In negotiations, it’s important to know that in order to TRULY get what’s best for you and your side – you need to work with the OTHER side to get it. Some people try to bully or force for their win, and that NEVER get’s you all you could have got out of the deal.
A subtle way to use strategy and gamesmanship in negotiations to get what you want and not lose cooperation with the other side is what I call the ‘Painting the Porch’ strategy.
This strategy essentially describes the act of having or adding things into your offer that you don’t really need (or even want), only so that you can make a perceived concession at some well timed point in negotiations.
In order to do this, you need to know what items you or your client DON’T need in an offer that would normally be considered standard, WHERE your clients’ preferences for terms lie, and a few pain points on the sellers side.
Let’s break that down.
First – do your clients need an inspection? Do they need a finance condition? Are there any standard conditions they won’t require? Consider ADDING them into the offer anyways, as long as they don’t raise any yellow flags and appear to be completely normal.
Second – are your client’s completely negotiable on closing date? Are they able, or want to put down a large deposit? Consider appearing to need these terms on the opposite end of the reasonable spectrum from what the other side wants, only to adjust them later on.
Third – ask the other side what feedback has been like. What are the pain points? What does the seller know about the property that has been causing it not to sell? Maybe the reason it hasn’t sold is because of a reason that you or your client didn’t even realize or don’t care about! Consider using that pain point as a reason for being where you want to be in the deal and it will resonate and seem understandable to the other side.
An ideal example would look like this: A seller wants a reasonably quicker closing on their home that needs some work and is a little older, and they know the front porch needs to be redone because everyone has been commenting about how bad it looks. Your client, a contractor, doesn’t care about the closing date, doesn’t need or want an inspection, can put down a huge deposit and couldn’t care less about the porch.
Consider an offer with a closing date that’s on the end of the reasonable time frame, have an inspection condition (reasonable), and ask the Sellers to have the front porch repaired and painted prior to closing because ‘your client can’t take on all that work’. This, of course, comes with your price on the lower end of reasonable.
As you work through negotiations, to keep your price nice and low, consider moving the other variables. Shorten the closing date, up the deposit, remove the inspection condition and tell them you’re willing to take on the front porch disaster, all which will appear as very favourable concessions, while keeping your price nice and low.
In the end, you could end up with the EXACT price and terms your client wants, all while keeping a nice low price for them too.
Well played.
Again – it is CRITICAL to remember that you can’t use tactics like this to bully or force your terms on the other side. Why? Well, not only do you want and need the other side’s cooperation and good faith to KEEP this deal together and to get the most out of it, but if you want to have a long career in Sales you need to be able to work with and trust your counterparts – and that won’t happen if you are unfair with them.
Good communication with the other side, an understanding of your fair limits and boundaries, and respect for the other side is CRITICAL for a good deal. That’s why I always advise to work within reason when negotiating.
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