How do you handle "Your commission is too high — the agent down the road will do it for less."?

The vendor cannot see a difference between you and the cheaper agent, so price is the only lever left to pull. Acknowledge without flinching. The moment you get defensive you confirm the fee is negotiable. Separate fee from net result: the question is not what you charge, it's what the vendor banks at settlement. Show the mechanism — what your process does that produces a higher sale price or a shorter campaign. Give the vendor a genuine choice between two service levels rather than a discount on one.

How do you handle "We're not dropping the price. We'll just wait for the right buyer."?

The vendor is protecting a number that is tied to a plan — the next purchase, the debt, or their sense of what the home is worth to them. Lead with the data the buyers are giving you, not your opinion: groups through, second inspections, offers, comparable sales since launch. Name the cost of waiting in plain terms — days on market, buyer perception, carrying costs. Reframe the reduction as a repositioning to reach the next band of buyers who have never seen the home. Ask for a decision on a specific number and a specific date, not 'a think about it'.

How do you handle "We just want to think about it before we sign anything."?

There is usually one unspoken concern — a partner not in the room, a competing agent, or a term in the agreement they don't understand. Welcome the pause. Pressure at this point converts a soft yes into a hard no. Isolate: ask what specifically they want to think about. Answer that one thing properly, then confirm whether anything else is outstanding. Agree the next contact — a time, not 'sometime this week'.

How do you handle "We're already talking to another agent."?

They are testing whether you will badmouth a competitor. Most agents fail here in the first sentence. Say something genuinely positive or neutral about the other agent. Position yourself as a second opinion, not a replacement — a comparison costs the vendor nothing. Offer one specific, useful thing they will not get from a standard appraisal. Leave the door open with a low-commitment next step.

How do you handle "Why should I pay for a building and pest report before I've even made an offer?"?

The buyer is trying not to spend money on a property they may not get. It is a rational fear, not an unreasonable one. Validate the cost concern out loud. Explain what the report buys them in the negotiation, not just in risk terms. Set out their options honestly, including the conditional route where it's available. Never advise on contract terms — send them to their solicitor or conveyancer.

How do you handle "I'll offer $80,000 under. That's my best and final."?

Often an anchoring move, sometimes a genuine ceiling. You cannot tell which until you understand how they arrived at the number. Thank them for a written offer and treat it seriously — every offer goes to the vendor. Ask how they arrived at the figure. The reasoning tells you whether there is room. Give the market context without arguing: recent settled sales, current buyer depth. Present terms as a second lever — settlement, deposit, conditions — when price is genuinely fixed.

How do you handle "You're putting the rent up again? I've never missed a payment."?

The tenant hears the increase as a judgement on them. It is usually a market and cost adjustment they have no visibility of. Separate the person from the decision immediately — their tenancy record is not in question. Explain the basis: comparable rents, the owner's costs, and the notice requirements in your state. Confirm the process and dates precisely, in writing, to the standard your state's tenancy legislation requires. Where the increase creates hardship, explain what options exist rather than shutting the conversation down.

How do you handle "I'm not spending $4,000 on that. The tenant can live with it."?

The owner is looking at a bill in isolation, not at vacancy risk, tenant retention, or their obligations as a lessor. Establish whether the item is a repair obligation or an improvement — they are treated very differently. For obligations, be direct about what the legislation requires and what happens if it isn't met. For improvements, build the commercial case: retention, re-let time, achievable rent. Give the owner a decision with quotes attached, not an open-ended problem.

Objection library · 14 conversations · Rehearsable live

Objection handlingyou can actually practise.

Reading a script does not change what comes out of your mouth when a vendor pushes back on your fee. This is the objection library Australian agents hit weekly — the framework, the language, and an AI role-play partner who pushes back the way the real client does.

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Two free role-plays · No card required

Every objection, four moves.

The wording changes. The structure does not. Learn the four moves and you stop memorising responses to individual objections.

Acknowledge

Let it land. The agent who argues in the first sentence has already told the client they are not being listened to.

Isolate

Is this the only thing, or the first thing? Answering objection one while objection two is still hidden wastes the conversation.

Evidence

Answer with market data, comparable sales or process — something the client can verify. Opinion is not persuasion.

Advance

Close on a specific next step with a date on it. 'Have a think about it' is where listings go to die.

The objection library

Written in the words clients use, not the sanitised version in the textbook. Open one to see what's underneath it and how to answer.

What's really going on

The vendor cannot see a difference between you and the cheaper agent, so price is the only lever left to pull.

The move

1Acknowledge without flinching. The moment you get defensive you confirm the fee is negotiable.
2Separate fee from net result: the question is not what you charge, it's what the vendor banks at settlement.
3Show the mechanism — what your process does that produces a higher sale price or a shorter campaign.
4Give the vendor a genuine choice between two service levels rather than a discount on one.

Example language

"Happy to talk about the fee — but can I put it in context first? On the last four homes like yours, the gap between the highest and lowest sale price was about $60,000. My fee difference to the other agent is around $4,000. I'd rather show you how I go after that $60,000, and then you can decide whether the $4,000 is worth it."

AvoidDropping the fee inside the first 60 seconds. If your fee falls the moment it's questioned, you have just demonstrated exactly how you will handle a buyer negotiating on the vendor's price.

Rehearse: The Two-Agent Listing Presentation

Reading it isn'trehearsing it.

Every agent who has ever lost a listing on fee knew the theory. The gap is between knowing the answer and producing it out loud while a vendor is watching you.

Our role-play partner plays the client — guarded, emotional, sceptical, occasionally unfair — then grades the transcript against the objectives for that conversation and tells you exactly where you lost them.

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Text or live voice

Type it, or actually say it out loud on a live voice call. The second one is where the improvement happens.

Graded, not flattered

Scored against the objectives for that conversation — empathy, evidence, and whether you actually closed on a next step.

Built on real files

Every scenario is drawn from Australian campaigns: real numbers, real timelines, real vendor psychology.

Handle the next onebetter than the last one.

Two free role-plays, no card. Then pick the discipline you work in and train the whole conversation set.

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