The Scripts and Dialogue Alex Jordan Uses To Write $10M Yearly

Can you lower your commission? >> Respectfully, no. My commission is at 3.3%. I've been charging that on $10 million plus sales. I know that there's cheaper options, but question is, what do you get for that outcome? How do you handle price guides when a buyer asks you, "What's the price guide?" >> So, there'll be a range that I will quote that's agreed by the owner. >> If someone says, "You don't sell a lot in this area." The other agent that we're talking to specializes in this suburb. >> Sure. Let's say I want the listing and let's say it's outside of my area. I would say, Dan, this industry is very process driven. Whether I'm selling in this suburb or that suburb, we're talking similar price points. There's a process to this. It doesn't change. >> Why should I go with you over another agent in the area? >> Because I'll net you and bank you more money than the other alternatives. That's the bottom line. Agents, welcome to the Get Keen podcast, your number one destination for learning how to get the most out of your real estate career. I'm Dan Lee, founder of Plum Property, one of Queensland's largest independent real estate offices and Plum Partners, where we've helped dozens of agents create, run, and grow their very own agencies. On Get Keen, I chat to high-erforming agents, principles, and agency owners. So, you have the tools, strategies, and insights to grow your business and live the best life for yourself and your family. Now, let's get Keen. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Get Keen. I know why you're here. Because you want to enhance your real estate career. You want to be the best agent you can possibly be. And to be the best, you need to learn from the best. And do I have the best for you today? Absolutely. Ladies and gents, I got Alex Jordan in the house with me. Alex Jordan, if you don't know who he is, you've been living in a cave. Alex Jordan is the number one agent at McGra for many years. He's spoken at Eric. He has gone from zero to hero in a 10-year period. He's got accolades uh more than I can even talk about. I'm not going to talk about them because there's too many to talk about, but he's also the number one agent in the whole of Queensland uh which he won on the real estate.com awards. Now, that's a huge achievement out of all of those agents. So, he is one of the most renowned and well-known and humble agents in Australia and is here today to share some knowledge. And Alex, first of all, thanks for being with us. >> Thanks, Dan. That's a lot of hype, man. >> Mate, you deserve it. You're probably giving up a listing presentation to be here because I know you you do about six a day. Um, so he's probably missing out on a 20 grand commission just to just to be here and share this with you. >> Apple tagged me, have you? You know where I am. mate. Yeah, I've got a little tag on your car and then every time you're at a listing presentation, I'm dropping something in the mail. >> That's starting to Yeah, >> but I never get the call back cuz you always get the listing. >> That's not >> um But guys, today I want to focus on something different cuz if you go back to uh episode 12, you'd hear Alex's story and that's a great episode. We did a little bit of scripts and dialogues on that. And I really recommend you go and listen to that story because you'll hear about Alex's story from the beginning and how he changed his mindset to become the agent he is today. But I really want to dig deep into the skill set that Alex has around scripts and dialogues to because to do the type of business that Alex does, uh, you need to have very refined skills and you need to be doing a lot of listing presentations. you need to be dealing a lot of buyers. He's got a big team, something. How many in your team? Seven. >> There. >> There's four selling agents and then two admin staff. So, myself, three others are selling agents and then an in-house admin and a a wingman admin. >> Right. So, he he he's got a huge team. He's he's he's doing the highlevel activities in his business. So, that's dealing with vendors, dealing with buyers, listing presentations. So obviously all day, every day, he's got to have really good scripts and dialogues on point. So we're here to learn from the best today. Um, and I don't want to talk about your story today because we've heard that and I'm sure you've shared that on a million podcasts already. The audience here, I put it out on my Instagram. um some questions that people would like to hear from you about scripts and dialogues that you get from buyers, from sellers. Um all of those questions, those difficult questions that we get as real estate agents when when we're out there doing um our job. So, I'm just going to rip right into it, right? Um and I'm going to start at the beginning. Some of these questions I made up uh myself and some of them have come from the audience. So, I'm going to share those and I just want to hear your authentic answers. By the way, everyone, Alex has not seen any of these questions. This is all raw and real. I did not send these questions to him beforehand so that he could practice or think about what to say. So, this is coming straight off the top of the dome. Um, you know, straight out of uh uh from from his head naturally. Uh, so this is really exciting to hear. So, let's get into it. Um, Alex, let's pretend you're at a listing presentation, uh, and you know, you're obviously going for the business and the seller says to you, "I've got a few more agents that I'd like to talk to before making a decision on anything." I think that's natural. Um, it depends on how you approach the listing presentation to start with. This implies that you've come in early and there's other agents that they haven't spoken to yet. before you go, you could ask that question to say, "Have you spoken with anyone else? Are you booked in with anyone else?" I don't go to that detail these days. Everyone's got to play the game as they wish. If they're speaking to other agents, I would encourage that because as soon as you push back or question that, you are diminishing your ability and it's almost implying that you're worried about missing the business to someone else. So Dan, if you're the seller and you're sitting and saying, "Alex, we got to interview some other agents." I'd say Dan, I'd encourage you to speak to as many as you can to get different opinions. There'll be a big variance on opinions. I've got to give context and I don't want to call it landmines, but I've got to give them some rationale behind how agents price homes because often in this industry, there's inflated prices being um given at the