The 7 Elements of Negotiation with Bryan Rodriguez
At the HyperFast Agent Wealth Summit in Boca Raton in February 2022, Bryan Rodriguez shared his story about his rocky start after transitioning to commercial real estate and then landing his first major deal. This presentation was recorded for Episode 339 of the HyperFast Agent podcast.
Bryan prepped the audience with building a mindset of believing you are going to be victorious. Quoting Zig Ziglar, he said, “Confidence is going after Moby Dick in a row boat and taking the tartar sauce with you.”
After failing miserably in his first attempt, Bryan finally got a chance to reel in a big whale. He got a $25 million dollar deal under contract – for 500 units. He agreed to a 4% commission. Closing this deal would mean $1 million in commission for Bryan.
However, as most agents know, getting a deal under contract is just the first step. And along the way to closing this deal, his client experienced many challenges including costly government regulations.
“When you convert a hotel, or when you do some major development, the city is always going to provide their review,” said Bryan. “It could be called a development review. But each department has a chance to say something. And in this case, the Parks and Recreation had a chance to give their two cents and their two cents actually turned into almost $700,000.”
During the process of closing the deal, Bryan also contracted COVID and was sick for two months, quarantined in his home during much of that time – and unable to be very productive. But he had built a relationship with the seller, who called him and expressed his empathy and told Bryan that they were going to continue to move forward.
“And he continued it and actually made a deal happen with the buyer,” said Bryan.
Then, just hours before closing, the seller informed him that he had made a deal to help the buyer make up for that $700,000 imposed by the city. He asked Bryan if he could reduce his commission from 4 percent to 3 percent. This meant that while Bryan would still get $750,000 in commission, he would lose out on the additional $250,000 that he thought he would be earning.
Bryan didn’t want to lose the deal, but he gave our audience a lesson in a tactic he used. He told the seller that he would reduce his commission to show them he was committed to them, but he also asked his client to assure him they were also committed to him for the future.
“And so he was able to give about two to three properties” for future deals, said Bryan.
Bryan conveyed to our audience the “Seven Element Preparation Tool,” which includes:
“The more you understand their interest, the more you understand their purpose, which will lead to options because you can start creating options for them,” said Bryan. “And options are so important, because you can get creative.”
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Moving ahead to the fifth element, “commitments,” Bryan said how “in real estate, a contract is literally a commitment. So it's actually natural in real estate to get into negotiations and commitments. The first thing people really want to hear in commitments is earnest money. And when you start getting into these bigger deals, it's all about can you put money now?”
For Bryan, the most important of these seven elements is relationships.
“Relationships are based on trust. But then, what's trust based on? Trust is based on: how good are you listening? Are you good at your job? And do you care?”
To this point, Bryan also added that “when you get a chance to meet someone, make sure you always break bread, but make sure you deliver legitimacy of who you are, make sure they know your story. But most importantly, you have to know everything about them. I take that very seriously when you get into key leader engagements, because they know that you'll care.”
Communication is how you continue the relationship you’ve built. Bryan believes the three most effective ways you communicate are being consistent in who you are, being refreshing, and being disciplined.
“You never want to be complacent,” says Bryan.
To view or listen to the full presentation by Bryan Rodriguez, check out episode 339 of the HyperFast Agent podcast available now!
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