How David Radney defends a 6% commission with internalized objection handlers

David Radney00:00

What agents really need to do, in my opinion, is learn how to be listing-focused. How to prospect and find opportunities, and then how to land the listing at your commission and at the right price. And that’s what my PUSH program is all about, the language that you need in order to go out and land the listings and get them to pay you your 6% commission and get them to price the property correctly.

Loida Velasquez00:41

What’s up, everyone. Welcome back to a brand new episode of Vulcan7 Coaches and Mentors. We have had so many amazing guests, so if you haven’t caught up or watched any of our previous episodes, go ahead and watch them. They are on YouTube and on our podcast. And with that being said, we have another amazing guest today, David Radney.

01:01So David, welcome to the show.

David Radney01:03

Thank you for having me.

Loida Velasquez01:06

So for everyone that’s watching that maybe is not familiar with you, go ahead and tell us a little bit about yourself.

David Radney01:12

So I live in New Jersey. I am a real estate prospecting coach, and what I do is really help agents understand the power of using scripts and how to overcome objections, and to master the listing presentation.

01:25So on my professional side, that’s what I do. I am married 22 years. I have two beautiful daughters who are 15 and 17. One’s headed to college very soon. And we have a chocolate Lab, Charlie.

Loida Velasquez01:38

Nice. Awesome. Well, I’m glad that we’re having a conversation today. Something that I wanna talk about, and I know you’re an expert at, and hopefully you can give a lot of knowledge to our agents, is regarding

01:52getting comfortable with getting uncomfortable, with the uncomfortable. We don’t know, whether it’s prospecting, who’s gonna answer. So let’s talk a little bit about that.

David Radney02:02

Yeah. So the reason why this is so important for me to talk about is because early on in my career, I had an issue with public speaking.

02:10And a lot of people get into real estate not really understanding it’s a people business, and you have to be really comfortable engaging people and talking to people, presenting in front of people. And there are so many people that join real estate, join a training company, get the training and get the know-how, but never implement and take action because it’s out of their comfort zone.

02:32And so what’s really important for me to make sure that people understand is that you’re never gonna be comfortable, right? It’s always gonna feel a little uncomfortable, and we need to really focus on getting comfortable being uncomfortable. And so, what I shared just last week, I had to present in front of leadership, and I got up there and I did a decent job, and people were like, “Great job.”

02:54And I’m like, “I want you to understand, I was a little uncomfortable being up there, but I also understand that what I have to present and what I have to talk about is extremely valuable, and if I let my discomfort keep me from getting up there, then I’m missing out on opportunities.” And I see too many agents that aren’t taking action.

03:12They’re not calling their database, people they know, because they’re uncomfortable doing that. They’re not calling for sale by owners. They drive by and they see the signs, or they’re getting the list every day from Vulcan, and they’re not calling because they’re uncomfortable having that conversation.

03:27It’s okay to be uncomfortable. What’s not okay is for you to sit back on the sidelines and not get in the game. You have to get in the game in order to have success.

Loida Velasquez03:36

Yeah, absolutely. And you know, even as you’re mentioning that, it brings me back to when I got into the business as a real estate agent. It was very uncomfortable

03:45to pick up the phone and call these expireds. And I think the big problem with agents is that we start creating all of these different scenarios in our head of what can go bad, or things that the potential client can respond, and sometimes it doesn’t even happen. Over time, as you continue to make the calls, talk to people, you start getting more comfortable and confident.

04:08So what are some steps that agents can take to start getting outside of their comfort zone and taking action?

David Radney04:17

So for me, it’s just baby steps. It’s just doing a little bit more every single day and start having these conversations. The biggest thing I would say, we all know we should be role playing and practicing our scripts, but if you really wanna get out of your comfort zone, you just need to pick up the phone and call a for sale by owner.

04:35And so what I would say is take your sales hat off. When you first call the for sale by owner, don’t make it about how great you are, how great your company is, how much money you can make them. Just get on the phone and have a human conversation. Find out why they’re selling their house. Find out what their motivation is, and really understand that motivation.