listing presentation. I've got to make sure that the vendor is aware of what they're going to hear from others just so that it doesn't appear that I've come in as a lower price or a agent that doesn't believe in their product. Um, I want to be accurate with my assessment, but I've got to make sure I give them some context to say, "In our industry, it's very common for the agent to give an inflated price, one that's beyond value, because they're coached and trained that if they be accurate at the at the listing presentation, they'll miss the business, and you as the owner will gravitate towards the agent that's giving you giving you the highest price." Um, I've got to make sure I mention that because I'm usually coming in lower than the other agents in my assessment of value. And if I don't bring that into the conversation, the vendor is going to say, "Well, Alex said it's two. The other guy said it's 2.5. Alex doesn't believe in our property." But if I can do that rationally, and there's a lot before that, we're going straight into this conversation. I should have given you a lot of data and evidence about where I see the market, but also I would have heard your opinion about about value. That's really important. And I try and get that before we meet, Dan. So, before I come to this appraisal that you've you've invited me to, I'm going to try and get an idea as to what you think the value of your home is. There's a bit of a layered approach to that. If you follow the process, you you'll get a fairly accurate response, but it takes a few goes, but as long as I know what's in your head, I can manage the listing presentation better than if I'm coming in blind. >> Okay? So, what's in my head is $2 million for my property. >> Okay? I've made that pretty clear that, you know, I'm not selling for less than 2 million and you've done an appraisal, you've done some comparables, and you've seen comparables sitting somewhere between 1.7 and 1.9. And I've said to you in the listing presentation, I'm not selling for anything less than two. See, that's it's interesting because firstly, I I need to be clear about my own opinion not being always right. So, I know that sellers are optimistic and buyers are trying to pick up a deal. We're not too far away. If I think it's worth up to 1 nine and you're wanting two, it's starting to get close enough for me to say, "Well, if two is out there, I'll find it." Um, but I've got to be honest as well because we don't want to start a process that is inflated. We overcook the price or the expectation. We start the process and then it backfires. So, we're going to have an open conversation. I'm going to say, Dan, looking at the sales evidence, here's three or four sales that have traded recently. They're not directly comparable. Every home is unique in its own right. But these are four-bedroom homes that have been renovated, three bathrooms, similar block size with no pool, and most of them are selling under 18, you know, 17518. Um, I understand yours is in a better position. You've got some elevation. You've got a north to rear aspect. I'd love to get you two. If two's out there, I'll find it. For me to say 2 million to you, I need to see the sales evidence to support it. I haven't seen it. We might get there, but it'd be towards the top end of what's achievable. My concern, Dan, is that if we start with a $2 million bottom line and the market evidence isn't supportive, that the investment that you make into marketing, the time that you put into preparation and getting the house ready might not yield the outcome that we wish. I'll strategize an outcome that gets us there. I'll formulate a price guide that can get us to that number, but I just don't want to say to you it's over 2 million when the sales evidence is saying it's not. Um, happy to try, but I just want to be upfront with that. >> Okay, on this topic, this one came in from Jack Milner. Well, another agent said that they can get us the higher price and possibly the 2 million. >> Sure. And then Dan, it's very common in in this industry for agents to over quote at the listing presentation. They're coached and trained to do so because they're worried that if I give you an accurate assessment, you won't choose them. I'd rather have a very honest conversation because our relationship is important. If I say something to you that we know is not accurate and you choose me to represent you, the likelihood is even if we sell, you'll be disappointed in the outcome. and my business is built on reputation and profile and doing the right thing by by you. And I'm hopeful that I can deliver an outcome that you're delighted with and you'd write me a testimonial and support my business like other sellers have. So yes, if two is out there, I'll find it. You know, my job is to maximize price. I am committed to that. Our agendas are aligned. It's just a question of how do we get there. Let's put something together that maximizes price. Very difficult for any agent or even a valuer to pinpoint value, sale price with a great degree of accuracy. But I know the process to follow to maximize it. So that's what I'd be recommending. >> Okay. So how can you get the price I want if you don't believe it yourself? Because the other agent believes it. And I feel like the agent needs to believe the price if they're going to get it. Sure. There's a belief component, Dan. I mean, I don't fix myself on values because I've been in the industry for 26 years. I've sold over 2,600 homes. You My opinion is based on sales evidence, but it doesn't limit the outcome. You know, I've had others. I had a property that I recently sold in the early 2 millions. I quoted them 1.9 to2. So, things can go beyond what I what I assume, but I just want to make sure that we've given you all the information, all the sales evidence, so we can make an informed decision. Just keep in mind when agents are quoting you those figures. If you believe that they're being honest with you, then that might be a good decision. But I've seen this happen many times where owners are given an inflated figure. They choose the agent. It's with good intention. They're trying to get a better outcome. But you look down the line, two, three months later, they brought the price down, they end up selling it for less than what they would have achieved at the beginning if they got it right. So I'm really concerned that if we go way over the top in terms of market expectation, and I'm not saying 2 million's out of reach, but it's towards the high end of what's achievable. Um, I just don't want to say that to you without having the sales evidence to support it. So understand the other agents are saying it. There is no limit in