Can you see how to find out what they value now, and how people's values may change over time. Once you work out what they value, you can make an offer that you know will be accepted. Guess who has joined us. Lawrence, thank you for coming along. You're most welcome. So, today I'm going to ask Lawrence about where he lives currently because I would like to find out why he chose where he chose. So Lawrence, can you tell me what was important to you about where you are living right now? In fact, actually, where are you living right now? I'm living in Balmain, Sydney. Balmain in Sydney. Okay, great. What was important to you when you were looking for a place to live? We did look around for while. I think how we finally settled on Balmain is whether is easier to get to uni. Okay. So it had to be accessible to university, is that right? It's right. So location was important? Absolutely. Okay. Now if you look at location, could it have been anywhere that was close to uni, or was Balmain particularly important for you? Yeah, it could be close to uni. But then again, the places around uni is a little bit boring. Okay. So you wanted something that wasn't as boring? Yes. So was a location, and were you tossing up between Balmain and somewhere else? Yes. So we were looking at Epping as well. Epping? Yeah. Okay, great. So Epping is in fact closer to uni. But Balmain is not as close, but it's close enough. Okay, great. So what else was important to you apart from location and proximity? Yeah. I guess in my case, you want to be close to the amenities, restaurants. So you wanted to have amenities, restaurants, public transport? That's it. Okay, great. Pubs. Pubs. Oh yeah. Let's just make sure that's. What else was important to you about finding a place? Was the type of dwelling important whether it was an apartment or a house? Yes of course. So it had to be a house? It had to be house, yes. Okay, great. Fantastic. What else was important? Was the size important? Yes. So we don't want something too small. So you wanted something that was spacious? Yes. When you say spacious, what does that mean to you? Did you want one bedroom, two bedrooms, three bedrooms? Yes. So we wanted something like three to four bedrooms. Okay, great. Yeah. So three to four bedrooms. What about outdoor space? Did you want a garden or somewhere outdoor? Yeah. So we wanted something where there is a little bit outdoor where we can do a bit of barbecue fan. Okay, great. So you wanted an outdoor area? Mmmh. Okay. What about sound? Was the fact that it was quiet important to you? Yes. Okay, right. So you wanted somewhere where is quiet? Yes. What about sunlight? Oh yeah, that's important. Did they have natural light? Absolutely. Yeah. My mom always says has to have natural light. So you need a natural light? Yes. Okay, great. So natural light. Was there anything else that was important? What else was important? Was price important? Oh yeah. So it has to be something where we can afford. Okay. If it's too expensive, it doesn't matter. You have all of this, you can afford it, and now there is no point. Absolutely. Somewhere where you could afford. What else? Was there anything else that was important? Did it matter whether it was on one story or two stories? No. That wasn't important. Okay, great. What about the type of house? Whether it was brick or weatherboard, was that important? Yeah. We wanted brick because previously, we had a weatherboard house. Okay. So definitely it had to be brick? Yeah. Out of this list that you've compiled here, what was the most important out of all of those things, location, amenities, house, spacious? Amenities. Really? Oh yeah. So you wanted somewhere where it was lively, where you had a community? Okay, great. So that was number one? Mmmh. So what was the second most important do you think? Location. Location? Yeah. Okay, great. What was the third most important? Probably the spaciousness. Spaciousness? Yeap. So if I gave you a spacious apartment next to amenities in a great area, would you have been okay? Okay. Okay. So you would have taken an apartment over a house if it had the other thing? Oh, I see. Now, I need one house here. Okay. So this is where it gets really interesting because they're not even aware of what their priorities are. So house is probably number three? You are right. Yeah. You are right. The fact that it's a house? Yes. Okay, great. What about number four? I think affordability would be next. Number four? Yeah. Okay, great. What about if it was in a noisy area? Would that have been a problem or not really? Probably not as important. Okay, great. So let's choose our fifth one before we look at the next part of the exercise. So location, amenities, house, the price. What about the size, because you came from a place that was quite small, yes? Yes, that's right. I will probably predict number five as I'm expecting. Okay. So that it was spacious? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Let's put that as number five. Great. Thank you. Thank you. Good work. Now what you will find is not only have we worked out what his values are. We worked out what order those values are in. Then we could certainly go and have a look and see what those values mean? For example, what really does location mean? How close to the university does he have to be? We could look at what spacious really means. How many square meters is important for him? What different areas he wants in the house? We could have a look at price. What does affordability means him? Because affordability to you and affordability to Lawrence may be the two completely different things. But what we're going to find out now is that values change over time. So you can never assume that you know the values of your client. Lawrence, can I ask you, can you remember the first place you lived in when you first moved out of home? Oh yes. Along time. A long time ago, yes. So I was staying in an apartment here. Okay. So you're staying in an apartment. What was important to you when you chose that first location? It has to be within walking distance to the university. Okay, great. So location was still very important? Yes. What else was important? Did it have to be a house or an apartment, or it didn't matter? Didn't matter. Didn't matter. Okay, right. So was space important? You need a really big room. No. No. Not important at all. Not important at all. Okay, great. So we've already crossed off house and space. What about being close to amenities? Did that matter? No. No important at all? Not important at all. So location, what about price or affordability? Oh yeah. That was important? That was important, yeah. Okay. So put in price, price was important. What else was important to you? Did it have to be quiet? No. Did it have to have outdoor space? No. No. What about natural light? Did it have to have? No. No natural. Did it matter whether it brick or weatherboard? No. No. Okay, great. So location and price were really important? Yes. Did it matter who you were living with at that point? Yeah. Yeah, it was important. We're not going to go any further at this point in time. But as you can see, Lawrence's values around where he lives has changed radically over time. So each time you approach your client, you want to find out what do they value, what order are those values in, and what do those values mean. The more understanding you have about what they value, the easier it is to make an offer that fits exactly within those values, and then they cannot do anything but accept. Thanks Lawrence. Thank you.