04:54And through the power of asking questions, it takes a lot of pressure off of you, because if you’re asking the questions, they’re doing all the talking. If you’re not making that call about you and needing to get your next sale, but you’re making it about what’s important to them and what their motivation is, it’s really easy for you to understand they’re not interviewing you.

05:12You’re interviewing them to find out if they’re even worth your time, if those are the people you actually wanna help. And so that can help you get out of your comfort zone, if you take your sales hat off in the beginning and just make the call and just be a human and seek to understand what they’re looking to accomplish by getting their property sold.

05:30That’s just one quick example.

Loida Velasquez05:32

Yeah, and I think along with that is coming from a place of contribution and being a problem solver.

05:37Because obviously, many times these people have some type of issue, or there’s a reason why they wanted to sell, which goes back to the motivation that you brought up.

05:46And a lot of times as agents, especially when we’re newer in the business, we’re trying to get through all of the questions in the script that we forget to listen.

David Radney05:55

Yes. And listen, motivation is the biggest thing. So a lot of people will have someone call to say, “Hey, I need to sell my house,” and they’ll drop everything and run to their home for a listing appointment, where I slow down that whole process.

06:08Why are you selling? Why is that important to you? What is that move actually gonna do for you and your family? And ultimately, once I help you get your home sold and you’re in that new house and that new location, how’s that make you feel? I need to understand that motivation because, using your words, our job is to be a problem solver.

06:27In order to solve the problem, we need to truly understand what it is first. I agree. I agree with you.

Loida Velasquez06:34

And sometimes we’re not gonna be able to solve the problem, and maybe that person shouldn’t sell, or maybe they’re thinking the price is over here when reality’s down here.

06:46And we have to also realize that we can’t just take any client or help absolutely everyone that comes our way.

David Radney06:54

No, and we shouldn’t. We shouldn’t. There are a lot of people we should turn down, and there are a lot of times we even get rejected and they don’t wanna work with us, and we have to understand sometimes that rejection is for our protection. Those aren’t clients we would’ve wanted anyhow.

07:10So the way you find that out is by asking a lot of questions and really digging deep.

Loida Velasquez07:16

Yes, absolutely. So one of the bigger issues also that I always see is agents that are ready to start prospecting, they’re ready to make calls, or so that’s what they say, and then they get a service like Vulcan7, they start getting the phone numbers, and they never pick up the phone.

07:33Or they pick it up and they’re like, “Maybe someone’s gonna yell at me. I’m not gonna do it today.” So what would you say to those agents?

David Radney07:42

I would say, I’m gonna share with you something. I go hiking every Monday, and I was listening to a podcast yesterday, and they were talking about basketball players.

07:52And it said, look at two of the top basketball players in the world, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, right? Kobe had over 33,000 points, LeBron James over 38,000 points. However, if you really dig into it, they also have the most missed shots ever. They were taking shots and they didn’t hit every shot, but because they were in the game and they were taking action, they ended up being the top in their game.

08:20And I just have to tell the agents, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. You have to get on the phone. You have to make the call. And what you have to understand, we’re not telemarketers trying to get you to extend your car service. We actually are calling because you have a need, and we can actually help you solve that problem, and we have to get on the phone and call those people and engage those people.

08:43It’s a numbers game, and it’s a contact sport. And in order for us to make it in this business, especially right now in this current market we’re in, we have to do way more contacts than we were doing before. So picking up the phone and saying, “I’m not sure if they’re gonna want to talk to me.”

08:59Listen, you already don’t have a business. What do you have to lose from calling? Call. Make the call.

Loida Velasquez09:05

Yeah. That’s exactly what I would think, too. I say, if they yell at me or if I mess up, they don’t know what I look like. I’m probably never gonna see them in my life, so just move on.

09:17And I think a lot of agents, that’s what holds them back, because they start creating these scenarios in their head. And look, at the end of the day, if you’re not making the calls, another agent with half the skill is going to set the appointment and get those commission checks. So that’s what motivated me

09:33personally to make those calls, ’cause I’m like, Joe Schmoe over there, I know I’m much better than them. I gotta make these phone calls whether I wanna do it or not.