my mind, Dan. You know, in terms of belief, if I I I want to push beyond to if I can. I want you to be impressed and happy with the outcome. I just want to make sure that we start our relationship honestly and we both know exactly what the possibilities are. We'll put together a strategy. I hope I can get there. Um if two is out there, I'll find it. I just don't want to say that it's above two when some of the sales are pointing slightly less. >> Well, I can always come down. I'd like to start higher, maybe at 2.1 because we can always reduce the price. >> We can. It's not a good look though. You know, you look at real estate transactions and you look at where the best outcomes are achieved. There's a bit of a flow to a deal. You'll notice that the best prices are achieved when buyers are excited and there's a bit of urgency in their thinking. That's only in play in the first two 3 weeks of the campaign. There's a there's a negative correlation between days on market and perceived value. You know, the longer that we're on, the more the buyer and the market is questioning the price and the value and the product. You've seen it before. or some listings have been on for 6 months, 8 months, 10 months. They might be now at a very good value point because they've adjusted numerous times to get there, but they've lost the market. And this is for me my concern is with good intention. We go in above value. We don't get the engagement. We don't create activity. It's unlikely we're going to get competition. If we overcook, we then backtrack in 3, four weeks or two months time and we get it right. But getting it right at that point doesn't yield the right outcome. So for me it's about D then what's going to maximize your bottom line price? You what's the strategy that will bring you the greatest return on sale price that's possible? And for me getting it right from the beginning is very pivotal to that. So why don't we look at a range strategy? Why don't we put a range on it? This gives us a bit of flexibility at both ends. You've got to be mindful here that with the range I'm dangling the carrot because if you want to create buyer activity, engagement, and as a result, competition because my aim is to get competition and then create uplift in the price. The range that I'd suggest is dangling the carrot. It probably feels a bit uncomfortable and it should because if we're not uncomfortable, the buyer's probably not feeling excited and we want the market to be excited. I would suggest 1.85 to 2,ion50. That straddles 1.95. That's that's the midpoint. It's not quite 2 million, but I've done this range seven times and I've sold above the range many times. I can give you a lot of examples for that. So, I would suggest that's the best range to make sure the bottom end, the 185 gets the engagement to 2,50 is protective. I'm doing that range as we speak on a property that I'm selling currently. I've got offers above 2,50. So, and I've done it before and sold for over 2.1 up to 2.2. With that range, I've quoted 1.85 to 2,50, sold for 2.2 two cash unconditional. But that strategy for me would be the right approach to make sure we get activity, engagement, create competition, get uplift so we can push it to your numbers or greater if the if the buyer is there. >> Okay. How does that feel? >> Yeah, I I understand what you're saying, but look, I'd like to try it off market first. Like I don't want tire kickers coming into the house. offmarket Dan is is a financial compromise. It very rationally you're dealing with a small sector of the buyer pool, an agent's database so to speak. That's not the market. That's their connection, their relationships depending on how they service them. I've got offmarket buyers like any other agent. I probably have more of them because of the volume of listings that I handle. But to deliver you the best outcome financially and do it in a way that takes shortcuts and cuts the buyer poolool, diminishes the buyer poolool and the visibility to a small sector of the market. That formula is not designed to maximize price. That's a formula for efficiency. If we're willing to sacrifice sale price, if we're willing to compromise price and do it quickly and privately and quietly, we can achieve that. But we're not going to get the same outcome as reaching the masses, getting way more exposure, creating competition and urgency. very hard to create urgency in an offmarket approach. So offmarket for me would suit you. If you said, "Alex, price is not my main goal. I want to do this quickly. I don't want to spend any money. I'm happy to sacrifice the price to just get this deal done." Then there is merit to offm market. But if our agenda is to maximize price, the vehicle won't be off market. Okay, this one came in from Sheldon Patama. Another agent said that they would pay for all the advertising. >> Interesting, Dan. Um, that's it's becoming more common in our industry. Um, depends on what advertising they're doing. It'd be interesting to see exactly what they're proposing because when you let the agent do the marketing, there's a couple of issues with that. Number one, they're going to cut corners because they don't want to invest too much. It's a risk. You know, they don't have a guaranteed outcome. You haven't signed a contract to say, "I'm going to sell." It's a it's an investment that they're making before they start the process. In my experience, you'll find they're going to cut corners, do things cheaply, which will save them a few grand and they save a few grand and that that impacts your sale price by a lot more than what they save. So, they might save three or four or five grand on marketing versus doing it properly and that's a saving in their benefit. But what we're then missing is exposure, visibility, quality of advertising and all of these things influence outcome. So, we're going to, you know, you're going to save 5 or 10 grand on marketing. My worry is what are you leaving on the table on sale price? There's a process here. You know, if we follow the formula, I've done this before for many others. We follow the formula, the outcome is more reliable. The more we deviate away from this process, the less reliable the outcome is. I can do it your way. I can change things up. I can discount the commissions. Sorry, I'll reword that. Discount the marketing to try and get to a a sum that you're satisfied with. But that's not the process that I'd be recommending, mate. My my advice is invest in what brings a return. Everything on the marketing campaign that I'm suggesting, I have confidence in. I've done it for others. I'm not adding anything on there that I wouldn't do for myself. So, all of it's done strategically with