In this Q&A Thursday clip, Chris Prefontaine and Brian Bracey lead a candid discussion with community members about effective communication with real‑estate sellers. They critique the common focus on down‑payment demands, emphasizing that sellers’ motivations, timelines, and contingencies (the "why, when, what‑if") should drive the conversation. Brian shares a real call example where he ignored a seller’s 20% down‑payment request, instead probing the seller’s need to move and uncovering that the seller was not motivated beyond cash, labeling such a seller as a "retail seller." Chris reinforces the importance of continual follow‑up, noting that life events can shift a seller’s position over time. The group also discusses the value of live role‑playing, confidence building, and shedding scripted mindsets to adopt a cash‑buyer perspective that uncovers the seller’s true goals. Throughout, the tone is conversational, supportive, and instructional, with participants acknowledging vulnerability and the need for practice.
Chapters
Okay, welcome to another Q&A Thursday. I wanted to show you guys, I've been doing this lately as I go through my High 6 calls. This is a special group. They're super, super over-the-top committed, and when we do the weekly call, sometimes we'll get into this micro-conversation that I say, okay, now that's not private, and that's something we can share with the Wicked Smart community, because sometimes there's some very vulnerable moments in our calls. And I, I wouldn't share that with anyone. This call you're going to hear is just a little bit about how to talk to sellers and how to get better about that. And of course, you don't have the, the luxury of knowing what took place before and after this conversation, but I think you'll find some nuggets in this. And that's the only time I share it, when I think that you're going to grab some nuggets so you can get better and talk to sellers and get more deals. Because if you get more deals, I don't care if you get one a year from a nugget On the three different playlists: Q&A Thursday, Motivational Monday, Deal Structure Sunday. One deal with three paydays in our community. Generally speaking, those range forty-ish grand to two hundred fifty grand. That's a big deal. Enjoy this clip. Let's give these guys context. We did some live role playing even, so if it comes to that with this, it'll be great. But I think I think Morris started it out, and then a couple other people chimed in that they were just too caught up in how much the down payment or How much money they need down, all these other things versus do you actually have to sell them? So if you want to give more context to that, Brian.
Yeah. And Morris, he did bring it up because he had the call with Peter Taunton because he's chairman. And Peter told him, he said, hey, don't let it go. Don't let it go. Just because they say they want 20% down, it doesn't mean that— dig deeper. You don't have to let it go. Stay with them. You can usually, if you continue to dig at their problem, Then you can uncover to see if there's something you can help them with. And I, you know what the response that I had given was? Once we hear that, like, hey, I need 20% down, or I need $100,000, whatever it is, we feel like we have to react to that. Again, this is such a great, you know, intention versus important versus urgent. You don't have to respond to that. You don't have to give them an answer. And the, the, the example I had given, I actually put it on the scripts channel. Someone I was talking to, a seller yesterday who said he wanted 20% down. And I asked the guy and I said, hey, do you need to move? Do you need to leave your house?
So you didn't address the 20% at all?
Didn't even acknowledge it. And then later in the call, I told him, hey, look, I'm probably not your buyer. I can't do that. Because then he told me what he needed to do. He says— and I said, well, what are you gonna do if you don't get that? He says, well, we'll probably just stay in the house. I said, well, I'm not your guy then. I'm not gonna force you to leave. I said that to him, you know. I said because he's looking for me to solve the money problem. Like we don't have to solve the money problem. I just saw the real estate. The real estate is in the way of their them trying to get over here. But if they're not going to go there, then this is just a moot point. So you really have to have an understanding of what they're trying to do, and then the dollars and cents is always secondary. Always. If if if it becomes like the primary focus of the seller, in my opinion, and Chris, you might. you know, want to chime in here, that they're just not motivated. They're only motivated by dollars, and that's a retail seller.
Oh no, I agree 100%. That's why I think the, the why are you selling, by when, and what if it doesn't, and you nailed them there, is critical. Uh, and it's not out of the question that— I think Paul Delore brought up a call he had with a guy that has 2 houses on one lot, and he wants all the money because he thinks it's a development opportunity. I said just call him in 6 months, see if it's around, like, and all the things Brian told with this stuff. Um, so yeah, it's a, it's a let sit. Because one thing I didn't say in the last call, Brian, these people that— like the guy that you talked to— in time, especially in real estate, over time things change. Like people get sick, people get divorced, um, jobs change, you know. So, so the whole thing could get turned upside down and it's a different call next time you call. That's why I check back with people until they tell me not to.
Yep, yep, totally.
That's all, that's all I would add.
Yeah, I have a hard time, you know, responding that directly. Kind of like, I mean, what you're saying, Brian, sounds really good, but I have a hard time responding that directly because I feel like I come across as kind of an asshole, you know, whenever I respond that way. And so maybe it just comes with practice and, you know, not, not really trying to push as hard, but just really kind of more of an honest conversation. What What are your thoughts on that?
Well, it comes more— so that's 100% correct. Like, this is something you gotta— you also have to get out of your own head, all right? So, yeah, again, you're projecting on how you come across. I've listened to your calls. I don't think that, uh, Hoopengarner does the same thing. He projects onto the conversation, well, the seller's not gonna like this. The seller's— you don't know. You don't know what the seller's thinking, right? So you just have to kind of disarm the seller and remove that If you're leading with that, like you're thinking the seller's not going to like this or they're not going to appreciate this, I mean, you're going to get them even started. You just got to get that out of your head and just try to uncover what it is that they're trying to do. And I think in the call I had said, you got to forget what you know. Forget that you know about lease purchase. Forget that you know about our buyer process. Just forget all that stuff. Pretend you're a cash buyer. Just figure out what they're trying to do. Because what happens is in these phone calls, and I made the same mistake, all right, I couldn't wait for them to stop talking so I could tell them about a lease purchase. I couldn't wait for them to ask me about what we do with the house so I could tell them about the buyers. That doesn't help them. That doesn't help them. You have to understand what they're doing, what they need to do. What are you trying to accomplish? What's your goal here? Where do you need to go? That's why we say why, where, when.
Do.
That's all you need to focus on. The number, the math is just secondary.
Um, Bracey, question. Agree 100 million percent as always. Um, couple questions. So, uh, confidence and that, you know, just the reps, getting, getting more times at bat.
Do you—
have you role-played live with people yet in the community? Anyone?
No, admittedly, that's something I would like to do more. I need to do that.
Yeah, because when we do, I remember doing it ad nauseam when I started back. This is way back, um, but we, we would just do 2 minutes of affirmations, like a couple each, and then just dive right into ring ring. Like, there was no kibitzin and social and this and that. It was, it was a hardcore, like, like a practice. Like, if you read any sports books, every single— I won't even single anyone out— all the athletes say the game is like kind of not a joke, but it's easy because they practice extremely hard.
Yeah.
So when you role play, And you go, hey Brian, ask me like 5 questions. No seller is going to ask you 5 questions or objections, whatever you want. I call them questions. No seller is going to do that. They'll ask you 1 or 2, and you know what the 10 are that you might get asked. So if you say, Brian, hit me with like 5 of them this week in 1 call, and you practice the crap out of those, and then he doesn't like it, he goes, let's do it again, and you just keep scripting that, you can't wait for them to say something stupid on the phone themselves. You just like, come on, I, I I'm ready. And that's when they don't, 'cause your confidence is different.
