Commercial Real Estate Agents – Handling Objections Effectively

In commercial real estate brokerage, if you are getting objections to a sale or lease deal you have something to work with.  An informed and genuine property buyer or tenant will want to negotiate through objections towards an outcome that is worthwhile; your job is to understand the objections that are genuine and those that are really a waste of time.

Many of us have seen objections that are very unrealistic and beyond the realities of the current property market.  When you get something like that put to you as part of a property negotiation it is better to counter comment with market facts and terminologies; show the other party how real market conditions are responding, and how their offer is likely to be way out of line with the facts as they exist.

Here are some tips to help you with handling and responding to property objections in any sale or lease:

1. Within your sales and leasing team, discuss the hurdles and challenges that have arisen from particular deals and market conditions.  The team can then discuss the alternatives of response and counter offers.  They say that two or more heads are better than one when it comes to business and that is certainly the case in commercial real estate when dealing with objections.
2. Study the activities in the property market so you can use the latest market figures and facts to respond to negotiation hurdles and challenges in a logical and direct way.  It is very hard for a third party to a negotiation to rebuke a counter offer if the facts of the market support different realities.
3. Have a series of stories to tell about the property type and the property situation that will likely support the property negotiation in a positive way.  References made to other people and recent negotiations will likely help your case with the client or third party in any current sale or lease.
4. Write everything down.  It is surprising how common it is for people to change their position ‘mid-negotiation’, and then forget about what was said and done earlier in the deal.  When you are working with a property transaction, every critical conversation, comment, or agreement should be evidenced in writing.

Lastly, and in closing on this point, it is certainly the case that confidence on the part of the agent in any negotiation helps things move ahead quite well.  Confidence only comes with comprehensive knowledge across market trends, documentation, and the property facts.