return on return on investment in mind. I'm suggesting we follow the process. Ultimately, Dan, this is your home. We follow your instructions. But you're asking me what's going to give me the best financial return. I've done it before for others. I'm going to follow the process that's been proven. Fair enough. I know you have a lot of listings on the market. Are you going to be doing all the open homes and the inspections because, you know, I know you've got other young people and I don't really want them doing everything. >> Fair enough. So, just to step outside the role play in context, this will depend on who you contacted, me or my team member, what area this is in, and what value the property is at. But let's assume you've called me. It's an Indrailli. It's in my price bracket. It's not a lower-end product. Um, so I'd say Daniel, I do have a big team. I've got a team of agents that specialize in different precincts. Just to give you some comfort, I handle all the marketing and all of the negotiations. I never outsource that. My name is first on real estate.com on every portal, on every advertisement that we do. The buyer will be speaking with me directly. I do need my team support for inspections. There are times where the buyer will say, "Alex, I'd like to see it today at 2:00." I can either say yes and get my team to to do the inspection. I handle the conversation afterwards or if you prefer, we can miss that opportunity and I can delay it for when I'm available. But sometimes you've got a strike while the iron's hot. So I'll be proposing that to you and saying, "Dan, I've got someone at 2 today. I can't be there, but I can get my colleague to be there." Are you okay for for them to do the inspection? And they'll be very up to date with the information, but they don't handle the conversations. They're there to allow access. They'll come and get the house ready. They'll leaf blow. They get the lights on, music player, it'll look beautiful. And after that inspection, I'll handle the conversation with the buyer and report back to you. If you're happy for me to run it that way, that's my proposal. And Daniel, I cannot do what I do without support. Like, I'm I'm doing it at a probably a higher scale than average, but it's done strategically. There's no compromise. I've acted for others successfully with the same approach. I'd love to repeat that for you as well. >> I don't really want to sign board out the front. I know you like the there's sign boards every I don't want a sign board out the front cuz I don't want the neighbors and knowing I'm selling. >> It's going to be very difficult, Dan, not to have the neighbors know. If that's the main concern, we'll find it challenging to hide the fact that you're on the market because inspections bring buyers and when they see some activity on the street, they'll know you're on the market. So, there's no denial in that. I would say you're better off being very upfront with them and saying, "This is my intention. I'm going to market because we're not going to hide it. It's impossible." Um, if that's the main concern, I would say transparency is better so you don't, you know, not worried about what people think. And what's your concern about the neighbors knowing? Is there something going on there? >> Just don't want them coming through my house. Really? >> Interesting comment there, Dan, cuz you when you sell real estate, there's a perception of value that the buyer holds. They will have a perceived value of what your home is worth. That's governed by how much activity there is at an inspection. So if we run an openhouse and we only get qualified buyers through and five turn up or three turn up or alternatively we run the same open house and we invite the neighbors and we get 20 25 groups through which is going to give the genuine buyer that comes through a higher perceived value the more volume inspection the one that has more more activity. So I want to make sure that if we do run this process and our intention is to maximize price, we make sure that everyone comes through. This is a process that the buyer then walks into and says, "Holy moly, look at all the other interest." So let let us let us follow the formula. It works really beautifully. I can share some examples with you, but that does involve, you know, letting the neighbors know. >> Okay. Can you lower your commission? >> No, Dan. That's respectfully, no. My commission is at 3.3%. I've been charging that on $10 million plus sales. Um, I know that there's cheaper options, but question is what do you get for that outcome? You know, if you're talking to an agent that says yes to lowering commission, for me, if I'm in your shoes and I ask the question to the agent and they say, "Sure, I'll do it for 2.5 or 2.75," I would rule that agent out just based on their inability to defend their own position. Because number one skill, Dan, you know, this is the most important skill in real estate that you as a seller want to partner up with is your agents ability to defend your value and negotiate strongly on your behalf. And the proof of the pudding is their commission structure and how negotiable or non-negotiable they are. Someone who defends their position and their own bottom line will defend yours better. The person who gives away their own money straight away and says, "Yes, I'll do it for less." Or comes in low, shows a lack of confidence in negotiation, a lack of ability. And if they're doing it for their own money, I can guarantee you the buyer is going to come and do the same thing and they'll knock your price much quicker than knock that they knock their own. So in my view, choose the agent that's going to give you the best net outcome. After cost, sure, there's a difference. Sometimes there's a difference of 1%. 