David Radney09:42

And listen, when they yell at you and hang up on you, for me, it was like, okay, game on, because I know the average agent’s gonna take that lead and throw it in the trash.

09:50But we don’t know what people are going through. Look at what’s happening in the world right now. People have a reason to be upset and be emotional. We may just have called them on an off day. I’m not gonna throw that lead away. I’m gonna call back the next day. They’re not gonna remember me, and I’m gonna continue to call until they sell it on their own, they hire someone else, or until they hire me.

10:10So don’t give up so easily. Don’t let that “No” up front, turn that into a “Not yet.” I always say, “Instead of no, it’s not yet.” They’re just not ready yet. They’re not motivated enough. They haven’t heard the right thing from me. I haven’t asked the right questions yet. But it’s never a no until they list with someone else or they sell it themselves.

Loida Velasquez10:30

Exactly. And from my experience, what I have also noticed is that the more upset someone is, where they start going off telling you their experience, many times they’re the most motivated, because they absolutely wanted to sell.

David Radney10:43

Yep. Yep. We just need to learn how to say things like, “Tell me more about that.”

10:48We need to lean into it and be a listener and let them start talking to us. They’ll give us all the information we need to get that listing. We just have to be better listeners than talkers.

Loida Velasquez10:59

Exactly. And something that you brought up in the beginning were scripts, and obviously how to have good conversations.

11:06So obviously there’s a lot of the same questions that we ask, but what makes an agent different in terms of the script or tonality, or what would you say are some of the first things that agents have to work on to make sure that they’re having better conversations?

David Radney11:22

So for me, it’s taking the script and really internalizing the script.

11:26And so several ways to do that. Write it down several times, read it out loud, role play it. But you really wanna take that script and internalize it so you’re not thinking about what you wanna say next. You’re actually listening to the seller. And I see this as a major issue with most agents I talk to.

11:45They’re so busy thinking of how to respond to what the seller’s saying, they’re not getting the full story, and they’re missing those key components of the conversation where you can actually pull more information to help you land the opportunity with that seller. So it’s internalizing the script.

11:59That’s the most important thing. And then also practicing your objection handlers enough so that it just comes off. When they say, “Will you lower your commission?” The answer is, “No. Do you have any other questions?” You’re not afraid of that. You just know how to respond because you’ve practiced that response so much and it’s internalized.

Loida Velasquez12:19

I love how you responded right there, where you just said, “No. Do you have any other questions?” And that makes you come across very confident, and I think sometimes as agents, we get scared of saying, “Oh, no,” because we think, oh, we’re so desperate for getting that client that if we say one thing that maybe they don’t wanna hear, they’re just gonna hang up, when in reality they might just be like, “Okay, I still wanna hire you.

12:42Where do I sign?” Or, “Let’s get together.”

David Radney12:44

Absolutely. And so many times we’re negotiating against ourselves. We end up lowering the commission, and we didn’t have to, but we feel desperate. It’s something that’s called commission breath, where you feel like you have to say what they wanna hear.

12:57And if you just, “That’s 6%. Any other questions?” And you sat there in that silence for a couple minutes, most of the time, to your point, they’ll say, “Okay, where do I sign?”

Loida Velasquez13:08

Again, yeah, and again, it comes with confidence. Obviously, if someone’s stumbling, or like, “Maybe I’ll do it for five,” I mean, that’s kind of when I feel like you start losing a client, because they can sense, “Okay, you know, this agent’s kind of weak.

13:21I could probably get away with a little bit more.”

David Radney13:24

Absolutely, and I learned this, and I don’t remember who I learned it from, but I always said to people, “I don’t lower my commission. I’m a bulldog. I fight hard for my commission. Here’s the benefit of that for you. I’m gonna fight equally as hard to make sure your equity is protected, and if I can’t defend how I get paid, am I gonna do a good job defending the equity in your home?”

