and rocks when we walk outside.

83. Pest-free home. Believe it or not, some people live in apartments with rats, roaches, and large spiders. If you don’t, that can be added to your list.

84. Things that are still the same. We so often get frustrated with everything that goes wrong, we forget how much continues to go right for us every single day. The bus still shows up to take us to work, our phones and computers still work, etc. Think of the good things that keep working the same every day and add them to your daily thankful list.

85. Things that change. Even when things change in life, we can be glad for that too. Changes can bring about new experiences and new opportunities that can potentially make our lives better.

86. Heartbreak. While heartbreak is never pleasant, we can appreciate it’s making us stronger than we were before.

87. Chairs. We really don’t think about how much of an inconvenience it can be to not have chairs in our home. We can be glad that we don’t have to sit on the floors.

88. Tables. Similarly, with chairs, not having tables can be an inconvenience as well. Be thankful you have something to set things on when you need to.

89. Plates. We can be thankful we don’t have to hold all our food in our hands.

90. Utensils. We can be thankful we don’t have to eat all our food with our hands.

91. Naps. Appreciate the naps that you get to enjoy in the middle of the day.

92. Sleeping in. There are many people that must wake up early for their specific jobs. I’m grateful that I don’t for mine, and you can be as well if that’s true for you.

93. Deep conversation. One of the things I enjoy most about talking to someone is having a deep conversation. Those long thought-provoking dialogues are something we can continually be glad for in 2020.

94. You had breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Unfortunately, some people can only have one meal a day. We can all be glad if we’re lucky enough to get to enjoy three or more a day.

95. Making progress. Even if the progress you’re making is small, you can appreciate it getting you closer to where you want to be in life.

96. Indoor plumbing. In some places, people must go outside to use the bathroom. Being able to use the bathroom in the comfort of our home is another luxury we can be appreciative of.

97. The past. We can be glad for our past helping us to become the best of ourselves that we are today.

98. Weekends. After a long week, if you don’t have to work on the weekends, you can be thankful for the rest you get to have.

99. Mondays. A lot of people tend to not like the start of the work week. Nonetheless, Mondays are something we can be thankful for because it’s another chance to put in work for the future we want someday.

100. Alarms. I used to be able to wake up early easily. I’m grateful that we have alarms that help us wake up at the time we need to.

101.Freedom. Finally, we can be glad to have freedom. While some of us might have it more than others, just to be able to make some of your own choices is something that should give us gratitude.

What should I put on my list? You should put whatever makes you feel genuinely thankful. We all have unique things that we can express appreciation for that are specific to our life. Think about what those things are for you and put that on your list.

What are examples of gratitude? Examples of gratitude include being grateful for your family, your friends, your possessions, and the life that you have. You can look around you to point out the people and things you have in your life to be glad for.

What are 3 things you are thankful for? Now that you’ve seen this list of things you can express thankfulness for, think of three things you’re happy to have right now. As I write this, I’m happy to have my bed, my laptop, and being able to write these articles.

How do you express sincere gratitude? If you want to express sincere gratitude to someone, tell them exactly how you feel about what they’ve done for you in life. It’s as simple as that.

Why you should be glad for your life? Gratitude helps to make us feel good. Countless studies have shown that. Being grateful for your life can help keep your mood boosted. You don’t have to be happy about everything in your life, but you can always find one thing to be glad for.

Strength and courage,

Wade

So, what does that mean? The things top agents never do again.

From my observations of successful agents, they tend to have moments in life and in business, that once they have them, they never go back to the old way of doing things. When that happens, they are never the same.

In short, they just “get it”!

Years ago, a bad business decision of mine led to an interesting situation. I had learned a valuable lesson the hard way and assured myself this was a good thing once I learned that lesson, I would never go back.

Trust me you never do it again. So, what are the key moments successful agents go through that forever change how they do things, which propel them to succeed in business, relationships, and life?

I began to look at these moments and here is what I found.

