May 8, 2024 • 26 mins
Drawing from listener questions, we delve into the ethics of influencing clients' decisions, focusing on the importance of putting their interests first.
We share our experience from a Strathfield sale that achieved a remarkable price with minimal market exposure and the approach to discreetly navigating these unique deals.
We then outline the art of transitioning these quiet listings to public campaigns, leveraging qualified buyers and the influential reach of social media.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tom Panos (00:00):
Tom Panos, john McGrath, troy Malcolm, million
Dollar Agent, the podcast.
We're up to around 800 episodes.
I think Troy Thereabouts Aroundabout Thereabouts.
We started like this has got tobe one of the longest serving
things I've actually done in mylife.
I mean, don't get us wrong,we've actually had times that
(00:22):
we've not done it for a fewweeks in a row, but today I'm
pumped because questions are allabout what matters to the
listeners and I've got threequestions and sometimes you get
weird questions, but these arequestions that I think the
masses would like.
So, before we kick off, how areyou both?
Start of the week.
Troy Malcolm (00:42):
Yeah, great, great .
Happy Christmas.
Happy Monday for the weekend.
See you, tommy Happy.
Greek I think we've done it solong because we enjoy it.
Tom Panos (00:54):
Sorry, John, I missed that.
John McGrath (00:56):
No, that's all right.
No, I was speaking at the sametime.
I was just saying I think we'vedone it so long because we
enjoy it, which is kind of niceto do something you enjoy and
not get paid for it, but that'sa.
Tom Panos (01:07):
It would be good to enjoy it and get paid for it.
That would be the idealscenario, right?
John McGrath (01:13):
Yeah, that would spoil the last decade.
No good Questions are good.
I love specific questions and Iknow some of the ones you've
sent in today are good.
Well, we might have similar ordissimilar answers.
Let's get cracking and see.
Tom Panos (01:28):
Let's go.
Question number one.
I'm not going to mention whowrote them in.
They were sent as DMs on socialcan do to fast track a seller
(01:53):
that is in their pipeline thatwants to sell but not just quite
yet.
What can you do to get them tomove faster?
I get asked that question oftenby real estate agents like how
do you actually bring people onTroy's nodding?
I presume that that comes up inthe McGrath network.
I mean, I've always had theview If some parents are moving
next year because that's whenthey're moving, their HSC ends
(02:16):
on that day or the job transferhappens, that's a condition that
you live with.
Just because you need to getfour listings that month doesn't
mean they've got to list theirproperty right.
But is there things that youcould do in those situations
that might influence orencourage sellers, particularly
if you in your heart believeit's better for them to do it
(02:38):
right now?
John McGrath (02:41):
Yeah, I think that last sentence, tommy, is
critical.
I mean, I don't like the wordfast track because that suggests
self-interest and it's to makemy budget or because, you know,
I want to get paid quicker.
Um, I'm with you that our rolea bit like a bit like a lawyer
or a doctor, if you will not asimportant, but is to help
(03:03):
diagnose their situation.
I'll give you an example.
Literally last night I was upat our Oval.
As you guys know, I take ourtwo little girl, baby, female
Dachshunds for a walk everyafternoon at sort of you know,
five o'clock, sunset type time,and there's a lovely couple that
sit in the grandstand, which isnot too grand, it's just a tiny
little stand at the Oval andthey watch the dogs play every
(03:25):
day.
Long story short is I wastalking to her and she said
we're thinking of going up toSunshine Coast.
I said okay, well, that soundsexciting.
And they said, yeah, you know,our house, our place here, is
worth one and a half and wecould sort of buy something up
there for a million and, youknow, put the half into whatever
.
So all I did because they werebringing it with me, they know
(03:46):
I'm in real estate, they werelooking for my advice.
All I did was ask a number ofquestions to help them identify
is this the right decision andwhen would be the right time?
So after a few questions, Ikind of came to the conclusion
which I checked with them.
I said to them look, maria, itsounds to me like you've made
the decision to move, you justhaven't made the decision as to
(04:08):
when to move.
And she said and he was nodding, richard, her husband was
nodding furiously.
And she said yeah, that's theway to put it.
And I said so what I need youto think about is what would be
the catalyst to make you feellike it's the right time.
Now, they haven't got the rightanswer for that yet and I just
said you know, we'll just thinkabout it.
But by asking a series ofquestions and it wasn't to sales
(04:32):
pitch, it was just to try andhelp them, it was to identify
have you made the decision tosell?
And if not, let's talk aboutwhat are you thinking?
What are the pros, what are thecons?
And the key thing here, tommy,is to do it selflessly, not with
a view to try and twist themyour direction, to earn some
money, because this is someone'slife, which is far more
(04:53):
important than two or threepercent commission to you.
So I just ask so what are youthinking?
What's what I literally say?
What are the pros, what are thecons?
Um, how about this?
Have you thought about that?
Here's what I've found in thepast and, in terms of timing,
what would make it feel likeit's the right time?
And just by asking a series ofquestions and I could see them
kind of untying themselves inknots last night just by asking
(05:16):
half a dozen questions and they,they left the, the park or the
meeting a little bit wasn't ameeting, it was just a chat um,
feeling better.
So I think you know, from mypoint of view, everyone I deal
with knows I'm selfless, I'mcoming from a point of what's
going to work for you, not me.
I figure that if I help youunderstand, is it the right
decision and if so, what is theright timing and I do it without
(05:39):
any bias you're going to bepredisposed positively towards
me and I also think you knowlife, life short, and this is a
big decision.
So I'm not going to try andpush you in a direction.
So I think you know you taughtyou call it beautifully atomic
admission breath.
I think you've just got to makesure that, um.
So that's why I get rid of theword fast track.
So how I'd rebrief it intowhoever sent it would be what
(06:03):
questions can you ask a clientto identify whether moving is
the right decision and whetherit's a clear decision?
Or what else do they need toknow from you to help them make
the right decision for them?
And if they, or when they domake the decision to move, what?
How can you help them identifythe best time?
