Write what you will not negotiate
Before the first call, list the terms you will discuss and the ones you will not.
Price is not the only term that moves. Closing date, credits, and what stays with the house all move too. Before the first call, list the terms you will discuss and the ones you will not. One page, two short lists. You can change it later. You should not invent it while you are on the phone.
The will-not list should be short. One or two items is enough. A move-out date you have already booked is a clean example. A fixture you already promised to a buyer in a signed inclusion list is another. If everything is negotiable, say that, and still write the net you will not go under. A list that says nothing is negotiable is not serious. A list that says nothing is off limits will get decided by whoever talks fastest.
Read the page before you answer a caller. If they ask for the one date you will not trade, you already have the sentence. Offer a term you will discuss instead, such as a credit you already priced, if that is still true. Do not trade the fixed item because the conversation is friendly. Write the request and your answer in the offer file the same day, even when the answer is no.
After the first real offer, look at the page again. If you want to move something from one list to the other, do it in writing with the reason, not in the middle of the call. Then rerun the net if the change has a dollar figure. The page is a tool for a calm decision. It is not a script you have to follow once the facts have changed, and it is not a secret. Anyone helping you answer should have the same two lists.
What to do
- List the terms you will discuss and the terms you will not trade.
- Keep the will-not list to one or two items, or to the net you will not go under.
- Read the list before you answer a call.
- Change a list only on purpose, then rerun the net if money moved.