Successful agents never again…

1. Return to what hasn’t worked for them in their real estate business or personal life. Whether a job, or a broken relationship that was ended for a good reason, we should never go back to the same thing, expecting different results, without something being different.
2. Do anything that requires them to be someone they are not. In everything we do, we must ask ourselves, Why am I doing this? Am I suited for it? Does it fit me? Is it sustainable? If the answer is no to any of these questions, you better have a very good reason to proceed or stop it and be your authentic self.
3. Try to change another person. When you realize you cannot force someone into doing something, you give him or her freedom and allow them to experience the consequences. In doing so, you find your own freedom as well. You can only change yourself and really cannot change others.
4. Believe they can please everyone. Once you get it truly is impossible to please everyone, you begin to live purposefully, trying to please the right people. They realize they are the most important person in their life and their family and friends are the next important people in their lives. They stop basing their choices on people pleasing and choices that are best for themselves and those most important to them.
5. Choose short-term comfort over long-term benefit. Once successful people know they want something that requires a painful, time-limited step, they do not mind the painful step because it gets them to a long-term benefit. Living out this principle is one of the most fundamental differences between successful and unsuccessful people, both personally and professionally. They have the courage to leave their comfort zone to gain long-term results.
6. Trust someone or something that appears flawless. It’s natural for us to be drawn to things and people that appear “incredible.” We love excellence and should always be looking for it. We should pursue people who are great at what they do, employees who are high performers, dates who are exceptional people, friends who have stellar character and companies that excel. But when someone or something looks too good to be true, he, she or it is too good to be true. The world is imperfect. Period. No one and nothing are without flaw, and if they appear that way, hit pause. Don’t be misled. Learn how to read people.
7. Take their eyes off the big picture. We function better emotionally and perform better in our lives when we can see the big picture. For successful people, no one event is ever the whole story. Winners remember that—each day. The top agents always have their eye on the prize and know their “why” and purpose and love the impact they have on people and the ones closest to them more than the selling real estate part.
8. Neglect to do due diligence. No matter how good something looks on the outside, it is only by taking a deeper, diligent, and honest look that we will find out what we truly need to know and the reality we owe ourselves. The best reality comes from an honest self-assessment. Top agents always make educated decisions on everything personally and professionally they do.
9. Fail to ask why they are where they find themselves. One of the biggest differences between successful people and others is successful people always ask themselves, “what part am I playing in this situation”? Said another way, they do not see themselves as victims, even when they are. Don’t make excuses for who and where you are.  Top agents don’t live below the line in blame, denial, and excuse. They are above the line and take ownership, action, and learn from their mistakes.
10. Forget their inner life determines their outer success. The good life sometimes has little to do with outside circumstances. We are happy and fulfilled mostly by who we are on the inside. Research validates that. And our internal lives largely contribute to producing many of our external circumstances. Become a better you and the outward becomes better. The converse is true. People who are still trying to find success in various areas of life can almost always point to one or more of these patterns as a reason they are repeating the same mistakes.

Remember everyone, including myself, make mistakes… even the most successful people out there. But what achievers do better than others is recognize the patterns that are causing those mistakes and never repeat them again. In short, they learn from pain—their own and the pain of others.

A good thing to remember is this: Pain is unavoidable, but repeating the same pain twice, when we could choose to learn and do something different, is certainly avoidable.

I like to say, “We don’t need new ways to fail… the old ones are working just fine!” Our task, in business and in life, is to observe what they are, and never go back to doing them again.

Strength and courage,

Wade

The Oxford Dictionary defines a vacation as “an extended period of recreation.” It defines recreation as “activity done for enjoyment when one is not working.” So, strictly speaking, you can’t call it a vacation if you’re doing work.

Summer 2024 is here, my favorite season of the year. It seems like the first half of the year just flew by us so fast! Are you like me and tired of never really taking a good break or more importantly, is your family and friends tired of going on vacation with you because you’re working remotely?

Now be honest, are you taking a vacation this summer and planning to sit on your phone or tablet, texting or emailing while the rest of your family sit by the pool and enjoy the waves crashing on the beach while you were working remotely the whole time? Is that what a vacation for real estate agents is supposed to look like?

If you work remotely, your personal life and work life become intertwined to the point there seems to be no separation at all. Is there something very wrong with our mindset and business set up that can’t allow us to vacation 3 or 4 weeks a year and not have to work remotely?

