How to Answer "Have You Ever Sold a Home Like This Before?"

Early in my career, I sat across from a seller who looked me dead in the eye and asked, "Have you ever sold a million dollar home?" I remember squirming in my seat. It was painfully obvious to both of us that the answer was no, and I had absolutely no idea how to respond. Nearly two decades later, I still haven't sold anything over a million dollars, my highest to date is right around 985,000, but I can't remember the last time anyone actually asked me that question in an appointment. The difference isn't the number on my resume. It's how I show up now. I want to walk through a handful of objections tied to experience, tenure, and availability, and how I've learned to handle each one. You can listen to the full breakdown on our podcast, Free Beer and Real Estate.

Prevent the Objection Before It's Asked

The single biggest shift for me wasn't a clever comeback line. It was showing up prepared enough that the question never comes up in the first place. When you walk into an appointment armed with real data, comps, absorption rates, average market time, active listings, a pre-listing package, you project a level of confidence that makes a seller too busy absorbing information to start interrogating your resume. The same goes for buyer appointments. If your entire presentation is a buyer's agreement and an MLS printout, don't be surprised when someone asks why they should pick you. Show up with the state of the market, real comparisons, and a clear plan, and the conversation naturally shifts away from your credentials and toward your competence.

Answer "How Long Have You Been Doing This?" Directly, Then Pivot

If you're newer to the business and someone asks how long you've been licensed, don't waffle. Say it plainly, six months, one year, whatever it is, and say it fast. Dancing around the answer only makes people more suspicious than the actual number would.

Better yet, get ahead of it entirely. There's a principle from sales trainer Jimmy Mackin that I love: shoot down an objection before it even has the chance to become one. Bring it up yourself. "You may have noticed I've been in the business less than a year. Here's why that doesn't matter." Then have your actual value proposition ready. Maybe that's being part of a team with deep support behind you. Maybe it's a previous career that gives you real, relevant expertise, construction experience, property management, or even just knowing a neighborhood inside and out because you used to deliver mail on those exact streets. Tenure is one qualification. It's not the only one, and it's rarely the most convincing one if you have something more specific to offer.

Never Use the Word "But"

When someone asks whether you've sold homes in their specific neighborhood and the honest answer is no, avoid the word "but" at all costs. People only remember what comes after it. "You seem like a great agent, but I'm going with my cousin" is really just heard as "I'm going with my cousin." The compliment disappears completely.

Swap "but" for "and." "I haven't sold a home in this specific city, and here's my plan, it works in any market I go into." Then walk through the actual plan: how you market a listing, how you generate buyer interest, why the process is the same whether the address is around the corner or across the state. You're not dodging the question. You're answering it directly by making the case that a strong, repeatable system matters more than hyper-local sales history.

"Maybe I Should Go With Someone More Experienced" (or Less Busy)

I got this exact objection recently from a client who was frustrated that I don't always pick up when they call. My honest answer: I'm working with other clients, coaching agents, closing deals, I've got ten or twelve transactions moving at once right now. I gave them my calendar link and told them to text if they need me fast, but I was upfront that if their expectation is a live answer nine times out of ten, I'm probably not the right agent for them.

Here's the flip side, and it's worth sitting with if you're a newer or less busy agent competing against someone established like me. That gap is exactly where your value proposition lives. If I were competing with a version of myself, I'd say it plainly: you don't want someone that busy. You want someone who can give you real attention, who's only working with a couple of clients right now, who has actual bandwidth for you. Being less busy isn't a weakness to apologize for. It's a selling point if you frame it as one.

"What If You Don't Know the Answer?"

This one matters more than people think, especially for newer agents. You don't need to know everything on day one, but you do need a real answer for how you'll get information you don't currently have. Do you have a broker or manager you can call? A team with more experienced agents behind you? Come into every appointment able to explain your support system clearly, because a seller or buyer isn't actually worried that you might not know something today. They're worried about what happens when that gap shows up mid-transaction.

The Price Point Objection Runs Both Ways

The plan I run is the same whether a home is listed at 150,000 or approaching a million. What changes is the marketing budget, not the marketing itself. I've had this challenged from both directions. On the high end, someone eventually asks whether I can handle a bigger, more expensive listing, and the honest answer is that the process scales with the budget, not the other way around. On the low end, I've had sellers of more modestly priced homes ask if they'll get less attention than someone with a higher-priced listing. The answer there is the same plan, sized appropriately. I'm not spending fifteen hundred dollars on photography and video for every home, but every home still gets professional photos, a real marketing push, and the same process behind it.

Practice These Out Loud

Reading through objection handlers is one thing. Actually saying them out loud under a little pressure is another. If you want to work through these live with other agents, join our Saturday roleplay session, any brokerage, any experience level, welcome. Email me at mike@21mike.com and I'll add you to the invite.

Mike Ferrante
The Mike Team at LPT Realty
www.21mike.com
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