1% on your sale price is 20 grand or more if we get above 2 million. But 20 grand in real estate in a negotiation is gained or given up in a single sentence. your choice of agent, how they market the property, quality of their advertising, the way that they can bring other buyers through from other inspections, you know, the opportunity to introduce other buyers, um the negotiating skill, all of these things will influence your sale price. In my experience, it's at least 5 to 10%. We're talking 100 to $200,000. So, yeah, we can save 10 grand on comms and go with a cheaper agent, but what are we leaving on the table? >> Why should I go with you over another agent in the area? because I'll net you and bank you more money than the other alternatives. That's the bottom line. I've got a process that I've done for others successfully. I will make sure that every scent is extracted from the market. When it comes to negotiation, if I'm handling the conversation with the buyer versus another agent, I think you yield a much better outcome for me. And then Dan, stepping outside of that roleplay, I would have case studies to prove that. I'd say here's some listings the other agent had was on the market for this long. This is what they achieved in offers. This is what we then took over. Second agent, we took it over. this is what we delivered an outcome. The owner paid an extra 1% but they got an extra this much money. So their net balance was in in favor of them for this much money. A lot of case studies and storytelling. So normally these role plays I've covered to a degree in my storytelling and case studies, my commission, other agents. So these questions some still come up but not to the degree that we're we're having. >> Sure. Hey guys, I hope you're enjoying the content. Just quickly, if you're interested in knowing what it might look like for you to own your own real estate business and brand, then that's what me and my team do. We help agents to create, run, and grow their own agency and brand so they can earn higher commissions and set up a better life for themselves. If you're interested in what that might look like, just click the link in the show notes and book a call with me or one of my team members and we'll find out whether or not this is a good fit for you. Now, let's get back to the episode. Danny from McGra uh asked, "If someone says you don't sell a lot in this area, uh the other agent that we're talking to specializes in this suburb." Sure. And that depends on it's context driven because you if it's way outside my area, I'm probably not going to even go to the listing presentation. I've said no to listings outside of our zone just cuz it's hard for me to service them. But let's say I want the listing and let's say it's outside of my area. I would say, Dan, this industry is very process driven. you whether I'm selling in this suburb or that suburb, we're talking similar price points. There's a process to this. It doesn't change. Of course, I I need to be familiar with all the positive attributes, school catchments, transport, shopping centers, cafes, restaurants, which I am. Other agents might have more track record in this pocket, but I haven't really ventured here as much as they have. They've been around targeting this area. This is not an area that I've targeted, but I've sold here before, and I've done way better than the local agents have in terms of outcome. So for me, whether I'm selling on this side of town or that side of town, it's the same formula. I'm following a process that's been proven time after time, and that's what I'd be doing for you. A similar question, but not area, but product. You sell a lot of houses. This is an apartment. Uh we just feel like maybe an apartment specialist would be better. >> So Dan, I've I sold apartments for the first 12 years of my career, and I specialized in them. I do sell apartments still, and I'd bring some examples of that. Um, apartments are selling faster than houses in this current market. They're outperforming houses. Um, we've done great on apartments. We'd love to look after you there. Um, there's no reluctance or lack of interest from me to service you here. Um, oh, I'd love to take it on. I' I'd more than happily welcome the opportunity. My daughter's friend is in real estate and, you know, uh, my daughter wants us to give her the listing. So, it's a bit, you know, we're in a bit of a sticky situation there. >> That's a sensitive topic, Dan. I guess it really comes down to your preference to maximize price or honor a relationship. Um, mo most sellers are financially motivated. They're going to choose the agent that will get them the best outcome. It's a business decision. Um, to give the listing to your daughter's friend would be a very kind gesture. Um, but you've got to be willing to accept the implications. They don't have the track record. that haven't sold much in this area. This property that you're selling sits at a higher price point that they have ever transacted. Um it's a tough conversation because you've got a relationship that you want to honor. Um why don't we do it this way? If they've got a buyer for the property, um a genuine buyer, we'll split the commission with them 50/50. That way you've given them the opportunity so they don't feel like they're being you know sort of um not not considered but you're not compromising yourself financially because to give the listing to someone that's not experienced not in the area just from a relationship point of view is very kind but I would say financially not the not the best option. >> This one came in from Zach Fields. Um explain why you'd rather price the property uh rather than no price or auction. >> That's a very easy answer Dan. Um firstly, let's look at consumer behavior. What's the number one frustration from buyers? Real estate.com did a recent survey. The number one frustration for buyers is properties advertised without a price. By far it was like 70s something%. Now then we got a question, what is the concept of not pricing a home? The notion of it is don't price it. You know the agent that says don't price it. Don't price it. let the buyer fall emotionally in love with it and then bring the price out and by then they will logically rationalize it and pay the money. My experience is very different and I've done this for a long time. I've tried these methods. I find that when you don't price a home, when you don't give the buyer a benchmark or a reference point around value and you don't have a conversation around price, there's still a hidden search price on real estate.com. So, they're going to fish for it and find it. They can page source it or they can fish, but they'll find it. So, there is some price even though you've said no price. Now, if you stay tight lipped and the buyer is always going to ask you when you don't have a price on a home, and sometimes I'll do this at the higher end vendor's request mainly, they're going to ask you before they come to the listing or any inspection, Dan, um, what's the seller want? What's the price range? Now, let's say you you you stay tight lipped and say, well, you know, we're looking for market feedback and all that sort of jazz. You're losing credibility with a buyer because it's a lot of BS. Like, market feedback, you're an agent, you've been doing it, you don't know the price, you don't know what the seller wants. Like, come on now. you're just not being honest with me. So once that first step, you've lost a bit of credibility. Secondly, you got to put yourself in the buyer's shoes. Without a benchmark, without a reference point around