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Lee Woodward, The Highway Concept


Lee Woodward, The Highway Concept

Coaching Tips with Lee Woodward CEO Real Estate Academy

Dealing with a vendor who has not been offered their preferred price is hard enough, but trying to convince someone to lower their price below the amount they paid for the property themselves is a task agents don’t want to face too often. Real Estate Academy founder and CEO Lee Woodward breaks down this scenario in his role play of ‘The Highway Concept’, likening the situation to driving along the highway, about to run out of fuel and wondering whether to take the safe exit, or to take a chance and keep going.

In this scenario, Lee has asked his vendor, Don, to drop $40,000 from his asking price, which had been set at $480,000. Don bought the property a year ago, and paid $495,000.

Lee uses key phrases to put his point strongly but compassionately, so as not to alienate the vendor, but to get him to understand the situation from another point of view.

“Don, I don’t want you to put it on for $440,000, I need you to put it on for $440,000 to get it sold,” Lee explains.

“Your reasons for selling it are your reasons for selling,” he says, while explaining people usually keep property for longer than a year before selling it on.

“I can’t change what’s happened…but I’m engaged to get the property sold and with all the work we’ve done, if you want the property sold, that is where we’re going to see some activity in the marketplace, because I’ve traced right back from $490,000 right through to $440,000.”

As reasons for dropping the house by $40,000, Lee explains every enquiry he has had regarding the property has ended with buyers saying they have found better value elsewhere, and he asks whether it really needs to be sold. “If you can hang on to it, hang on to it, but if you want me to sell it I’m saying that’s where it needs to be at this time.”

This is when the ‘Highway Concept’ comes into play. “We’re driving along; you and I are in this car together and you’re asking me questions, I’m giving you guidance, but your fuel light’s just come on, meaning we need to take drastic action – we’ve got to fill up the tank. And in this case, that action means to sell this property,” Lee said.

“We’re coming up to an exit and the exit says ‘$440,000’ and I’m saying to you I think we should take this exit because if we keep on going and run out of juice we might not make the next exit…The next exit is a long way away – it’s called $390,000 and then we’re in real trouble and I can’t leave you stranded on the highway. I’m saying we take this exit. Otherwise we go your direction and we keep on going, but if we keep on going, Don, you must bear that risk – you’re not taking my advice otherwise.”

Faced with these facts, Don agrees to the price reduction, but is determined he will get no less than $440,000 for the property, something Lee explains is not set in stone.

“I’ve still got to find the service station; I’ve got to find you a buyer and when that buyer comes forward, they’ll make an offer; they may pay your price,” the role play continues.

“We don’t know until we get to that point, but that’s a conversation you and I will have in another couple of weeks time, but now you give me permission to reach a completely different marketplace and that’s what we need to do and I look forward to getting started on that,” Lee said.

The scenario ends with Lee explaining he can give advice but Don does not have to take it, while warning him that not acting now could mean having to accept even less for the property down the track.

This is always going to be a difficult conversation to have with a vendor, however using an analogy like the ‘Highway Concept’ makes the vendor consider the issue from a more logical angle, rather than allowing their emotions and frustration at events not going their way to take over.


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Lee Woodward, The Highway Concept