So I left them with a questionlast night is why don't you have
(06:25):
a think about what would ittake for you to feel this is the
right time?
I can tell energetically he,the husband, richard, wants to
move faster than his wife andthat's fine.
But they need to sort that outbetween them and there doesn't
really seem to be any particularcatalyst.
They've retired.
It's not like daughter's goingthrough the hsc.
So I just said, just have athink about that and let's have
(06:47):
a chat.
I'll be back here tomorrow andthe next day and the next day
and you can ask me whateverquestion.
So I think it's all about goodquality questions, um, posed
with selflessness, with theclient's interest, not your own
troy.
Troy Malcolm (07:04):
Yeah, I agree.
Once you've got thatunderstanding of the outcome
they're trying to achieve, youthen need to become the beacon
of information, the data and theinsights that, tom, as you said
earlier, help influence them tomake the right decision.
And it has to be the rightdecision every single time for
the client.
We should know the stats, thedata, every property that's
(07:26):
coming to market, everycompeting property that's like
theirs, that's probably going tosell over the next two or three
weeks.
You've got to give them thatinformation so they can be
educated about making the rightdecision and the insights that
we provide with interest ratesand general market conditions.
But John couldn't agree more.
It has to be once youunderstand their circumstances
and exactly what they want toachieve, you then need to go
(07:47):
into well, how can I help themrealise that at the appropriate
moment?
Tom Panos (07:52):
Yeah, go, tommy go.
No, you go, you go.
John McGrath (07:56):
I was just going to say.
It's really about twisting thequestion around, not to them,
but to you.
Is, you know, do you have theclient's interest in mind?
Because it's quite possiblethat you can fast track.
With a bit of snazzy talk and alittle bit of kind of biased
thinking or, or you know,optimistic thinking, one
direction, you can get someoneto put their property on the
market when it may not be theright decision yet or it may not
(08:19):
be the right time, and thatwould be tragic for me to think
I've actually helped someoneshift faster than they should
have.
They haven't got the bestoutcome and they're now
uncertain as to whether they'vedone the right thing.
I'd rather help them come tothe right conclusion.
If the right conclusion is weshould stay here for another two
years, that's great.
That's what we teach Now, notjust in our company, but you do
(08:39):
at the Real Estate Gym, tom, wedo at McGrath and through Eric
and some of our channels.
Like this is you know just whatis in the best interest of the
client, not what is in the bestinterest of you, the agent.
Tom Panos (08:53):
Just listening to you both.
I'm going to bring up a casestudy that actually encompasses
what you've both said.
It was a property in theSutherland area.
The owner didn't get the pricehe wanted at auction and I
remember going in and I justasked him this simple question
(09:13):
Do you want to keep it or sellit?
And he said look, I actuallyknow that we've got good money
for this property.
I accept it, but I reallywanted more.
So the answer is no.
I said no problems.
Then I said to him out ofcuriosity, why did you actually
set it in the first place?
I said I find it fascinatingthat you've said that you
(09:33):
realize that it's reasonablemoney.
But yeah, he goes.
Well, I want to go and liveclose to my daughter.
She's separated, she's got twokids and we want to help out.
I said okay.
So I said so, that plan's outthe window now goes.
No, he goes, we'll wait for um,we'll wait for the next, next
boom.
I said okay and I said have yougot a home there?
(09:55):
That you're moving to is anarea called Padstow.
I think you've got an office atReesby with Maddy King there.
Anyway, I said have you got aproperty there?
And he goes.
No, I'll buy one.
And I said so if you're tellingme that your plan is that you're
going to wait till the nextboom to pick up what you hope is
extra money on Sutherland andthen you're going to go buy in
(10:19):
Padstow.
And I said I find it hard tobelieve that if Sutherland goes
up, padstow is going to go up,so you're going to be in a
revenue neutral position.
And I said and if it's three,four years?
I said I figure that probablyyour daughter needs more of the
support now.
So I said really the decisionyou're going to have to make is
it's not about money, becauseyou're going to be in the same
(10:41):
position If you wait for pricesto go up.
You're not going to put a layby on Padstone now.
You're going to buy somethingwhen the market goes up.
And just talking him throughthat, he ended up doing the deal
, because I think sometimespeople don't know what they
don't know, or sometimes peoplein our industry have to explain
all the things that we've seenthat impact them, and I think
(11:02):
questions are a very good way toactually articulate it than
just statements.
John McGrath (11:10):
Yeah, I'm not sure that everyone.
In fact, I know they haven't.
In fact, a lot of people thatcome to us they haven't thought
it through fully and one of thebest roles we can play as agent
or potential agent is ask somemore questions to help them
clarify.
And you're right, tommy.
Look, you know if they'removing from A to B, and A and B
are going up the same pace andyou want A to go up another 300
grand, well, so is B.
So you're right, that is goodto point that out to people, but
(11:34):
only once you know the lay ofthe land.
So anyway, hopefully selfless.
Tom Panos (11:40):
Yeah, number two, number two, number two.
What is the best approach toencourage some of your
off-market listings to go andbecome an on-market listing?
And this is an interesting one,because I don't know, john and
Troy, look, there was a periodof time in my life when I was
(12:00):
working in real estate, andmaybe it's because we didn't
have the portals back then, butwe never really had off-markets.
You either had your house upfor sale or you didn't have your
house up for sale.
Now we seem to have anothercategory which is I'm sort of on
the market but don't want toreally be on the market.
So what's your view on that?
John McGrath (12:25):
Let me rephrase my experience is different to that
.
I remember from when I started.
I've always it depends whatyour definition of off market is
but I've always had a number ofpeople that didn't want to sign
out the front in their old daysand that was about it.
Or an ad in the wentworthcourier, um but one.
But we're happy to sell at areason at a good price, but
didn't want the hoo-ha anddidn't want open for inspections
(12:46):
and all the rest.
And I get it.
I get it.
There's someone who's kind ofgot a price in mind and it's
fairly realistic and they don'twant to have lots and lots of
marketing activity swirlingaround.