value, what is the buyer that's really keen on a home worried about? Starting too high. That's the number one thing. So if I don't know, I'm a buyer, I've come to this house, love it, and you're saying you don't know where the value is, you got no idea, owner won't commit, just make an offer. I'm thinking, [ __ ] I really want it. I just don't know what the owner would take, but I don't want to start too high because that'd be foolish of me. As a natural remedy, I'm going to come in low. So, I'm going to come in as a lowball offer, which is what you'll experience with not prices, properties without a price. Very normal. And I'll lowball you to see what the reaction is because I'm fishing for a response. I'm trying to get a gauge as to where you're at. So, you're going to encourage lowball offers when you don't have prices on homes. You're frustrating the buyer because you're not giving them the the information and you're making it difficult for them to transact. You know, make it smooth. Don't put hurdles up. You don't want these guys to be jumping over hurdles to get to an outcome. Just make it easy for them. Make it streamlined. Give them the information. Be strategic. You know, don't compromise the outcome, but give them some reference point to say that, Dan, you've got to have a budget at least here for you to come to have a look. If you don't have your budget within this range or higher, then it's probably not the right property for you. >> So, what's the best response if you do have a property, you've listed, the owner's asked you, I don't want a price on it, they've been advised by someone else, that's how they should do it. you say, "Okay, we'll give that a go." How do you handle price guides when a buyer asks you, "What's the price guide?" So, there'll be a range that I will quote that's agreed by the owner. So, it's expressions of interest is what we'd refer to it as. The buyer says, "Alex, how much?" I would say, "Dan, based on relevant sales in the area, we're inviting buyers looking between five and 6 million plus to view the property. If you have any questions or would like to arrange an inspection, please let me know." I'm not saying that's what the owner would take. I'm saying if you have a budget between this figure and this figure or above then you should come and see it. So I'm giving that response which I would rather have out there officially online but I'm still giving that guidance to say you've got to be at least within this range or better. >> Beautiful. Now you get to the end of the presentation. What's your usual close? >> I'm not a big closer. Like you know the people think that have all these magic lines of you know sign here, sign there. Um I'm going to ask a lot of questions saying Daniel when do you plan to be on the market? What's your time frame? Where are you moving to? My aim is for you to do 80% of the talking and I do most of the questioning rather than the other way around. So where sort of I'm interviewing you at the same time as you're interviewing me. Um at the end of it I'm going to do assumptive closes like you know let's let's talk about timeline. If we can list in midepptember and allow ourselves till mid to late October to contract. We're settling in sort of November December time frame. How would that sit with you? Where would you move to? I'm going to I have some weird beliefs in the whole spiritual realm, which is probably a bit esoteric. Um, but I do believe that if I can get you to visualize me as a part of your process, that brain wave that you create in your mind can turn into matter. So, I'm going to try and get you to visualize me, visualize settlement dates, visualize me going to inspections. I'm going to ask you, would you like shoes off inside, even though you haven't listed it with me? Um, I'm going to talk to you about how we're going to present the home. So, I'm going to get you to really visualize the whole process from start to end with my involvement because I believe that if you have that vision in your mind, you're more likely to choose me. >> Okay. You know, these people are ready to sign with someone in the next few days, but they say, "We just want to have a night to think about it." >> Sure. I'd say, Dan, is there anything that we've discussed that you're not comfortable with? You know, any questions that we haven't answered or is there any items that you're not 100% confident with? I've got to fish it out of you first. >> Sure. I think we just need to discuss everything that you've you've talked about and we'll get back to you. >> Sure. Yeah. Look, give it some thought. There's no urgency from my end, but just so we can cover everything. We've discussed price. We're comfortable with that. Discussed marketing. We're on board with the same same process. We've talked about how we would put it out there online in terms of different options, office above or range. Any of those items of concern or are we comfortable with all that? >> Well, we're comfortable with that, but we do have another agent that we're meeting tomorrow. >> Okay, fair enough. Well, I'd encourage you to meet with them, see what their thoughts are. I'd love to connect with you again. I'll be here if you have any questions. Um, I'm very um relaxed about those conversations. I think I used to be different, mate. I used to be a bit more bullish about it and try and really close it, but I just found that high pressure tactic is not effective. Okay. >> Um, so let's talk about some buyer objections. Um, >> this one came in from Nathan. Uh, I don't want to waste the seller's time uh with an offer uh that I don't think that they're going to accept. >> Sure. Well, Nathan, until we put it forward to the seller, we don't know. You know, your offer is low. I'll I'll mention that to you based on the other feedback that I'm getting from other buyers and the conversations I'm having about interest from them. Your offer is low. Having said that, it's not my decision, mate. It's their decision. And for me to get a response for you, Docyign takes two minutes to complete. We're happy to go through the process and draft it. It's a very small increment of time, but you want a response. You want to know whether you can get this or not. I want to give that to you. And in order to do that, I've got to put your I got to table your offer. That's the only way. >> Okay. You've got a property for 2 million and then the buyer wants to make an offer of 1.5. >> That's too extreme, mate. It's like I I just push back. I think you've got to push back. As an agent, if you encourage all offers, you're giving hope to the buyer that they're on the right track. I've got to shut it down straight away. I'd say, Nathan, I'd love