What would a vacation be like with no mobile devices, no internet connection and cell phone reception completely unplugged and off the real estate grid?

What about to be in the moment and present with the most important people in your life? I need you to believe this is possible and here are some strategies that can make this type of vacation as a real estate agent a reality!!

Let’s break it down and commit to this (including myself).

• Have a business plan with vacation planned for 3-4 weeks a year.
• Have a licensed real estate professional covering your vacation times for you.
• Emails forwarded to a licensed real estate professional who responds to them on your behalf
• Auto Email responder set up explaining you are not available and who to contact if important.
• Voice message on mobile explaining you are not available and who to contact if important.
• Give your mobile device to the agent covering to answer and respond to your calls, texts, voice messages and pages on your behalf.
• Partner with another agent and cover for them and their business for 3-4 weeks a year.
• Choose to unplug and not bring your smart phone, tablet or laptop computers on your vacation and leave them to the covering agent.
• Compensate the covering agent in some way whether it’s a gift, thank you dinner or a referral fee. I believe we all need to show appreciation and feel appreciated.
• Leave detailed notes of all your listings, names, phone numbers, emails, sales, leads, etc. for the covering agent to manage your business better for you.

What happens every time before you are about to go on vacation? We get busy!

What if you planned every 6 weeks to unplug and get away. We could assume that we will get busy every 6 weeks during our year!

If you take a 4-7 day break you still come back and you are still busy, I guarantee it, but refreshed and recharged to crush it. If it is meant to be then it is up to me!

Choose to be on vacation and enjoy it, especially when you are spending your hard-earned money to create those moments, experiences, and memories with the most important people in your life that will last a lifetime. Be present in the moment and really relax and enjoy your time away and reload and re-energize to be able to come back and do amazing things in your business.

Strength and courage,

Wade

Now this isn’t about getting new business. It is not a prospecting script, but it may be the most important phone duty that anyone in your office does–asking for price reductions on listings.

Asking for price reductions can make or break a top real estate agent’s business. Not only will price reductions quicken the sale, and therefore, minimize overhead in a real estate agent’s business, but it will also prove to everyone your marketing systems work.

Remember, price is 90% of any marketing plan and the faster you achieve market value, the faster everybody’s needs are met.

The challenge with price reductions is not solved with a phone script, but a series of planned events. This system you are holding shows you the right questions to ask prior to a listing presentation so you can learn their true motivation and then find ways to meet their goals.

When the desire is to meet someone’s goals, they’re much more likely to listen to the plan that gets them there. As we all know, the correct price is the fastest road to the achievement of most goals that have to do with a sale.

Once the right questions are asked, the next step is an outstanding presentation with the correct verbiage during the CMA. We’ve all experienced the seller that no matter how much information is given them, including pre-listing sales packages that include pricing technologies and the right scientific research showing the exact value of their home–they still want more!

What are we to do? What to do while battling another agent’s high evaluation or how to obtain pre-agreed listing reductions during the term of the listing.

All I can do at this juncture is to assume the right questions were asked prior to and at the listing presentation, and they received information on how to price their property correctly. At the listing presentation this information was gone over, and the scientific information was discussed.

If after all of this has been done and the price is still too high your options are to not take the listing or to receive pre-agreed reductions based upon the success of marketing.

All this leads me to believe, if everything that should be done has been done, and you still have an overpriced listing, you (1) knew it was overpriced and took it anyway or (2) made a mistake based upon the fact you liked the property more than anyone else did.

There’s also a possible third problem and that is the seller was a better salesperson than you and sold you on the high price. All this is leading us to one conclusion, if you have been a victim of any of the previously mentioned three problems, you’re now going to have to consistently ask for price reductions, which may be the most embarrassing aspect of this business.

How do you ask for price reductions when you told the seller you could market the home at the agreed upon price? Sometimes, their responses are furious, such as, “Well anybody can sell this house at that price,” “The other agent said that they could get more,” “I can’t buy my new home if I get that price,” or “Do you expect me to lose money?”

All these questions ignore the main subject, and that is, market value is market value and none of the above questions have anything to do with or affect market value.