I understand that.
So I think and I say that topeople today I was out listing
just three days ago inStrathfield and I said the same
(13:08):
thing.
I said I totally understand ifI put my property in the market
tomorrow, I said I'd prefer todo it quietly, quietly, silently
, with, with no open forinspections, and that
occasionally works, but moreoften than not it doesn't work
and you've eventually got to gothe other route and it might be
better.
So again, you know, refer toanswer number one is, firstly,
make sure that they do want tosell and you're not trying to
(13:29):
push them, hustle them for yourown benefit.
So the specific question,though Tommy was around how do
you get them off market?
Tom Panos (13:38):
Yeah, Now, if they're currently an off-market listing
and you want them to actually,you know, put a signboard up and
get them up on realestatecom.
That's the question.
John McGrath (13:50):
Yes.
So the first thing is, I think,ask the questions, just tell me
a bit more Tom about why youguys are wanting to do it the
off market rather than the onmarket and then you have that
discussion and then I usuallywell, I always empathise because
I totally understand it.
If you can get me a recordprice with one buyer without
(14:14):
putting it on the portal, sowithout it for inspection, I'm
very, very happy.
Does that happen?
One in a thousand it happens.
The other 999, it doesn't.
So I think you've got to havethe conversation to fully
understand.
You can't propose anythinguseful until you understand the
other side of the customers orthe client's objection or
perspective.
So firstly, just find that out,then empathise, don't debate,
don't say, oh no, you're wrong.
(14:35):
I always say I can understandhow you do that.
I think everyone would love todo that and yet most people go
to market either sooner thanlater.
So I think that's reallyimportant.
The second thing of course youcan do if they've got, depending
on your jurisdiction, ifthey've got a contract for sale
in New South Wales is get somebuyers through it, sometimes
actually getting some realpeople through it and getting
(14:56):
feedback and having a discussionabout that feedback Makes it
more real because they can callyou and two other agencies and
they can sit there and you know,sort of think about it forever.
But when you actually givesomeone a key to your house and
have some buyers through it, itstarts getting real.
So I think you know, as long asyou understand, as long as you
(15:17):
empathise, as long as you askthem for some sort of tangible
reasons so you can understandbetter, then possibly, you know,
get some buyers through it.
This is one of Alex Phillips,who's the top agent in the
country.
One of Alex's gifts andgreatness of which he has many
is he often gets buyers throughquickly, seamlessly, qualified
(15:38):
buyers.
He's got a stack of buyers, heand his team, ready to go.
He'll say you know, tom, Ithink auction ultimately could
be the way to go here, but I'vegot two people missed out on a
property around the corner lastSaturday.
Let me just whip them throughand see what happens and that
normally either leads to anoffer, a sale, or at least a
conversation that leads to amarketing campaign.
So I think it's just aboutaction, having the buyers at the
(16:02):
handy, asking more from themand then seeing where that takes
you.
Tom Panos (16:07):
Beautiful.
No-transcript.
Yeah, all the time.
Troy Malcolm (16:15):
I think the main question is to understand
whether it's a quick sale or aprice maximization strategy that
you're going into.
Tom, a lot of the markets thatwe operate in now there's not
really off market in thetraditional sense.
There's normally photography,there's normally a video,
there's normally an Instagrampost that really does connect
with the audience.
They may not be on portal, butthey are kind of they're active
(16:38):
listings.
So, john, to your point, havingthat 10 or 20 or 25 or 30 hot
buyers, maybe even with aslightly higher budget, and
getting them through theproperty when it is that quiet
listing.
Just to understand, normallythose with a higher budget know
the value of property.
They're not trying to get it ata bargain because they're not
the budget below beingaspirational.
They're actually got the realdollars and the approval where
(16:59):
they're at.
So, understanding that,understanding that, once you've
got that feedback, to have thatreally clear expectations,
meeting with your client tounderstand whether it is a price
maximisation or they just wantto move on to the next part of
their journey those two factorsare going to play a big part in
whether it goes to a fullcampaign or you execute an
off-market or a quiet listing.
Tom Panos (17:19):
Beautiful, well said, and I do think you've got to
start with the premise On thatpoint, john, that you said it
does happen.
I'm not going to say it doesn'thappen.
I do hear of a property thatwasn't on the market.
An agent went in and saw it.
They had a specific buyer andit does sell for a good price,
(17:39):
right, and I have seen thathappen.
That buyer had been waiting forsomething specific.
An agent walks into the beststreet in the suburb, has got
someone and you know happy days.
But generally speaking, and Iwould say that maybe 95% of the
time, the more bums on seats,the more competition.
(17:59):
The more competition, the moremoney.
And you should follow whatprobabilities.
Let's do that.
Last question, question numberthree what's the best approach
to handle vendors at a listingpresentation who are keen but
just can't sign yet as theymight have other agents coming
(18:23):
over after you?
So that's always been thequestion I get asked at training
conferences and seminars Areyou better being first agent?
Are you better being last agent?
I mean, a lot of the time youdon't even really have that
choice.
So, yeah, what's the view there?
John McGrath (18:42):
What do you think you kick off?
Throw us in.
Troy Malcolm (18:45):
Reappoint, always reappoint, no, always have a
chance to go back.
No, it's a fine line, right?
So you've got to firstunderstand what is the objection
or the hesitation of notcommitting.
If both decision makers or alldecision makers aren't in the
room, then that probably shouldhave been worked out before you
(19:05):
even get to the listingpresentation.
If it's something else thatthey think they're not getting
from you during the listingpresentation, then ask the
question Is there anything thatwe haven't discussed today that
you would like answered?
And normally that's set up atthe agenda as well.
But a lot of the time it comesdown to a couple of factors
whether decision makers aren'tthere, or you haven't answered a
question, or they don't havefull confidence or trust and
rapport with you instantly.
(19:26):
But a lot of that, john, as wealways say, a lot of it happens
before you even walk in the doorat the listing presentation.
It always happens in the workleading up that it makes that
decision a little bit easier.
