If you’re lucky, everyone you meet in the process of selling your home will be friendly and polite. Unfortunately, that rarely happens. You will encounter "difficult buyers"—annoying, loud, rude. Or, even if they are really nice people, you could also hit "tense" moments in the negotiation process. In any other situation you’d just tell them to get out of your home, except you want to sell that home to them.

Professional salesmen have a motto: the customer is always right. While it may be difficult to be constantly cheerful and upbeat while dealing with potential buyers, it is important to treat their concerns with respect and honesty, especially since the product—your house—is a major long-term investment. Here are some ways of hurdling, or even avoiding, those difficult situations:

• Gain their trust. They’re bound to ask a lot of questions, and "nitpick" on problems or defects (real or imagined) they see in your house. Answer candidly. If they notice that from the start of your negotiations that you were always upfront, they won’t be confrontational later on.
• Take criticisms in stride. Do they hate your wallpaper? Did they yawn while you were explaining the history of the home? Remember that it may be part of a mind game—they don’t want to look too interested in the house, and may actively look for "bad" features so they can bring down the price. Or even if they really are critical, don’t take it personally. People like different things. What matters is they sign the check.

Prepare to bargain. Of course your buyers will try to ask for a lower price, but if they ask what you perceive is too low to even make a reasonable counter offer, don’t answer with an "are you crazy?" Ask him why he thinks the house is only worth that much. Look for details— the other houses he’s seen are priced in that range, or he sees defects in the house. Point out any misperceptions, "defend" your price. If he can’t give specific, objective reasons for his price, then you’ve beat him at that hand. If he just can’t afford it—well, move on to the next buyer. Prevent wasting your time on people who you know won’t be able to make the appropriate mortgage payments by screening your buyers.

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