to help you buy a home, uh, but at 1.5, there's no sales evidence to suggest it's worth that. If you've seen a few properties that have sold around 1.5 that you would see as a comparable, please let me know. I've got a very realistic seller. I can share that data with them, but to give you some feedback, I've looked at everything that's sold, and I'm not seeing anything at 1.5 that would reflect what we're offering. So, at 1.5, for me to get an offer from you would be wasting your time. >> Where do you think I should start? >> I would start above 2 million if if I'm serious about it. But if that's not your budget or that's not your opinion, you start where you're comfortable and we can sort of go through the process to see if we can reach agreement. But at the moment at 15 and two, there's such a big gap that it'd be wasting your time to to pursue this. Okay. You've you think the house is worth 2 millionish, right? You've got a buyer. He's made an offer of 1.95. The seller doesn't even want to look at it. Yeah. Yeah, I've got a Well, it depends how you've set it up before cuz you know you you shouldn't get into that situation and be shocked by it cuz you should have known where the seller is. And so that conversation is curated depending on the circumstance. But at 195 and two, we're pretty damn close. So you've got to be selective. This is another little bit of script and dialogue. So Daniel, we've got an offer of 195. You're asking me if it's if it's the best offer. In my experience, there's never a time that I can say to you as a seller that this is the best offer you'll ever get. It doesn't exist in real estate because there's always always the possibility of a better offer. Even if this buyer offered 2.1 and you ask me that question, there's always a possibility of a better offer. The question for me really is what's the likelihood of a better offer? What's the probability? And to what magnitude? Now, we've seen four offers come in before this 195 and they're all at the 18 mark, give or take. So this buyer is sitting above what the general market value is indicating. So for me, if to tell you don't take it or don't engage with it, I would need to see a bit of evidence of other buyers willing to pay 1 nine or 195. So I can say to you that if we lose this buyer, the next best buyer is very close, but they're distant. So the probability of us getting better given that we've been on the market for 2 months is not in our favor. I'd say it's improbable. And to what magnitude, given the feedback's around 18 and the interest is at 18, it's unlikely we're going to do better. Now, I'm happy to roll the dice. If you want to try for two, you know, we're not talking far distance. It's what is it 2% 2 and a half% more. So, we're 97 98% there. If you want to try and squeeze an extra 2% from the market, I'm willing. But for me to say that that's a riskreward that makes sense, I need to see the market engage at 1919. And this buyer at the moment is is an outlier. They're selling they're sitting higher than the other. You've got the offer of 1.95 on a property you think's worth 2 million. The seller wants to make a ridiculously high counter offer of 2.4. Wow. There's such a disconnect, mate. How do we get there to start with? Because if we put it on at offers over two or something that we're not going to be countering at 2.4. That's extreme. Um I don't get the seller to counter ever. So in the last I don't know 10 years I haven't had a seller counter sign an offer on any of my deals. Um, and I think that weakens their sellers's position because it's saying to the market, to the buyer that Dan, you're the best buyer, otherwise you wouldn't see a counter. A counter implies that there's no other interest really or you're the best buyer. So, I would discourage the seller from countering at all. And at 2.4, I would say, Dan, I would suggest we don't go back at that number. It's well above what we're asking online. And if we do that, we've burnt the buyer and burnt the opportunity. Why don't I go back and have a conversation, see if there's any more room with them, if I can squeeze a bit more and then we can sit down again and have a chat to see if it's worth pursuing. But I would suggest we don't go back at that figure. It just doesn't align with what we've put out there online, all the other interest. And if we burn our best buyer, then the next best buyer is 150k lower. And I don't want to be in that position. >> Okay. Seller objections. You've got an offer and they say, "Look, Alex, we're not desperate to sell." >> Sure. Nor am I, Dan. This is not time focused. is price focused. So whether it takes another 2 weeks or 6 months, I'm here. I'm committed. Question is, what's the best financial decision? Is it to take action now when we're in a multi-off scenario where we've got competition where buyers are going above and beyond their comfort zone to try and satisfy us? Or would we be in a better position if we rejected all of these offers and then had a one-on-one negotiation two or 3 months down the track? Look, we both know competition drives price higher. So for me, it's not time focused, it's price focused, but you strike while the iron's hot. And we're in a multi offer. I don't know of a better recipe that I can create for you to maximize price than what we're currently experiencing now. So if I was in your position, I'd make the financial decision that's in my favor and maximize price rather than delay the outcome for a better better price. And then 3 months down the track, it's a one-on-one negotiation which is isolated and you're not going to see the same result. Fantastic. Um this is a classic one. It's the first week on the market. You've got your property at 2 million. You've got your range 18 to 205. You get an offer of 2 million. Uh it's the only offer from the open home. You had 20 groups through. You present it to the owner and they say, "Very good, Alex. Not a bad offer. Uh but it's only been a week." Common. Once again, depends how you set it up. If you set it up from the beginning and the owner's aware of how this should play out, then they're probably going to have a slightly different opinion to that because we would have said best outcomes achieved after the first open inspection, particularly when you get strong buyer activity, 15 20 groups plus. In my experience, that's the time you're going to get the best sale price. Now, we've had over 20 groups through. We don't have anyone else at 2 million. And these are the Agrade buyers. These are the ones that are hot to go, been waiting for the listing to come up. I've driven all my database buyers, all the real estate.com domain inquiries, social media. If the value is