But if you can also get achance to go back and develop a
strategy with team members, yeah, yeah, no, I agree.
John McGrath (19:45):
And I think you know up front I'll often say to
people look, troy, at the end ofthe meeting I guess there's a
couple of options.
You'll either think I'm theright agent and that'll be
awesome, we can get started, oryou'll think there's someone
better position than me, and Irespect that.
So I kind of I try and movepeople in the direction of you
know, might to now, might be thetime to make a decision, and I
(20:07):
do it subtly, I'm not trying tobeat anyone over the head, but I
just say you know, that's kindof you know where we might get
to and I totally respect troy ifyou think there's an agent
better position than me.
But if you do think that I canfulfil exactly what you're
looking for, I'm ready to go.
So I like an early positioningstatement around that.
So that's number one.
(20:29):
Two is, I think if you trialclose along the way, that is,
you keep getting you know.
So how do you feel about theauction method?
You know, what about themarketing?
Does that plan that I've puttowards you feel like it's going
to fit for you guys?
Are you happy with it?
I think if you get a few littleyeses along the way, there's a
chance that you'll get a big yesat the end, as long as you ask
it.
By the way, even if someonesaid you know we're meeting
(20:49):
another agent tomorrow, I thinkyou have absolutely the right to
say you know at the end of it,troy, how do you feel about that
?
Would you be comfortable withputting me to work?
So I think a lot of agents backoff when they hear there are
more agents to follow and thenat the end, if you know, despite
all of the above, you knowthey're saying well, look, you
know, we want to have a thinkabout it.
You know I agree with you, troy, reappoint.
(21:16):
You can say, well, look, so Iknow, and perhaps prepare best
for our meeting tomorrow.
What are the bits that you wantto think about most and then
that will offer?
Well, you know we still haven'tmade the decision to sell, or
we still don't really like theauction, or we like you, john,
but to be frank, you're twicethe price of anyone else.
At least it might give me onelast chance to try and finalise
(21:39):
a deal by reaching agreement.
So they would.
And at the end of the day, ifyou've got to wait overnight and
go to battle the next day.
You've got to.
I mean as long as you'veprepared for it, you've
positioned right, you've plantedthe seed, you've done some
trial closes, you've asked forthe business.
If they've hes, you say could Ijust I sense a bit of
hesitation troy, just, or youknow what?
(22:01):
What exactly do you want tothink about overnight, just so I
can be best prepared for whenwe speak tomorrow?
Tom Panos (22:05):
if you've done all that and you still can't get it,
just go to bed and run uptomorrow morning yeah, because I
actually think the worst thingthat you can do is get a little
bit desperate and pushy and highpressure, because at least if
(22:25):
you walk out of there and didthe right thing, you are still
in with a chance.
But if you went into high-fastmode typical agent speak not
only will you not get thelisting that day, you won't get
the listing the day after.
So that was great.
(22:47):
I love real-life scenariosbecause this is what our
listeners are doing every minuteof the day, and being able to
chat about those.
John Troy.
John McGrath (22:59):
I don't you.
80% sold, Eric.
Tommy, 80% tickets are archingtowards that wonderful last bit.
So we're now starting to closein, which is exciting.
Trade Expo, I think has sixbooths left but pretty much sold
out, and it's much bigger thisyear.
Tom Panos (23:22):
Yeah, I've explained to a few of the people with expo
at the expo stand that the it'sbeen made a lot larger this
year so there's more, morestands um there I think we've
added 20, 25, 20, 25 new boothssingles, so which could be six
quads and we've got half a dozenleft.
John McGrath (23:44):
So that's exciting that that's getting well.
Ryan Reynolds has got a newdoco.
That Netflix doco is coming outsomewhere.
I know it's out somewhere else,but someone texted me today and
said oh, this is great timing,this is going to be awesome.
No, exciting.
(24:05):
So I can to um to see all ofthem.
Brian serhant in the house fortwo days at the gold coast,
shaking hands, having selfieswith people, signing autographs.
Whatever you want him to do, Isuspect he's.
He's there because he's goingto immerse himself.
I get that feeling from him andhis team that he really wants
to make this a serious, two-dayimmersive event, which will be
good and we'll see.
Anyway, it's time for the dog'swalk, so I'd better jump off
(24:27):
and I will see you guys tomorrow.
Tom Panos (24:31):
All righty Well.
Thank you again everyone, andat the moment, troy, the
Roosters are looking good.
And listen.
There's one better feeling thanlosing right Like if you're
losing, it's terrible, but whenJohn's team's losing as well and
John's team's actuallyunderneath the Tigers and I
(24:54):
haven't seen that for a verylong time, john Someone sent me
the ladder we're not last, but Idon't think you're going to be
last for long.
I have a funny feeling you'regoing to hit above us in the
competition.
I have a funny feeling.
John McGrath (25:08):
I believe.
But I've got to say Tigers areplaying very well.
There's a whole new spirit andI've always thought Benji would
be an extraordinary coach and Ithink he's showing early and
definite signs of that.
Just to make it worse, I had afriend text me the other day
about the Rabideaus and thefriend of mine lives in England
and he said you know the blokeyou've just bought.
(25:30):
I said yeah, he said he'saverage and you've massively
overpaid for him.
So I thought that makes a badseason just get worse.
All of a sudden he's averageand massively overpaid for him.
So I thought that makes a badseason just get worse.
All of a sudden he's averageand massively overpaid.
Just thought I'd let you know,was the comment from this guy.
I said thanks very much.
Tom Panos (25:47):
Appreciate it Would have been better if he'd called
you the week before then.
John Wouldn't.
I think, Exactly All right.
We live in hope everybody Allright, We'll see you at Eric See
you next week and don't forget,get your Eric tickets.
So there's 20% left.
And if there's only 20% left,I've got to tell you it'll be a
lot less than 20% left soon,because most ticket sales seem
(26:09):
to happen this period.
So, yeah, that's right, allrighty.
Troy Malcolm (26:13):
Thank you so much, see you.
