It’s not always about price…, and sometimes about more than terms & conditions.
Dear TableForce,
I need to send you a large thank you for your advice after the NFSII (advanced) negotiation training class. The tip about submitting a personal letter with our offer was amazing, as well as the other things I had learned in your classes.”
Background: On a break during a recent class, TableForce was asked how to effectively buy a home in a hot (multi-offer) housing market. One bit of advice was to make the offer personal by submitting a letter with your offer. The TableForce instructor offered this real-world example from their own personal experience. The sellers in this case had received multiple offers, were the original builders, had raised their family in the home for 20 years, and were about to become empty nesters. Not wanting to get into a bidding war, the TableForce negotiator had his wife write a hand-written personal note to the seller’s wife talking about “all the love” they felt in the home and how the (buying) couple wanted to raise their family there too. The note was submitted with an offer that was $2,500 less than the current high bid – the sellers made a counteroffer, but the buyers held firm and their offer was accepted.
“We recently put an offer on a house that had been on the market just one day and had received 3 other offers. We submitted a below asking price offer and enclosed a personal letter detailing our family with pictures of our son and dog (the previous owners were dog owners) and why we desired the house and neighborhood. The sellers were delighted to see our letter, and although we were not the high offer, they decided to move forward with us. They did counter our offer, but using the ideas of yields and shields, I was able to shield the price while giving in on their asks for a modified close date and inspection window, which did not affect us. In the end, I was able to use the NFS training to take at least some of the emotion out of a very big decision.
My wife and I are delighted to move into our new home, and I again thank you for your advice and teachings!”
TableForce: It warms our hearts to see people using the productive Win-Win business negotiations we teach in class; both in business and in their personal lives as well. It shows true behavioral change.
