After 40 years in real estate, I’ve seen one truth play out again and again: most deals don’t fall apart over price. They fall apart because we argue positions instead of uncovering what really matters.
Let me show you what I mean.
The “Uncle Problem” vs. the “Math Problem”
A seller says: “I won’t take a penny less than $1 million.”
Most agents immediately pull out comps, graphs, and market stats to prove the client wrong. That’s still arguing a position. It rarely works and often hardens their stance.
Instead, I use what I call the PIE Model:
- P – Position: The stated demand (e.g., “I need $1M”).
- I – Interest: What’s driving that position? (e.g., “My uncle told me I’d be an idiot to sell for less.”)
- E – Emotion: The deeper drivers underneath (e.g., loyalty, fear of loss, pride).
Here’s why it matters:
- If it’s an uncle problem, you’re not dealing with pricing. You’re dealing with family influence.
- If it’s a math problem (e.g., they need $1M because of a purchase already lined up), you’re negotiating around financing and logistics.
- And often, beneath both sits an emotional driver (belonging, fear, status) that must be addressed for the deal to move forward.
When you stop debating positions and start uncovering interests and emotions, negotiations shift. You’re no longer in conflict with your client, you’re solving the real problem with them.
Why This Matters Now
The market is more uncertain than ever. Buyers are anxious, sellers are stubborn, and deals are harder to hold together. This is where negotiation intelligence becomes your biggest competitive edge.
Want to Go Deeper?
The PI Model is just one of the frameworks I teach inside my Accredited Real Estate Negotiator (AREN) Training. A live, small-group program designed for Canadian agents who want to move from average results to top-tier performance.
In the September 9–10 session, we’ll go beyond the PIE Model into:
- SHIFT Model: How to change a client’s perspective without conflict
- BATNA: The hidden source of power in every negotiation
If you’re ready to sharpen the skills that protect your deals and your commissions, you belong in this course.
Suze Cumming is the founder of The Nature of Real Estate and one of Canada’s leading educators in real estate negotiation. For more than a two decades, she has helped over 7,000 real estate professionals strengthen their negotiation skills through the Accredited Real Estate Negotiator (AREN) and Professional Real Estate Negotiator (PREN) programs, as well as coaching many of Canada’s top agents and teams.
Her work focuses on helping REALTORS® develop Negotiation Intelligence: the practical skills of preparation, communication, critical thinking, trust-building and strategic decision-making that lead to better outcomes for clients. As artificial intelligence reshapes the profession, Suze’s current work explores how AI can enhance professional judgment without replacing the human skills at the heart of successful negotiation. You can learn more about her learning ecosystem here.
A passionate sailor and international yacht racer, Suze believes that excellence, whether on the water or at the negotiating table, comes from continual learning, thoughtful preparation and the ability to adapt as conditions change.
Thanks for including this article. Simple, quick read to help Realtors. This little model might help someone immediately.
Suze will you be offering another Negotiator workshop I am unable to attend the one coming up in September