Tom Panos, john McGrath, troy Malcolm, million
Dollar Agent, the podcast.
We're up to around 800 episodes.
I think Troy Thereabouts Aroundabout Thereabouts.
We started like this has got tobe one of the longest serving
things I've actually done in mylife.
I mean, don't get us wrong,we've actually had times that
(00:22):
we've not done it for a fewweeks in a row, but today I'm
pumped because questions are allabout what matters to the
listeners and I've got threequestions and sometimes you get
weird questions, but these arequestions that I think the
masses would like.
So, before we kick off, how areyou both?
Start of the week.
Troy Malcolm (00:42):
Yeah, great, great .
Happy Christmas.
Happy Monday for the weekend.
See you, tommy Happy.
Greek I think we've done it solong because we enjoy it.
Tom Panos (00:54):
Sorry, John, I missed that.
John McGrath (00:56):
No, that's all right.
No, I was speaking at the sametime.
I was just saying I think we'vedone it so long because we
enjoy it, which is kind of niceto do something you enjoy and
not get paid for it, but that'sa.
Tom Panos (01:07):
It would be good to enjoy it and get paid for it.
That would be the idealscenario, right?
John McGrath (01:13):
Yeah, that would spoil the last decade.
No good Questions are good.
I love specific questions and Iknow some of the ones you've
sent in today are good.
Well, we might have similar ordissimilar answers.
Let's get cracking and see.
Tom Panos (01:28):
Let's go.
Question number one.
I'm not going to mention whowrote them in.
They were sent as DMs on socialcan do to fast track a seller
(01:53):
that is in their pipeline thatwants to sell but not just quite
yet.
What can you do to get them tomove faster?
I get asked that question oftenby real estate agents like how
do you actually bring people onTroy's nodding?
I presume that that comes up inthe McGrath network.
I mean, I've always had theview If some parents are moving
next year because that's whenthey're moving, their HSC ends
(02:16):
on that day or the job transferhappens, that's a condition that
you live with.
Just because you need to getfour listings that month doesn't
mean they've got to list theirproperty right.
But is there things that youcould do in those situations
that might influence orencourage sellers, particularly
if you in your heart believeit's better for them to do it
(02:38):
right now?
John McGrath (02:41):
Yeah, I think that last sentence, tommy, is
critical.
I mean, I don't like the wordfast track because that suggests
self-interest and it's to makemy budget or because, you know,
I want to get paid quicker.
Um, I'm with you that our rolea bit like a bit like a lawyer
or a doctor, if you will not asimportant, but is to help
(03:03):
diagnose their situation.
I'll give you an example.
Literally last night I was upat our Oval.
As you guys know, I take ourtwo little girl, baby, female
Dachshunds for a walk everyafternoon at sort of you know,
five o'clock, sunset type time,and there's a lovely couple that
sit in the grandstand, which isnot too grand, it's just a tiny
little stand at the Oval andthey watch the dogs play every
(03:25):
day.
Long story short is I wastalking to her and she said
we're thinking of going up toSunshine Coast.
I said okay, well, that soundsexciting.
And they said, yeah, you know,our house, our place here, is
worth one and a half and wecould sort of buy something up
there for a million and, youknow, put the half into whatever
.
So all I did because they werebringing it with me, they know
(03:46):
I'm in real estate, they werelooking for my advice.
All I did was ask a number ofquestions to help them identify
is this the right decision andwhen would be the right time?
So after a few questions, Ikind of came to the conclusion
which I checked with them.
I said to them look, maria, itsounds to me like you've made
the decision to move, you justhaven't made the decision as to
(04:08):
when to move.
And she said and he was nodding, richard, her husband was
nodding furiously.
And she said yeah, that's theway to put it.
And I said so what I need youto think about is what would be
the catalyst to make you feellike it's the right time.
Now, they haven't got the rightanswer for that yet and I just
said you know, we'll just thinkabout it.
But by asking a series ofquestions and it wasn't to sales
(04:32):
pitch, it was just to try andhelp them, it was to identify
have you made the decision tosell?
And if not, let's talk aboutwhat are you thinking?
What are the pros, what are thecons?
And the key thing here, tommy,is to do it selflessly, not with
a view to try and twist themyour direction, to earn some
money, because this is someone'slife, which is far more
(04:53):
important than two or threepercent commission to you.
So I just ask so what are youthinking?
What's what I literally say?
What are the pros, what are thecons?
Um, how about this?
Have you thought about that?
Here's what I've found in thepast and, in terms of timing,
what would make it feel likeit's the right time?
And just by asking a series ofquestions and I could see them
kind of untying themselves inknots last night just by asking
(05:16):
half a dozen questions and they,they left the, the park or the
meeting a little bit wasn't ameeting, it was just a chat um,
feeling better.
So I think you know, from mypoint of view, everyone I deal
with knows I'm selfless, I'mcoming from a point of what's
going to work for you, not me.
I figure that if I help youunderstand, is it the right
decision and if so, what is theright timing and I do it without
(05:39):
any bias you're going to bepredisposed positively towards
me and I also think you knowlife, life short, and this is a
big decision.
So I'm not going to try andpush you in a direction.
So I think you know you taughtyou call it beautifully atomic
admission breath.
I think you've just got to makesure that, um.
So that's why I get rid of theword fast track.
So how I'd rebrief it intowhoever sent it would be what
(06:03):
questions can you ask a clientto identify whether moving is
the right decision and whetherit's a clear decision?
Or what else do they need toknow from you to help them make
the right decision for them?
And if they, or when they domake the decision to move, what?
How can you help them identifythe best time?
So I left them with a questionlast night is why don't you have
(06:25):
a think about what would ittake for you to feel this is the
right time?
I can tell energetically he,the husband, richard, wants to
move faster than his wife andthat's fine.
But they need to sort that outbetween them and there doesn't
really seem to be any particularcatalyst.
They've retired.
It's not like daughter's goingthrough the hsc.
So I just said, just have athink about that and let's have
(06:47):
a chat.