higher, Dan, if it's worth more than two, you would have seen two or three others willing to compete, but they're talking below range. So, for me, this buyer stands out. This is above what the general market's indicating. If you feel that by delaying the decision and waiting for another few weeks, we could get a better outcome, I will support you in that. I'm not I'm not trying to rush the outcome at all. It's just it just went online on Thursday and we had Saturday. >> I'm just thinking, you know, could we just wait till this weekend and we'll see what else we get? >> We can. We can. The implications are the buyer that's currently in contract that's offering higher end of the range above what other interest is at might withdraw their offer. As long as we're both willing to take that risk that we lose this buyer, then we can delay the decision. >> Do you think it's worth taking that risk? Not in my experience, mate. Because if there was a value that was 2 million or above, by now over 20 groups through, these buyers have been looking actively in the area. None of them are even coming at 1.85. Yeah, I would say we've got a buyer that sits above average. >> It's just slightly low. We really want that 2 million. Um, if we take this quick offer, if you bought down your commission slightly, we could get the deal done. >> Yeah, I understand. I think I'm delivering a very good outcome for you. So to be penalized for that would be quite disheartening. Um if I'm underperforming and I've done something wrong to compromise it, let's have that conversation, but I think I'm delivering you something that's beyond market. It's clear to me. Um for that reason, respectfully, no, I don't want to get it out of my pocket or out of your pocket. But let me talk to the buyer again. If I can squeeze a bit more out of it, it might just give us a bit more comfort. Let me have that conversation and I'll come back to you. Okay, last one for the day. And this has been absolutely amazing mate. But the last one just on price reductions. We are in a market that is slowing down compared to you know the co boom that we had when every property was selling like hot cakes and you could almost put any price on a property and you'd get offers and things would sell. And now we're coming into a more of a normal market where properties are typically overpriced to begin with and and need education to come down. Um, what's your conversation to sellers after a couple of weeks when you've got a property on the market for 2 million, people are coming, you're not getting offers, uh, and the suggested price ranges that people are telling you are less than the less than the 2 million. >> It's happening happening more and more. So, once again, if it's set up well, I would have given you feedback after the first inspection to say, "Damn, we had 15 groups through. I know we're trying to get over two, but the current interest that we have from two groups is between 1.6 and 1.7. It's quite distant. Now, let's give it more time. It's early days. I'd love to see it higher, but at the moment, that's what the buyers are indicating. So, I'm not going to rush that reduction. I'm just going to say this is where the market's engaging. This is where they're seeing it. I hope that market's wrong. Hope the buyers are wrong, but I don't know yet. Let's test it over the next few days, next week. And if they if the next week, so I've set it up a little bit. I'm showing you I'm not here to rush it. I'm trying to discredit the buyer's opinion because I'm on your side. But now that we've tested it the following weekend, well, we've got another buyer interested. They're they're talking 1.62, 60-day settlement, finance condition. It's still below what I was hoping to get, Dan. Um, we're overcooked at the moment, to be frank, because the market's very distant. We've got a few options. One is we leave it as it is, and I'm cool with that, but we've got to accept the implications that if we leave it where it is, the market's not there. It's unlikely to sell. Uh, and I'm okay with that. if you're okay with that. But there's another path here that if we want to get a satisfactory outcome and achieve that in the next next one or two months, we would need to adjust our expectation and our pricing online to start engaging better interest. And I'm not suggesting we go down to the 16 or 162 offer, but at least we'd have to go to 175 plus or something that's closer to where the feedback is so we can make sure we get the right people through. When would you have that conversation? >> It's case by case. You've got to have a bit of a sort of a feel for it. Um, I plant the seed after the first open. This is the engagement. This is the interest. I hope it's not right. Let's give it some more time. Second open, same result. Then the following week, I followed up with the buyers. Then I'd be having the conversation. And it's >> during the week. >> During the week, and I'm giving you options. I'm saying, Dan, we can leave it as it is. That's cool, but we've got to accept the market's not here yet. With a bit of growth, it might get here, but that might take a few years to to achieve. Um, so you can choose the path that you want to take. leave it as it is or make that adjustment and start to get better action. And there's case studies I'd bring in and say, "Dan, this one was at 2 million plus. I wasn't getting engagement. I said 1.85 plus. I sold it for 2 million and 5,000." So, it still ended at the right destination, but it was a different path to get there. So, I'd have to give you those examples. >> And so, you're in week three, you've tried they don't want to move the price. How often would you re-engage with that conversation to bring the price down? uh it'll be couple of times a week but not in a high pressure manner just to convey to them the interest that we're getting is still coming in between 16 and 17 and then I'm providing sale sales evidence you know next door just sold for 1.65 65. Um, it's similar. It's a smaller block of land, but it's a it's a more updated home. Um, the market's seeing similar value with us and them. No pressure to do anything, but if we wanted to get a satisfactory outcome, I think it's time to to adjust our strategy. And you might say, "No, Alex, I'm going to stick with it." I'd say, "No, cool, Dan. I respect it. I'll do my best for you." Alex, that was a whirlwind of knowledge and awesome scripts and dialogues. I think we went for 45 minutes. It was supposed to go for half an hour, but was absolutely brilliant, chalk full of value. Thank you so much for your time, mate. I can't wait to hear the audience response from this one. >> Pleasure, mate. Thanks. Thanks for having me.