WEALTH
You probably don’t need another opinion about tariffs. So I won’t give you one.
Instead, let’s talk about something, or someone, you may not have heard of—Chris Voss. If his name doesn’t ring a bell, Chris is a former lead international hostage negotiator for the FBI. After retiring, he founded a negotiation consultancy called The Black Swan Group and authored the bestseller Never Split the Difference.
Almost a decade ago, my business coach connected with Chris, and we’ve been working with him ever since.
One of Chris’s core principles is:
“Ignore the human condition at your own peril.”
That philosophy isn’t just relevant in high-stakes, literally life or death negotiations—it applies directly to real estate. It inspired a strategy I developed and continue to refine, specifically designed to help sellers of homes that need updating make the best financial decision. Every single time. Dare I say… guaranteed?
My 5-Part Strategy for Guaranteed Results
- Remove Bias from the Equation
This all starts by “emptying my bucket,” as Chris calls it—eliminating any of my personal preferences, biases or opinions towards my client’s decision. My role is to provide complete information and empower sellers to make their best choice.
- Answer the core question—renovate or sell as-is?
Every seller asks this question. To answer confidently, they need three key inputs:
- The as-is price
- The after-renovated price
- The renovation scope and budget
Let’s start with the as-is price. Most (all?) agents will make a guess. How lazy is that? Maybe their dartboard is in the shop getting repaired? Isn’t there too much money at stake for guesswork?
Instead, I offer a strategic—and proven—approach:
Purposefully list the home below market expectations to attract buyer attention to create competition. Instead of buyers analyzing market data such as recently sold comparable homes, this strategy causes competition so the most interested buyers bid against one another, revealing the home’s true as-is value. No guessing. Real data and an offer a seller can sign, if they choose to do so.
Results? This strategy consistently delivers. Last month, using this strategy, a client received 12 offers and sent strategic counter offers to 8 of them. The results were:
Anticipated as-is price – Low $900,000s
Listing price: $874,900
Offers received: 5 offers a little below and above $950,000, 1 offer at $967,000 and the winning offer was $987,000
- Develop a Strategic Renovation Plan
In collaboration with my designer and contractors, we create a detailed renovation scope of work with a fixed budget, focusing on improvements and materials that deliver the highest expected return without over-improving the property.
- 4. Estimate the after-renovated value
Here’s the one place an educated guess is needed. Though, it’s a solid one—because there are usually more renovated comparable home sales available, allowing for a much tighter range of projected value.
- Empower the Decision — with clarity
Armed with concrete figures – guaranteed as-is value with an offer in hand, detailed renovation costs, and projected after-renovation value, my clients are positioned to make an informed, confident decision regarding which option will best address their risk tolerance and maximize their return on investment.
This process isn’t about persuasion. It’s about empowering people with clear, actionable data to make the best choice for their circumstances.
Isn’t that what good advising is all about?
WISDOM
In our fast-paced lives, we all face the same fundamental challenge: How do we stay centered and consistently align our daily actions with our deeper principles and values?
As part of my daily morning practice, I read four daily passages from Ryan Holiday’s Daily Dad and Daily Stoic books and emails. These brief readings ground me before the day’s whirlwind begins.
To reinforce these principles throughout my day, I’ve created five posters featuring quotes from Stoic philosophers. These posters hang in my office as visual reminders of how I want to show up both in business and in life.
Over this and the next four communications, I’ll share each of these posters. Maybe one will resonate with you.
“You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.” – Marcus Aurelius.
Yes, it’s heavy. It was the very first quote I ever turned into a poster.
You might find it morbid. I can’t remember exactly what I felt the first time I read it, but now, I find the reminder grounding.
I could leave life right now. Right as I’m typing this sentence. Or this one.
Rather than being depressing, this awareness makes me think:
How do I want to live?
What do I want to say, and how do I want to say it?
What kind of thoughts do I want to entertain?
It’s a simple and powerful call for me to be intentional. To live fully. To squeeze what is possible out of each day. To never “kill” time.
Lately, I’ve been attempting to build the habit of applying a filter to my decisions:
Would the greatest version of myself—whether as a parent, friend, real estate agent—do what I’m about to do or think what I’m about to think?
It’s so easy to get caught up in distraction. In comparing. In regrets. In scrolling social media. In what I don’t have.
Being reminded that life isn’t guaranteed—even for another hour— brings me a kind of clarity, gratitude and presence. Most of all, responsibility.
Recently, Sandra, Halston and I finished watching a 7-season series. In one of the final episodes, a father says goodbye to his family as he heads off to work. Coffee in hand. Just another day.
But he never comes home.
He dies of a heart attack at work.
One of his children replays that goodbye over and over, imagining what he could have said or done differently if he had known it would be the last time.
It hit me. Yup, I cried.
Maybe this discomfort is why so many people avoid creating a trust. Facing mortality is not easy. It’s not fun. It is real.
All of that—this entire reflection— sparked by one sentence.
One line Marcus Aurelius wrote as a reminder to himself. Likely late at night, by himself, by candlelight. Nearly 2,000 years ago.
And yet, it still holds the power to wake me up today.
WELLNESS
Sharing a mindset podcast this month. Have you heard of Michael Singer? He’s written 3 books and has a great deal of podcasts and content on YouTube. His works have a common theme. His consistency is so helpful since sometimes it takes me hearing something many times before it sinks in. Sometimes it’s hearing it in a slightly different way. It makes me also think of saying “you can’t walk in the same river 2 times.”
This podcast is entitled “Above the Line: The Path to True Awareness and Freedom.” His work has taught me so much about letting go and surrender.
Thank you for reading! Always interested in discussing anything shared, and appreciate your feedback and thoughts.