To buy better deals, you need to learn sales skills

As a real estate wholesaler or flipper, you need to score great deals when buying. You’ve heard it before: “You make money when you buy.” And you do that by gaining instant equity, paying less than market value. 

We talk all the time about marketing strategies, and they’re important. But today we’re focusing on your sales skills. Specifically, how to master the human interactions needed to put properties under contract far below their market value. 

Build Rapport Before Anything Else

Your first goal is to build trust. Sellers don’t want to work with a jerk or a robot — they want to work with someone who understands and sympathizes with them. 

In fact, many accept the offer from the investor they like and trust most, even if the price is slightly lower than competing offers.

The best salespeople ask probing questions and listen with compassion instead of rushing into a sale. Ask personal questions, listen attentively, and mirror their communication style.

Get a pulse on what kind of seller they are. Are they more analytical, focused on the numbers and timeline? Do they rush to the point quickly? 

Or are they more relationship-oriented, preferring to take their time to get to know you? 

If you want to close more deals, you need to take the approach they want, rather than what you prefer. Often, that means remaining patient, asking them to share more of their story, and telling more of your own story. 

As a final way to build trust, point to past seller reviews and testimonials. More on collecting those shortly. 

Uncover the Seller’s True Motivation

When a normal homeowner wants to sell, they list their house on the MLS with a Realtor. 

You aren’t targeting “normal” homeowners. You’re targeting motivated sellers — typically those who need rather than want to sell their homes. 

Even so, don’t make the mistake of thinking every seller has the same goals and priorities. 

With these sellers, price is rarely the real issue. It matters, of course. But just as powerful motivations include financial distress, time constraints, or emotional concerns.

For example, they could be in foreclosure or tax sale. If they’re a landlord, they could be cash flow-negative, losing money on the property every month. Or perhaps their parents just died in the house, and they’d rather not have to clean it out, update it, and list it on the market. 

Sellers typically fall into one of four motivation categories: physical (e.g., health-related), financial, emotional, or spiritual. Identifying their motivation early will help you craft a compelling offer.

Ask Open-Ended Questions

To uncover a seller’s motivations, ask gentle but direct questions until you think you’ve reached the heart of the issue. 

Don’t ask “Why are you selling?” Instead, ask “Why is now the right time to sell your property?”

You also want to dig into why they’re talking to you, even if they have several competing offers already. Ask them, “What’s missing from any other offers you’re looking at that you would like to see?” This cuts to the heart of the matter and reveals how to structure a winning offer.

If they insist on discussing price before you’re ready to, try asking them a simple question: “This is not our offer, but other investors are paying around $X–$Y for similar properties. How does that compare to your expectations?” That also serves as a low price anchor for later negotiations. 

Professionalize Your Real Estate Business

Professional athletes don’t duct tape their shoes together. So why are you trying to duct tape your real estate business together?

If you want to earn profits like a professional real estate investor, use the tools your pro competitors are using. That starts with marketing and accounting tools like REsimpli. 

Don’t take our word for it. Try it out for yourself with a 30-day free trial. 

We look forward to hearing your feedback and successes after your first month running with the big dogs.

Stay Flexible in Crafting Your Offer

You already know that many sellers need or want to sell fast, and that speed matters. Make sure you can offer them that by building relationships with lenders and title companies before you start making offers. 

But flexibility goes far beyond speed to closing. To win their contract, you need to meet their unique needs, whatever they are. 

Position Yourself as a Problem Solver

Many sellers don’t know what options are available to them. You can explain those options as a kind and caring advisor.

Imagine a seller insists they just want the highest price offer. You could respond, “In that case, I’m happy to refer you to an excellent real estate agent. Here’s what that process looks like.” 

From there, you can explain that the Realtor will likely ask them to remove some of their belongings, make updates to the house, vacate it during showings, and so forth. It might take months before they get offers or close — if it happens at all. 

That lays the groundwork for you to explain other options. “As an investor, I can close next week with a cash offer. It may not be as high as what a homeowner might pay, but it’s a lot faster and more certain.”

But don’t stop there. Explore other options with them as well, such as seller-leasebacks, owner financing, subject-to-deals, or simply letting them continue living in the property as a renter until they find a new home. 

Many Distressed Sellers Want to Stay in Their Home

Owners in financial distress, such as foreclosure or tax, often want to keep their homes at nearly any cost. Make sure you ask specifically about that motivation, because many of your competitors just jump to cash offers. 

Ask questions like “If we could find a way for you to keep living in your home, how would you feel about that?” That kind of question invites the seller to explore the options with you, and reinforces you as an advisor who’s on their side. 

Seller-leasebacks work particularly well for these types of owners. If the worst happens and they default, you can file for eviction, but the seller could alternatively buy the property back from you for a premium. 