I'll be back here tomorrow andthe next day and the next day
and you can ask me whateverquestion.
So I think it's all about goodquality questions, um, posed
with selflessness, with theclient's interest, not your own
troy.
Troy Malcolm (07:04):
Yeah, I agree.
Once you've got thatunderstanding of the outcome
they're trying to achieve, youthen need to become the beacon
of information, the data and theinsights that, tom, as you said
earlier, help influence them tomake the right decision.
And it has to be the rightdecision every single time for
the client.
We should know the stats, thedata, every property that's
(07:26):
coming to market, everycompeting property that's like
theirs, that's probably going tosell over the next two or three
weeks.
You've got to give them thatinformation so they can be
educated about making the rightdecision and the insights that
we provide with interest ratesand general market conditions.
But John couldn't agree more.
It has to be once youunderstand their circumstances
and exactly what they want toachieve, you then need to go
(07:47):
into well, how can I help themrealise that at the appropriate
moment?
Tom Panos (07:52):
Yeah, go, tommy go.
No, you go, you go.
John McGrath (07:56):
I was just going to say.
It's really about twisting thequestion around, not to them,
but to you.
Is, you know, do you have theclient's interest in mind?
Because it's quite possiblethat you can fast track.
With a bit of snazzy talk and alittle bit of kind of biased
thinking or, or you know,optimistic thinking, one
direction, you can get someoneto put their property on the
market when it may not be theright decision yet or it may not
(08:19):
be the right time, and thatwould be tragic for me to think
I've actually helped someoneshift faster than they should
have.
They haven't got the bestoutcome and they're now
uncertain as to whether they'vedone the right thing.
I'd rather help them come tothe right conclusion.
If the right conclusion is weshould stay here for another two
years, that's great.
That's what we teach Now, notjust in our company, but you do
(08:39):
at the Real Estate Gym, tom, wedo at McGrath and through Eric
and some of our channels.
Like this is you know just whatis in the best interest of the
client, not what is in the bestinterest of you, the agent.
Tom Panos (08:53):
Just listening to you both.
I'm going to bring up a casestudy that actually encompasses
what you've both said.
It was a property in theSutherland area.
The owner didn't get the pricehe wanted at auction and I
remember going in and I justasked him this simple question
(09:13):
Do you want to keep it or sellit?
And he said look, I actuallyknow that we've got good money
for this property.
I accept it, but I reallywanted more.
So the answer is no.
I said no problems.
Then I said to him out ofcuriosity, why did you actually
set it in the first place?
I said I find it fascinatingthat you've said that you
(09:33):
realize that it's reasonablemoney.
But yeah, he goes.
Well, I want to go and liveclose to my daughter.
She's separated, she's got twokids and we want to help out.
I said okay.
So I said so, that plan's outthe window now goes.
No, he goes, we'll wait for um,we'll wait for the next, next
boom.
I said okay and I said have yougot a home there?
(09:55):
That you're moving to is anarea called Padstow.
I think you've got an office atReesby with Maddy King there.
Anyway, I said have you got aproperty there?
And he goes.
No, I'll buy one.
And I said so if you're tellingme that your plan is that you're
going to wait till the nextboom to pick up what you hope is
extra money on Sutherland andthen you're going to go buy in
(10:19):
Padstow.
And I said I find it hard tobelieve that if Sutherland goes
up, padstow is going to go up,so you're going to be in a
revenue neutral position.
And I said and if it's three,four years?
I said I figure that probablyyour daughter needs more of the
support now.
So I said really the decisionyou're going to have to make is
it's not about money, becauseyou're going to be in the same
(10:41):
position If you wait for pricesto go up.
You're not going to put a layby on Padstone now.
You're going to buy somethingwhen the market goes up.
And just talking him throughthat, he ended up doing the deal
, because I think sometimespeople don't know what they
don't know, or sometimes peoplein our industry have to explain
all the things that we've seenthat impact them, and I think
(11:02):
questions are a very good way toactually articulate it than
just statements.
John McGrath (11:10):
Yeah, I'm not sure that everyone.
In fact, I know they haven't.
In fact, a lot of people thatcome to us they haven't thought
it through fully and one of thebest roles we can play as agent
or potential agent is ask somemore questions to help them
clarify.
And you're right, tommy.
Look, you know if they'removing from A to B, and A and B
are going up the same pace andyou want A to go up another 300
grand, well, so is B.
So you're right, that is goodto point that out to people, but
(11:34):
only once you know the lay ofthe land.
So anyway, hopefully selfless.
Tom Panos (11:40):
Yeah, number two, number two, number two.
What is the best approach toencourage some of your
off-market listings to go andbecome an on-market listing?
And this is an interesting one,because I don't know, john and
Troy, look, there was a periodof time in my life when I was
(12:00):
working in real estate, andmaybe it's because we didn't
have the portals back then, butwe never really had off-markets.
You either had your house upfor sale or you didn't have your
house up for sale.
Now we seem to have anothercategory which is I'm sort of on
the market but don't want toreally be on the market.
So what's your view on that?
John McGrath (12:25):
Let me rephrase my experience is different to that
.
I remember from when I started.
I've always it depends whatyour definition of off market is
but I've always had a number ofpeople that didn't want to sign
out the front in their old daysand that was about it.
Or an ad in the wentworthcourier, um but one.
But we're happy to sell at areason at a good price, but
didn't want the hoo-ha anddidn't want open for inspections
(12:46):
and all the rest.
And I get it.
I get it.
There's someone who's kind ofgot a price in mind and it's
fairly realistic and they don'twant to have lots and lots of
marketing activity swirlingaround.
I understand that.
So I think and I say that topeople today I was out listing
just three days ago inStrathfield and I said the same
(13:08):
thing.
I said I totally understand ifI put my property in the market
tomorrow, I said I'd prefer todo it quietly, quietly, silently
, with, with no open forinspections, and that
occasionally works, but moreoften than not it doesn't work
and you've eventually got to gothe other route and it might be
better.
