Negotiate Like a Pro

Whenever you are trying to buy or sell something (like a home?), you will be involved in a process called “Negotiation”.  Your Real Estate agent will hopefully be very well versed in this area, but I believe it is very useful if you also have a good understanding of the basics of negotiation so you will fully comprehend and appreciate the “how’s and why’s” of what he/she is doing.

What is a “Gambit”?

To get us started, the first term to understand is the word “Gambit”.  “Gambit” is a chess term which means, “a maneuver for advantage”. If you are familiar with the game of chess, you know that you never finish a game with all of your pieces. 

The goal of the game is not to protect all of your playing pieces, but instead you try to use your playing pieces in such a way as to gain an advantage and eventually win the game. 

Sacrificing a piece to weaken the opposing player’s defenses or to change his/her strategy is all part of the game.  There are common strategies that you can learn to help you make these decisions while the game is in process – and those strategies are known as “gambits”.

You must learn the “gambits”

To become a chess master, you must learn the “gambits” – both how to use them yourself AND what to do if they are used against you.  It is the same with negotiation.  There are well-known strategies – “gambits” – within the negotiating process.  The more familiar you are with these gambits, the more likely you’ll be able to obtain a favorable outcome for your real estate transaction.

We’ll discuss specific gambits and how they work in the following articles I post here.  But one word of clarification about how I work:  I am not out to “defeat” your buyer or seller in this process.  I always strive for what is known as a “Win-Win” solution.  I want both sides to feel good about the transaction when it is all decided.  But I don’t want the other side to feel good because you gave up too much in the process. 

You simply cannot avoid negotiating…

We’ll explore what a “Win-Win” solution looks like as we go.  But what I need you to understand is, some of what I teach you here may make you feel uncomfortable.  But you simply cannot “avoid” negotiating during this process, so I recommend that you learn how it works.  If nothing else, at least you’ll know what to do when the other side pulls these “gambits” on you.

But once you learn how all this stuff works and the reasonings behind these gambits, you will be amazed how often you’ll recognize these techniques as you go about your everyday living.  And that’s when it starts becoming fun.  If this is new to you, enjoy the ride!