How to start a price reduction with the seller's goal
TL;DR: A price cut is not the first conversation. Ask "Has your goal changed?" then present a next-phase strategy, not a lower number, Jimmy Burgess writes after asking AI how to get a price reduction (Inman, Jul 12, 2026). Do not open the listing update with the cut.
Your seller, this week: "Just cut it. That's what sells houses."
That sentence wants a number.
Jimmy's version wants a goal.
What do you say instead of asking for a price cut?
Ask "Has your goal changed?" before you ask for a cut, Jimmy Burgess writes after he asked AI how to get a price reduction (Inman, Jul 12, 2026).
The useful part is not the model. It is the first question.
Not "will you cut it."
If the goal is still the same date, the same net, the same next house, you are not arguing the ask. You are checking whether the plan still matches.
Then you present a strategy, not a cut.
| Open with a cut | Open with the goal |
|---|---|
| "We need to reduce." | "Has your goal changed?" |
| The number is the conversation | The plan is the conversation |
| They defend the ask | They tell you what still has to be true |
| You leave with a maybe | You leave with a next-phase strategy |
Burgess walked through five takeaways. Use two. Do not dump the list.
The two that travel: the seller's goal is not the ask, and you present a strategy, not a reduction.
Why start with the seller's goal, not the ask?
Starting with the seller's goal keeps the conversation on what still has to happen, not on a lower number they will defend (Burgess, Inman, Jul 12, 2026).
The ask is a tactic. The goal is the date, the net, the next house.
If the goal has not changed, a cut without a plan is just a smaller number on the same stalled listing.
If the goal has changed, you needed to know that before you argued last week's price.
Market facts can sit behind the goal. Your opinion cannot replace the goal. That is as far as the other takeaways need to go this week.
Do not import a waiting-cost dollar figure as a national statistic. If you use a cost-of-waiting example, keep it as an illustration on this listing, or skip it.
How do you present a strategy instead of a reduction?
You present a next-phase plan: what happens this week, who you are calling, and what you need from them. The number comes after the goal, or it does not come (Burgess, Inman, Jul 12, 2026).
Steal, then call:
Has your goal changed?
Then, if they still need to move:
Here is the next-phase strategy for this listing. Not a lower number first. A plan.
When your seller says, "Just cut it. That's what sells houses."
You say: A price cut is not the conversation. Has your goal changed? Then I will show you the next-phase strategy, not a lower number.
Frequently asked questions
How do you start a price reduction with the seller's goal?
You start a price reduction with the seller's goal by asking "Has your goal changed?" before you ask for a cut, then presenting a next-phase strategy instead of a lower number, Jimmy Burgess writes after asking AI how to get a price reduction (Inman, Jul 12, 2026).
What should you say instead of "we need to reduce"?
Instead of "we need to reduce," ask "Has your goal changed?" Jimmy Burgess's price-reduction piece (Inman, Jul 12, 2026) treats the goal (date, net, next house) as the conversation, and the ask as a tactic that comes after.
Is a price cut the conversation?
No. A price cut is not the conversation. Jimmy Burgess writes that you ask whether the seller's goal has changed, then present a strategy, not a reduction (Inman, Jul 12, 2026).
Should you walk through every AI takeaway in one listing update?
No. You should not walk through every AI takeaway in one listing update. Burgess's piece has five takeaways. Use two this week: the seller's goal is not the ask, and you present a strategy, not a cut (Inman, Jul 12, 2026).
Source: I asked AI how to get a price reduction. This is what it suggested, Inman (Jul 12, 2026).