The following lead-ins can be used to ask for a price reduction, but it is very important you use new subjects as often as possible, so not to sound monotonous!

Remember, an agent who asks for price reductions soon after the listing presentation will have a weary seller, so therefore, mix your price reductions with new and exciting marketing concepts. Concepts such as a page promoted on your website from your lender showing five ways, which the home can be financed.

Adding a special home of the day button to your site or sending your evaluation surveys to all the agents who have seen the home– I’ve got a million of them. Remember, the seller likes the real estate agent who is ingenious in their marketing methods and, the seller will then listen more intently to the following reasons for a price reduction.

Lead-ins to Ask for a Real Estate Listing Price Reduction

1. There’s been a new sale in the neighborhood that affects your value.
2. Here are some of the responses we’ve received from other agents.
3. Here are the responses I received from buyers I have shown.
4. Here are responses I have heard from buyers shown by other agents.
5. Here are the responses from the agents in my office.
6. Here are the attitudes of the real estate agents who attended the Broker Open House.
7. Here were the attitudes of the buyers who walked through your home on the open house.
8. Here are the responses we have received from the ad that we’ve placed in . . .
9. Here are some suggestions I would do if it were my home to make it more appealing to buyers. Oh, rather than just making these improvements why don’t we drop the price to compensate for some improvements the buyer may want to make?
10. Why don’t we increase the selling office commission? If I sell it, I will stick to the original terms of the listing agreement.
11. May we add a selling office bonus?
12. May we add points, so financing becomes easier for a buyer?
13. I know this offer was low and the buyer did not accept our counteroffer, however, may I lower the home to the amount we mentioned in the counteroffer to attract more interested buyers?
14. May we ask for some concessions on the home you’re buying and then supply those same concessions to any potential buyers on their home?
15. May we offer preferential owner financing and make the property more affordable to any potential buyers?
16. We have an open house / new ad / new internet blast going out and I would certainly love to be able to market this home at a new and improved price.
17. I’m going to be taking the property out of the MLS and resubmitting it as a new listing, therefore, acquiring a new look and new enthusiasm among the cooperating real estate agents here in town. I’d like to do that at a lower price.
18. Is there anything we could throw in that would sweeten the pot, appliances, vehicles, maybe even a free vacation at a time share?
19. Many times we have found emotions play a big role in the sale of a home. Therefore, can we make your home more emotional by having it professionally staged and decorated by a local design group?
20. Cooperation among real estate agents is paramount to getting the property sold. Yes, I am the one agent that is handling the marketing, but I am marketing to more than 3,000 real estate agents who handle a large percentage of buyers. My job is to market to them so they can express their excitement of your home to their buyers. Let’s discuss what we can do to make this home more exciting to the real estate agents here in town.
21. Real estate agents have many properties to show and sometimes the determining reason for showing is ease of access. Let’s do some items to improve the showing procedure to make it easily accessible to real estate agents at any time and at a moment’s notice.
22. I would like to obtain a price reduction and do some things I have never done to market a home, such as advertising them in the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal. Spending money on an ad that would reach outside our geographical area is risky, but I would be willing to go ahead and give it a try if we had a more marketable price.
23. I was looking at your holding cost and found if we drop your price and obtain a sale, we may eliminate many months of payments, taxes, insurance, and upkeep I believe would compensate for this price reduction. Let’s discuss how this might work.
24. In all the years I’ve done business, one of the hardest things I must do is disappoint a client. The continued marketing of this property at the current price that I now find is too high only tends to disappoint you and therefore, I’d like to ask the following favor. Would you please consider a price reduction and if that’s impossible, would you allow me to discontinue my marketing efforts? It’s very difficult for me to express this to a seller that’s been fair with me and to a home I’d like nothing more than to market and sell; however, I truly believe unless we drop this price, the property will go unsold. I’m willing to give up my marketing effort and my listing to show you how clear I am we need to adjust our price today.

I hope you can use any one or all these reasons to obtain a price reduction or improvement in terms or value. The phone is the most effective way to do this. The use of your assistant calling for price reductions or doing it by mail has proven to be ineffective. There are times when the real estate agent must pick up the phone, and the price reduction is one of them.

Strength and courage,

Wade