Offer to Limit or Waive Inspections

Part of what you’re pitching is certainty: a fast, concrete sale date. 

So, offer to waive the home inspection and financing contingency clauses. 

Savvy investors can still leave themselves other escape routes from the contract if they discover a nasty surprise at the property. For example, you could include title review clauses that leave you an “out” if you need it. 

Waiving the more traditional “backout” clauses helps establish trust, which is exactly what you need to do to close the deal. 

Negotiate Like a Pro

If the seller does want to stay in the home and you arrange a seller-leaseback, aim to pay no more than their mortgage payoff. That should ideally be far less than the property is worth. 

But if you do arrange a more traditional sale where they surrender the property to you, follow these negotiation tips. 

Ask About Loans & Liens Early

Long before you discuss offer terms, when you’re still gathering information, ask the owner about their mortgage loans and any other liens against the property. 

That helps you estimate equity in the home early and know how far down the seller can go. 

Negotiate with All Decision-Makers

If multiple people own the property, such as a married couple, sit down with both of them to discuss terms. 

Otherwise, you’re effectively putting one owner in the position of representing you to the other owner. And they inevitably will do a worse job of it than you could. 

You also want to be able to quell concerns and objections on the spot, with both owners present. 

Focus on the Seller’s Problems

You invested time asking probing questions about the owner’s true motivations for selling the property. Now lean into those motivations.

Ask questions such as “If I can stop the foreclosure and keep you in your home, are you interested in discussing a few ways we could do that?” 

Alternatively: “If I can get you cash-in-hand at the closing table next week, and clean out your parents’ home myself so you don’t have to go inside again, would that make an offer more appealing?” 

Meet the seller where they are, centering around their biggest problems or concerns.  

Use a Two-Step Pricing Approach

When you’re ready to talk about price, start by asking, “What’s the price you’re hoping for?”

Hear them out, then follow up by asking, “If I were to pay cash and close quickly, what would be the lowest you’d accept?”

That lets them do the first round of price cuts for you. From there, you can press the price downward even further. 

Provide Cash Comps for Price-Fixated Sellers

If a seller seems willing to work with you but they won’t come down on price to where you need it, show them cash comps. 

Say something like “The comps you’re referencing are retail comps. They were sold to a homebuyer borrowing a conventional mortgage, after sitting on the market for a while, going through inspections, and negotiating seller repairs. You can absolutely take that path, and after making the repairs and marketing the house, maybe you could get into that price range.

“But that’s not the kind of transaction I do. I buy properties for cash, as-is, and I often waive inspections — no seller repairs required. Here are some comps in the area from other cash purchases from investors like me, who take on all the repairs.” 

Address Tenant-Occupied Properties

Sometimes you’ll encounter landlords looking to sell a rental property fast, but they’re often reluctant to remove the tenants before selling. 

If you’re comfortable with the eviction process or keeping the property until their lease expires, you can still buy the property. But negotiate a price reduction for your trouble. 

Explain how buying an occupied property will affect your purchase offer. Leave them the choice between selling the property occupied (at a discount) or removing the renters themselves. 

Patience Wins Negotiations

Desperation for a deal creates a weak negotiating position. 

If an owner isn’t ready to come down on price yet, stay patient and professional. Tell them that you understand they aren’t ready to make a decision yet, and that you’re happy to talk through the different options available to them at any time. 

Then put them on a drip campaign to follow up with them. Use REsimpli’s CRM to create customized drip campaigns to follow up by email, phone, text, or direct mail. 

Investors who maintain communication with sellers often secure deals at better prices when competing offers fall through. Often, you win deals through patient, persistent follow-up, not the first offer.

Get Seller Reviews

At the closing table, strike while the iron is hot to collect a review from them. 

Find a moment to ask the seller to write a review on Google or TrustPilot or another independent review platform. Make it easy for them by texting them the link to exactly where they can leave a review — no further clicks required. 

Better yet, ask them if they’re willing to record a quick video testimonial on the spot. Often, they’ll do it for free right then and there.  

If you miss your opportunity at the closing table, text them afterward with the link. Offer them a $25-50 gift card for a review, or $150-250 for a glowing video testimonial. 

Tying It Together

Sellers want to work with buyers whom they like and trust, buyers who show them empathy and understanding. 

You need to become that buyer. 

When you negotiate, stay friendly but firm throughout. Some sellers might get angry or emotional at the thought of selling their home for less than they feel it’s worth. Keep calm and professional, and work through the negotiation process outlined above. 

Lastly, use a CRM like REsimpli to automate your follow-up with leads. You can double or triple your deals simply by staying patient and continuing to follow up with leads after the initial rejection. 

Sign up for a 30-day trial to start closing more deals immediately, rather than waiting on the sidelines for deals to come to you.