Overcoming Objections in New Home Sales

Several times each year Shore Consulting hosts a dynamic, interactive, and career-changing real estate sales program called The 4:2 Formula Academy®.

I know calling the Academy “career-changing” sounds boastful, but it isn’t. How can I say that? Because our graduates say it. So really, I’m just quoting them!

Let me give you a glimpse into what we teach. At a recent Academy, someone asked me how to overcome a specific new home sales objection. The objection was, “This backyard is too small!”.

The easy answer would be to move the customer to a larger home site, right? But what if there are no larger home sites? At that point, you just need to handle the objection using the cards you’ve been dealt.

Looking back at my own real estate sales career, I always wanted to have “the” answer. More specifically, I wanted a “silver bullet” that would magically solve my customer’s objections.

But silver bullets don’t exist. So how do you handle an objection without a silver bullet?

Here are three simple strategies for handling sales objections:

Social Proof

For years sales trainers have taught the “Feel, Felt, Found” method. The challenge with this strategy is we often lack credibility when we say, “I know how you feel.” I also believe that buyers smell a sales tactic here.

Instead, tell customers about other buyers who shared the same objection and yet decided to purchase anyway. Share how these other buyers adapted to the situation.

This is often referred to as The Law of Social Proof which states that people are more inclined to do things that other people like them are already doing.

In the case of the small backyard, find other buyers who shared the same objection and purchased in spite of it. Ask them how they made the backyard work and then share those stories with potential customers that share the same concern about the yard size.

Transfer of Ownership

I love this strategy. Selfishly, it makes my life easier when it comes to handling objections. The idea here is to get the customer out of a complaining mindset and into a creative mindset.

In reference to the small backyard objection, I would simply ask, “Let me ask…let’s say you loved everything else and decided to move into this home anyway. What would you do to make this particular backyard work?”

Almost immediately you see the customer’s eyes dart around to solve his or her own problem. Again, it’s less work for you and their solution is always better than yours!

Can You Live With it?

This is a last-ditch effort. Sometimes there simply is no answer to the objection. The customer doesn’t have one. Neither do other buyers. It is what it is.

That being the case, you may need to simply ask, “Is the backyard something you could live with?” If the answer is “No” then you know it is a deal killer. If they say “Yes” you know it is a point of compromise and you can proceed with the sale.

We dive deeper into these strategies at The 4:2 Formula Academy®. Not only do we cover objections in more detail but we’ll also cover objections you’re seeing as a result of the current market.

Our next 4:2 Academy will be in Nashville, TN this coming August. Secure your spot today!