Vendor management
Presenting an offer well below the vendor's expectation
You have a real buyer and a number the vendor will hate.
Do this now — in this order
- 1Never present a low offer by text or email.
- 2Prepare the vendor before the meeting: 'there is an offer, and it will need a conversation'.
- 3Present the buyer, not just the number: who they are, why this home, how ready they are.
- 4Establish the buyer's proof: finance, deposit, timeline, conditions.
- 5Compare the offer to the market, not to the vendor's hope.
- 6Ask what the vendor would counter at before you offer a view.
- 7Protect the relationship with the buyer — a rejected buyer who is treated well often returns higher.
- 8Always counter. A flat rejection ends the only live negotiation you have.
What to say
Framing it
"This is below where we hoped to be. But it's a real buyer, with finance in place, who has been through twice. My job is to make sure we don't lose them — my recommendation is that we counter."
Why it works
A low offer is not an insult, it is the market's first honest data point with a signature on it. Treated as information rather than affront, it usually improves.