So again, you know, refer toanswer number one is, firstly,
make sure that they do want tosell and you're not trying to
(13:29):
push them, hustle them for yourown benefit.
So the specific question,though Tommy was around how do
you get them off market?
Tom Panos (13:38):
Yeah, Now, if they're currently an off-market listing
and you want them to actually,you know, put a signboard up and
get them up on realestatecom.
That's the question.
John McGrath (13:50):
Yes.
So the first thing is, I think,ask the questions, just tell me
a bit more Tom about why youguys are wanting to do it the
off market rather than the onmarket and then you have that
discussion and then I usuallywell, I always empathise because
I totally understand it.
If you can get me a recordprice with one buyer without
(14:14):
putting it on the portal, sowithout it for inspection, I'm
very, very happy.
Does that happen?
One in a thousand it happens.
The other 999, it doesn't.
So I think you've got to havethe conversation to fully
understand.
You can't propose anythinguseful until you understand the
other side of the customers orthe client's objection or
perspective.
So firstly, just find that out,then empathise, don't debate,
don't say, oh no, you're wrong.
(14:35):
I always say I can understandhow you do that.
I think everyone would love todo that and yet most people go
to market either sooner thanlater.
So I think that's reallyimportant.
The second thing of course youcan do if they've got, depending
on your jurisdiction, ifthey've got a contract for sale
in New South Wales is get somebuyers through it, sometimes
actually getting some realpeople through it and getting
(14:56):
feedback and having a discussionabout that feedback Makes it
more real because they can callyou and two other agencies and
they can sit there and you know,sort of think about it forever.
But when you actually givesomeone a key to your house and
have some buyers through it, itstarts getting real.
So I think you know, as long asyou understand, as long as you
(15:17):
empathise, as long as you askthem for some sort of tangible
reasons so you can understandbetter, then possibly, you know,
get some buyers through it.
This is one of Alex Phillips,who's the top agent in the
country.
One of Alex's gifts andgreatness of which he has many
is he often gets buyers throughquickly, seamlessly, qualified
(15:38):
buyers.
He's got a stack of buyers, heand his team, ready to go.
He'll say you know, tom, Ithink auction ultimately could
be the way to go here, but I'vegot two people missed out on a
property around the corner lastSaturday.
Let me just whip them throughand see what happens and that
normally either leads to anoffer, a sale, or at least a
conversation that leads to amarketing campaign.
So I think it's just aboutaction, having the buyers at the
(16:02):
handy, asking more from themand then seeing where that takes
you.
Tom Panos (16:07):
Beautiful.
No-transcript.
Yeah, all the time.
Troy Malcolm (16:15):
I think the main question is to understand
whether it's a quick sale or aprice maximization strategy that
you're going into.
Tom, a lot of the markets thatwe operate in now there's not
really off market in thetraditional sense.
There's normally photography,there's normally a video,
there's normally an Instagrampost that really does connect
with the audience.
They may not be on portal, butthey are kind of they're active
(16:38):
listings.
So, john, to your point, havingthat 10 or 20 or 25 or 30 hot
buyers, maybe even with aslightly higher budget, and
getting them through theproperty when it is that quiet
listing.
Just to understand, normallythose with a higher budget know
the value of property.
They're not trying to get it ata bargain because they're not
the budget below beingaspirational.
They're actually got the realdollars and the approval where
(16:59):
they're at.
So, understanding that,understanding that, once you've
got that feedback, to have thatreally clear expectations,
meeting with your client tounderstand whether it is a price
maximisation or they just wantto move on to the next part of
their journey those two factorsare going to play a big part in
whether it goes to a fullcampaign or you execute an
off-market or a quiet listing.
Tom Panos (17:19):
Beautiful, well said, and I do think you've got to
start with the premise On thatpoint, john, that you said it
does happen.
I'm not going to say it doesn'thappen.
I do hear of a property thatwasn't on the market.
An agent went in and saw it.
They had a specific buyer andit does sell for a good price,
(17:39):
right, and I have seen thathappen.
That buyer had been waiting forsomething specific.
An agent walks into the beststreet in the suburb, has got
someone and you know happy days.
But generally speaking, and Iwould say that maybe 95% of the
time, the more bums on seats,the more competition.
(17:59):
The more competition, the moremoney.
And you should follow whatprobabilities.
Let's do that.
Last question, question numberthree what's the best approach
to handle vendors at a listingpresentation who are keen but
just can't sign yet as theymight have other agents coming
(18:23):
over after you?
So that's always been thequestion I get asked at training
conferences and seminars Areyou better being first agent?
Are you better being last agent?
I mean, a lot of the time youdon't even really have that
choice.
So, yeah, what's the view there?
John McGrath (18:42):
What do you think you kick off?
Throw us in.
Troy Malcolm (18:45):
Reappoint, always reappoint, no, always have a
chance to go back.
No, it's a fine line, right?
So you've got to firstunderstand what is the objection
or the hesitation of notcommitting.
If both decision makers or alldecision makers aren't in the
room, then that probably shouldhave been worked out before you
(19:05):
even get to the listingpresentation.
If it's something else thatthey think they're not getting
from you during the listingpresentation, then ask the
question Is there anything thatwe haven't discussed today that
you would like answered?
And normally that's set up atthe agenda as well.
But a lot of the time it comesdown to a couple of factors
whether decision makers aren'tthere, or you haven't answered a
question, or they don't havefull confidence or trust and
rapport with you instantly.
(19:26):
But a lot of that, john, as wealways say, a lot of it happens
before you even walk in the doorat the listing presentation.
It always happens in the workleading up that it makes that
decision a little bit easier.
But if you can also get achance to go back and develop a
strategy with team members, yeah, yeah, no, I agree.
John McGrath (19:45):
And I think you know up front I'll often say to
people look, troy, at the end ofthe meeting I guess there's a
couple of options.
You'll either think I'm theright agent and that'll be
awesome, we can get started, oryou'll think there's someone
better position than me, and Irespect that.
