There’s no doubt that today’s market is a skills-based market. But no matter what market we’re in, knowing how to win listings is essential. That’s where MAPS coaches Emily Baker and Aaron Simons come in. With a tremendous amount of experience with listings between the two of them, Emily and Aaron can provide advice and tactics to help us ease the minds of potential clients and help them make the decisions that best suit their needs.

When we met recently, Emily and Aaron gave us a glimpse into the objections that agents are most frequently hearing from potential sellers right now along with advice on how to handle these issues as they arise. Read on to learn how Emily and Aaron suggest addressing these common objections.

Objection 1: Interest rates: I’ve got a low interest rate on my current home. Why would I sell and move into a home with a higher interest rate?

Pro-tip: When you’re faced with an interest rate objection, it’s key to take the time to educate your potential client about both the macro market and their local micro market. After all, when someone understands the market, they can make well-informed decisions.

On a national level, you can provide sellers with a bigger picture view of what’s happening through sharing numbers such as the average year-over-year home sales, average year-over-year prices, and month-over-month inventory numbers. With this perspective, sellers are better able to understand where the market may head.

On a local level, you can share numbers that relate specifically to where they are looking. When they understand what may be influencing home sales in their local town, they can have the information necessary to making the right decision around a potential purchase and their personal purchase price.

Pro-tip: It’s important to understand the motivation behind the potential seller’s interest in selling their home. Once you know what is influencing their decision, you can help the seller by showing them options. Ask questions. Listen to their answers. Walk them through what it would look like to stay in their current home versus moving. Recognize that their objection isn’t necessarily about the interest rate. Rather, it’s about figuring out how their life would be impacted with whatever decision they ultimately make.

Objection 2: Inventory: Where am I going to go?

Pro-tip: The majority of homeowners currently either own their homes outright or have more than 50% equity in their homes. Boomers and seniors largely fall into this category. And as Aaron shared, many of the current listings on the market are coming from people in these <categories>, whether they are Boomers who are downsizing or seniors that are transitioning into other living arrangements. Agents can play an important role here: helping these people make decisions.

Although the information is accessible for potential sellers to see online, it may be confusing for them. They’ve likely lived in their homes for many years and making changes may be overwhelming. As agents, our job is to help decipher the information and walk potential sellers through the options so that they are comfortable with the decisions they make.

When it comes down to it, these sellers may not actually have the inventory issue they think they have. Instead, they need someone to take the time to share how their lives may change and what their lifestyle would look like in a new home.

Pro-tip: For the sellers that don’t think there are houses available to move into once they sell their homes, sometimes a different line of questioning is helpful to open up their eyes to the actualities of the market. For example, ask them if they saw a home online they were interested in that was pending. If the answer is yes, you can show them that the problem isn’t necessarily the lack of inventory, and instead, it’s the speed of the offer. Clients have to have the purchase power to secure the property quickly. As their agent, you can then explain the various ways you can help them to make an offer quickly, even when selling their own home.

Pro-tip: Another great move for handling low inventory objections is to show the potential seller all the houses that have gone onto the market and sold in the past year that would have met their criteria. When they have the knowledge that many homes would have actually suited their needs, it can put their minds at ease about finding a new home once they sell their current home.

Objection 3: Pricing: I want to sell my house for more money.

Pro-tip: Right now, prices are declining in some markets. Sellers simply can’t command the same prices for their homes that they could a couple of years ago. However, overpricing a house isn’t the answer.

As the agent, it’s important to explain the three different scenarios that can occur when you overprice a house. First, it may get a high number of online views, yet no in-person showings. Without showings, of course, no offers will be made. Second, it may get showings and no offers. This isn’t a win-win for the seller or the agent because staging a house to be perfect for all the showings is a lot of work for all parties to equate to zero offers. Third, a house begins to compete with itself when it sits on the market. The higher the number of days a house spends on the market, the more negative buyers tend to view it. After all, if no one else has scooped it up, likely it’s overpriced or there’s something wrong with it in their eyes. The end result? Low ball offers.

Agents can overcome the pricing objection by teaching the seller how they can use pricing as a strategy. By pricing the home correctly, the agent can help create an environment of competition around the house, which will help it sell faster and for a better price.

With practice, all agents can gain the confidence and the knowledge to handle current seller objections so that they can both put clients’ minds at ease and help them to make decisions that best suit their lives. For a more in-depth view at handling sellers, consider joining Aaron and Emily for their Mega Listing Agent class. The next 9-week session starts September 20th. Then put what you’ve learned to work in your own business!