Do you really have top-notch negotiating skills, or just think you do? Take our quiz to find out.

1. If a seller disagrees with what you point out as flaws of the property, you:

A. Listen to their case, and bring up your points again
B. Agree with the seller
C. Yell at them that they are wrong
D. Make a mental note to bring up what to do about the flaws at a later date

2. When it comes to concessions, you usually:

A. Avoid negotiating entirely by asking the other party to name a price so you can say yes or no
B. Concede in small, irregular increments
C. Negotiate in equal-sized concessions

3. If a client has just one gripe with an otherwise perfect property, how do you handle the situation?

A. Talk to them to clarify the true source of their objection
B. Ignore them
C. Provide them with statistics that go against their objection about the property
D. Agree with them

4. When your client gets multiple offers, you should advise your client to:

A. Tell the buyer to hold all offers for a week in the hopes of getting a better price
B. Make counteroffers to all buyers and tell them that whoever responds fastest can buy the house
C. Consider offers in the order that they were received and registered
D. Keep all the buyers guessing so they won’t withdraw their offers

5. How do you present a client’s counteroffer?

A. Tell them that this is as high your client will pay/as low as your client is willing to accept
B. Focus on points of agreement between the parties
C. Create urgency by reminding buyers that other people will be viewing the house
D. All of the above

6. How should you handle an emotional client during a negotiation?

A. Let him/her have the outburst
B. Use the outburst as a negotiating tool to get the other side to make a concession
C. Tell the client to control him/herself
D. Speak calmly to the client and nod in agreement until the client regains control

7. If negotiations are lengthy, you usually:

A. Give the other agent a deadline when you want negotiations to stop
B. Keep negotiating and talking with your client – he/she could get even more concessions
C. Focus on other clients and their business while waiting to hear back from the other agent

8. If your seller client wants to take the first offer they get – nowhere near list price – you:

A. Agree they should take it – saves you the time of negotiating!
B. Provide them with enough information to negotiate because it’s only the first offer they’ve received
C. Yell at them that they should negotiate – nowhere near list price? Come on!

Answer Key 

1. A. You must set expectations with your client, whether buyer or seller. Try your best to reason with your seller if they aren’t listening to you.
2. B. This will keep the other party pushing until you absolutely reach the middle, nothing more, nothing  less; and saying yes or no to one price is not negotiating.
3. A. If it’s perfect except for one thing, see what you can negotiate that will lessen the gripe for your client and what the other party will do to help alleviate it.
4. C. Considering offers in the order received is fair to all parties, and makes sure sellers won’t inadvertently accept more than one offer.
5. B. Pointing out where the two offers agree will help buyers feel less defensive about the counteroffer and refocus on the limited number of terms where they might need to make a concession.
6. D. As a professional, always try to keep your client’s emotions under control and the tone of the negotiation professional.
7. B. A negotiation has no deadline! The longer it goes on, the more concessions you could get your client – so don’t stop just because it’s been going on for a long time!
8. B. No need to yell at them, just provide them with enough information to negotiate for more concessions.