So I kind of I try and movepeople in the direction of you
know, might to now, might be thetime to make a decision, and I
(20:07):
do it subtly, I'm not trying tobeat anyone over the head, but I
just say you know, that's kindof you know where we might get
to and I totally respect troy ifyou think there's an agent
better position than me.
But if you do think that I canfulfil exactly what you're
looking for, I'm ready to go.
So I like an early positioningstatement around that.
So that's number one.
(20:29):
Two is, I think if you trialclose along the way, that is,
you keep getting you know.
So how do you feel about theauction method?
You know, what about themarketing?
Does that plan that I've puttowards you feel like it's going
to fit for you guys?
Are you happy with it?
I think if you get a few littleyeses along the way, there's a
chance that you'll get a big yesat the end, as long as you ask
it.
By the way, even if someonesaid you know we're meeting
(20:49):
another agent tomorrow, I thinkyou have absolutely the right to
say you know at the end of it,troy, how do you feel about that
?
Would you be comfortable withputting me to work?
So I think a lot of agents backoff when they hear there are
more agents to follow and thenat the end, if you know, despite
all of the above, you knowthey're saying well, look, you
know, we want to have a thinkabout it.
You know I agree with you, troy, reappoint.
(21:16):
You can say, well, look, so Iknow, and perhaps prepare best
for our meeting tomorrow.
What are the bits that you wantto think about most and then
that will offer?
Well, you know we still haven'tmade the decision to sell, or
we still don't really like theauction, or we like you, john,
but to be frank, you're twicethe price of anyone else.
At least it might give me onelast chance to try and finalise
(21:39):
a deal by reaching agreement.
So they would.
And at the end of the day, ifyou've got to wait overnight and
go to battle the next day.
You've got to.
I mean as long as you'veprepared for it, you've
positioned right, you've plantedthe seed, you've done some
trial closes, you've asked forthe business.
If they've hes, you say could Ijust I sense a bit of
hesitation troy, just, or youknow what?
(22:01):
What exactly do you want tothink about overnight, just so I
can be best prepared for whenwe speak tomorrow?
Tom Panos (22:05):
if you've done all that and you still can't get it,
just go to bed and run uptomorrow morning yeah, because I
actually think the worst thingthat you can do is get a little
bit desperate and pushy and highpressure, because at least if
(22:25):
you walk out of there and didthe right thing, you are still
in with a chance.
But if you went into high-fastmode typical agent speak not
only will you not get thelisting that day, you won't get
the listing the day after.
So that was great.
(22:47):
I love real-life scenariosbecause this is what our
listeners are doing every minuteof the day, and being able to
chat about those.
John Troy.
John McGrath (22:59):
I don't you.
80% sold, Eric.
Tommy, 80% tickets are archingtowards that wonderful last bit.
So we're now starting to closein, which is exciting.
Trade Expo, I think has sixbooths left but pretty much sold
out, and it's much bigger thisyear.
Tom Panos (23:22):
Yeah, I've explained to a few of the people with expo
at the expo stand that the it'sbeen made a lot larger this
year so there's more, morestands um there I think we've
added 20, 25, 20, 25 new boothssingles, so which could be six
quads and we've got half a dozenleft.
John McGrath (23:44):
So that's exciting that that's getting well.
Ryan Reynolds has got a newdoco.
That Netflix doco is coming outsomewhere.
I know it's out somewhere else,but someone texted me today and
said oh, this is great timing,this is going to be awesome.
No, exciting.
(24:05):
So I can to um to see all ofthem.
Brian serhant in the house fortwo days at the gold coast,
shaking hands, having selfieswith people, signing autographs.
Whatever you want him to do, Isuspect he's.
He's there because he's goingto immerse himself.
I get that feeling from him andhis team that he really wants
to make this a serious, two-dayimmersive event, which will be
good and we'll see.
Anyway, it's time for the dog'swalk, so I'd better jump off
(24:27):
and I will see you guys tomorrow.
Tom Panos (24:31):
All righty Well.
Thank you again everyone, andat the moment, troy, the
Roosters are looking good.
And listen.
There's one better feeling thanlosing right Like if you're
losing, it's terrible, but whenJohn's team's losing as well and
John's team's actuallyunderneath the Tigers and I
(24:54):
haven't seen that for a verylong time, john Someone sent me
the ladder we're not last, but Idon't think you're going to be
last for long.
I have a funny feeling you'regoing to hit above us in the
competition.
I have a funny feeling.
John McGrath (25:08):
I believe.
But I've got to say Tigers areplaying very well.
There's a whole new spirit andI've always thought Benji would
be an extraordinary coach and Ithink he's showing early and
definite signs of that.
Just to make it worse, I had afriend text me the other day
about the Rabideaus and thefriend of mine lives in England
and he said you know the blokeyou've just bought.
(25:30):
I said yeah, he said he'saverage and you've massively
overpaid for him.
So I thought that makes a badseason just get worse.
All of a sudden he's averageand massively overpaid for him.
So I thought that makes a badseason just get worse.
All of a sudden he's averageand massively overpaid.
Just thought I'd let you know,was the comment from this guy.
I said thanks very much.
Tom Panos (25:47):
Appreciate it Would have been better if he'd called
you the week before then.
John Wouldn't.
I think, Exactly All right.
We live in hope everybody Allright, We'll see you at Eric See
you next week and don't forget,get your Eric tickets.
So there's 20% left.
And if there's only 20% left,I've got to tell you it'll be a
lot less than 20% left soon,because most ticket sales seem
(26:09):
to happen this period.
So, yeah, that's right, allrighty.
Troy Malcolm (26:13):
Thank you so much, see you.
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Cold Case Files: Miami
Joyce Sapp, 76; Bryan Herrera, 16; and Laurance Webb, 32—three Miami residents whose lives were stolen in brutal, unsolved homicides. Cold Case Files: Miami follows award‑winning radio host and City of Miami Police reserve officer Enrique Santos as he partners with the department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit, determined family members, and the advocates who spend their lives fighting for justice for the victims who can no longer fight for themselves.