Short Sale Success - My Number 1 Negotiation Phrase
Short Sale Success - My Number 1 Negotiation Phrase
In my presentations, I often share with my audience the one key negotiation phrase that has led to getting approval letters over 90% of the time. The audience imagines a secret phrase that compels the bank representative to comply with our wishes or demands. They are surprised to learn that it is simply a phrase that is based on common sense and courtesy.
A typical phone call often starts like this:
Bank: "Hello, this is Jennifer from ABC Bank. May I have the borrower's name and loan number?"
You: "The borrower's name is John Smith, and the loan number is 123456789."
This interaction is repeated thousands of times, day after day, week after week, month after month. This script is followed in order to get through as many calls as possible during the day. Your call is no different than the hundreds of other calls that the bank representative receives, and there is no incentive to treat your call any differently than the others.
How then do you stand out from the rest of the calls? How do you get the negotiator to treat you differently than the hundreds of other callers? What can you do to make this conversation different than the hundreds of calls they take in a week?
Very simply with these three words: "How are you?" With these three words, you've begun to set an intention to understand the bank representative, and build the trust and rapport necessary for the best possible exchange of information during the call. Our typical response is:
Bank: "Hello, this is Jennifer from ABC Bank. May I have the borrower's name and loan number?"
You: "Hello Jennifer. How are you today?"
Bank: "I'm fine. Thank you for asking."
You: "Thank you for helping us out today. The borrower's name is John Smith, and the loan number is 123456789."
The difference in the tone and the energy of these two calls are enormous. In the first interaction, you are just another call, and the bank representative will try to get you off the phone as soon as possible. In the second interaction, you have extended your hand to understand their situation, and have acknowledged them for their time. This gives you the opportunity to connect with each and every bank representative, and work together for the best possible exchange of information during the call.
Many times, this type of interaction has opened the way to find more avenues of connection. I am able to find out more about their job, their work environment, their interest and hobbies, books they've read, details about their family. By deepening the connection, I have grown my network of contacts who I can go to when I need advice or need for an issue to be escalated. In addition, because I have consistently followed through on my word, there are many instances where bank negotiators have invited me to directly submit files to them, and bypass the initial queue, saving me a lot of time in the short sale application timeline.
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