Keeping Negotiations Positive
“I’m not mad at you, I’m mad at your behavior.”
Anyone who’s ever been a social worker — or the offspring of one (me) — can relate to the above (although when you hear it at age 7, it does seem a tad bit, shall we say, “conceptual”).
Still, the comment can be useful to keep in mind during real estate negotiations, on two levels: 1) both sides are playing roles — either that of Buyer or Seller — and that it’s important to keep the identity of the individuals separate; and 2) Buyers and Sellers themselves are distinct from the agents representing them.
That last distinction can be particularly helpful in a tense negotiation: often times, what appears to be Realtor “bad behavior” — like an especially “aggressive” offer, or digging in on what seem like petty issues — is actually attributable to their client (and therefore more condonable).
