Give sellers two options, not one number

Most offers are presented as one number. The seller hears it and has two choices: yes or no. Usually it is no, or a counter.

I present it differently. By the time a number comes up, the seller has already seen the research behind it, and they get two ways to sell, not one. That moves the conversation from "yes or no" to "which one".

Here is the whole sequence.

Do the homework before you quote

A number with nothing behind it sounds like a guess, and sellers negotiate with guesses. A number that comes after real research sounds like what it is.

Before I say a figure, I lead with what I found: what has sold nearby, how long it took, and what it sold for compared with the asking price. Something like:

"So first thing that surprised me: nothing like yours has sold in the complex in over a year."

That one line does more work than any pitch. The seller now knows I looked, and the price that follows is the result of the research, not my opinion.

Give two options

Then I give two ways to do it:

"So my bottom line, here's what makes sense for both of us, and I can do it in two ways."

The two options are real and different. One might be a faster, simpler close at one number. The other might be a higher number that takes longer or asks a bit more of the seller. What matters is that both work for me, and each solves a different version of their problem.

Two options change the seller's question. Instead of "is this enough?", they ask "which of these fits me better?" A seller who leans toward one of them on the call is a seller who is already deciding how to sell, not whether to.

Hold the number calmly

Sellers will push. That is fine. When they ask for more than the numbers allow, I answer in one short line:

"Tough. Very tight."

No apology, no flood of reasons, no immediate concession. A long explanation sounds like room to move. A calm, short answer sounds like the real limit, and it usually is.

If the number truly cannot move, the two options are what keep the conversation going. "I can't do more on that one, but the other option might fit better" is a very different call from "that's my final offer".

Look for the deal that works for both

Sometimes the math works only with something extra. One seller owned two houses, and the numbers worked only if I took both:

"I want the two, in order for my numbers to work out."

That is not pressure. It is being honest about what makes the deal possible, and it often gives the seller a cleaner exit than selling one property at a time.

Make the handoff easy

The offer is not done when they say yes. A seller who signs and then hears nothing for three days starts to wonder whether they made a mistake.

So I walk them through what happens next before we hang up:

"After we get the executed document, I want to walk you through the next steps."

Who they will hear from, what the paperwork looks like, when the closing is. And one more line that matters more than it looks:

"My line is always open, and I always answer the phone."

A clear handoff lowers seller regret, and sellers who feel looked after are the ones who refer someone later.

The sequence, in short

• Research first: lead with what you found, not with a number.
• Two options: different, real, and both workable for you.
• Hold calmly: one short line when they push.
• Find the version that works: sometimes it is two properties, or a different timeline.
• Hand off clearly: next steps, who calls them, and your line stays open.

Before any of this, you need to know why they are selling. Read seller motivation questions for the questions that come first, and use the offer calculator to build the number before the call. OfferDesk keeps the comps, both offers and the next step on the lead, so the presentation and the follow-up start from the same page. Get your free desk.