About 10 years ago, unfortunately, my dad passed away, and as an only child, he left me his flat. I wanted to sell it, but other events occurred, and 15 months later, finally, we were about to sell.
The deal was all agreed,
and we needed to sell it, as 8 years earlier, I encouraged my parents to take out the Equity release, which meant they had a nice lump sum, lived a great life for their last few years and made no repayments at all. I would repay the loan (which rolled up) on the sale of the property that had to be made 18 months after the death of my parents.
Pleasant and straightforward, you might think. The day of the exchange arrived. However, I was in Dallas on business, and the time difference made it virtually impossible for me to attend to any last-minute hitches.
My wife agreed to deal with the solicitors
and the estate agents for me and was very confident it was just a matter of a phone call telling us the deal was done. Please bear in mind the price and everything was all agreed upon weeks earlier.
At 09.10 on the morning of the exchange, my wife got a call from the estate agent who said: “Mr P**** wants £10,000 off the price or the deal is off”.
My wife said: “Firstly, I am unhappy that you are meant to be acting in my favour and should have told him how unethical his behaviour is. Secondly, please tell him I will not give him one penny off, and if he doesn’t exchange by 4pm I will take the flat off the market”. The agent said, “OK”.
13.05, my wife gets a call from the agent again: “Mr P**** said you’ve probably got a mortgage on it and are in a chain so he knows that you will give him something off”.
My wife’s response was remarkable:
“Tell Mr P**** that I don’t have a mortgage. I’m not in a chain, and I don’t care if I sell it or not. In fact, tell him, unless I hear from my solicitor at 4.00 pm, that the deal is done, I am adding £10,000 on the price and will not sell to him unless he pays the extra £10,000. Tell Mr P*** Tick Tock” and slammed the phone down.
15.50, the phone rings. It’s our solicitor on the phone: “What did you say to the buyer Tina? I’ve had them on the phone in a blind panic to exchange. They paid the funds already and are also begging me to do the deal”.
Tina said, “Thanks”.
The estate agent rang to tell her the good news, but I can’t put in print what she said to him as it might cause grown men to cry. Suffice to say; he knew where he stood.
She told me the story when I got home, and I hugged her. I told her she was the best salesperson I’d come across in years and that I was delighted she’d done the deal as the mortgage had to be paid off in 6 weeks.
She said: “WHAT MORTGAGE?” and I said: “the one my mum and dad took out that we have to pay”. She responded: “Bloody hell, I forgot all about that! Good job I didn’t know as I probably would have buckled and given him the £10,000 off. In fact I definitely would have buckled”.
Doesn’t this tell you everything you need to know about sales?
It’s so much about what’s in our heads. It’s not what you should do; it’s HOW you do it that matters and where your head is at.
No more words are needed.
Boyd Mayover is the Founder of The BM Group, a training company that has helped over 540 negotiators in 2020/2021 improve conversion rates, gain great reviews and boost profits.
01923 85 5427 www.boydmayover.com boyd@boydmayover.com