Loida Velasquez13:47

Yes. Yeah. I’ve had the same situations with for sale by owners where they tell me, “You know, I’m only gonna hire you for 4%.” And I say, “You know, at 4% you’re better off hiring another agent. I can’t do it for that.” And then I end up walking away, and then a month or two later they reach back out to me, because they knew I was still the best choice over all of the discount brokers that they ended up selecting.

David Radney14:08

Absolutely. And for me, I would’ve said, “What’s important to you about 4%? Why is that the number?” “Well, someone else said they would do it for four.” Well, haven’t they already showed you what type of negotiator they are? Is that the person you want handling your biggest asset, or do you want someone like me that understands my value, and I understand the value in your home as well?

Loida Velasquez14:29

Oh, these are all great. If you guys are watching this, make sure that you’re taking notes. You’re probably gonna have to rewind, ’cause the lines that David is saying, you’re gonna definitely be able to use them as you’re making these calls. So David, tell us about any coaching or programs that you have going on that agents can also get involved with.

David Radney14:45

Yeah. So my program is PUSH. It stands for Prospect Until Success Happens. I actually have my next class starting up November 2nd, and here’s what I have to say. In this current market, it’s tough being the buyer agent, especially what they’re looking at doing with the commissions. I mean, we’ve all been hearing this conversation.

15:03What agents really need to do, in my opinion, is learn how to be listing focused, how to prospect and find opportunities, and then how to land the listing at your commission and at the right price. And that’s what my PUSH program is all about, the language that you need in order to go out and land the listings and get them to pay you your 6% commission and get them to price the property correctly.

15:26So I would invite anyone to my website, which is David Radney PUSH, or you can find me on Instagram at David Radney PUSH. Check me out. I have a lot of great content that I give out for free, and if you see value there and you feel like I can help you, I’d love to talk to you about my coaching program.

Loida Velasquez15:45

Awesome, and we’ll make sure to have all of the links in the description box below. Now to wrap it up, David, what would be three things that you would have agents do right now if they’re looking to step up their game, transition from being a buyer’s agent to a listing agent in the next few months?

David Radney16:01

Well, first thing is take PUSH.

16:03It’ll train you on that. But here’s the thing I really want you to understand. If you really wanna get serious, you have to understand this is a business, and you have to learn how to time block, especially in the morning, and that’s when you should be practicing your scripts. That’s when you should be on the phone doing your lead gen and doing your follow-up. And so you need to have a system for success, and you need to have role play partners that you can go back and forth with and practice having these conversations with, because you don’t wanna practice on your paycheck.

16:30That’s what you’re doing when you get in front of a seller and you haven’t practiced with another agent. Start practicing. Sweat in practice so you don’t bleed in war, right? Practice with your role play partners. Understand the scripts. Internalize the scripts. Understand how to overcome the objections, and walk in and have confidence.

16:49And it’s okay if you’re nervous. It’s okay if you’re uncomfortable. Do it anyhow. It’s okay. Just go in there and show them who you are and what you can do. You have to believe it, though, and you believe it by taking little steps every day to get better and better. Just baby steps every day.

Loida Velasquez17:06

Awesome.

17:07There you go. So you heard it. Baby steps, and get comfortable with the uncomfortable. And you’re gonna mess up, but it’s okay. You’re gonna get better every single time, and then you’re gonna be so confident that you’re gonna get to a position, and I think you would agree, that you can turn away business and not have to work with clients that don’t value you or don’t see your worth and what you bring to the table.

David Radney17:29

I completely agree with you, but the only way you get to that point is if you’re lead genning and doing enough follow-up where you have potential business in your pipeline. If you don’t have that, you’re gonna end up taking overpriced listings and working with people you don’t wanna work with because you have nothing else going on.

17:45Shame on you if that’s the case. You have to treat this like a business. You have to prospect. That’s your one thing you should be doing every day.

Loida Velasquez17:54

Exactly. Awesome. Well, there you go. Thank you, David, once again for being on the show, for all of the valuable information that you dropped. Thank you. So davidradneypush.com is your website.

18:04Make sure everyone checks it out and gets involved with the program and anything that David has going on. So thank you, David, once again.

David Radney18:11

Thank you.