This article walks you through starting an Insider negotiation step by step. Starting a negotiation in Insider is straightforward: you identify a suitable listing or client, send a negotiation request with the refinement of your choice, and wait for the other party to respond within 72 hours.
If you’re not sure how the negotiation process works as a whole, we recommend first reading the Negotiations between agents in Insider article. This document focuses primarily on starting negotiations.
1. Overview
In Insider, negotiations are started by sending a negotiation request to the other party’s agent. A request can be sent in two directions:
- From the seller’s agent to the buyer’s agent: when you know that a particular agent may have a buyer who matches your listing
- From the buyer’s agent to the seller’s agent: when you find an interesting listing in Insider for your client
1.1 Prerequisites for starting a negotiation
Before you can send a negotiation request, the following conditions must be met:
- You and the other party’s agent have Insider enabled and have accepted its terms of use.
- The listing is published in Insider.
- The listing has a sales price and commission details defined.
- You are not the same person as the other party’s agent (an agent cannot negotiate with themselves).
In addition:
- As the seller’s agent: sending a request requires access rights to the listing.
- As the buyer’s agent: sending a request requires access rights to the client.
2. When you should start a negotiation
It’s worth starting a negotiation in situations where cooperation is realistically beneficial. The following are typical starting points:
2.1 As the buyer’s agent
- Your search alert produced a match for an Insider listing that fits your client.
- Your client is highly motivated to buy and a suitable listing can be found in Insider.
- You want more information about the listing and to confirm whether it meets the client’s needs.
- The client has asked to attend a viewing for an Insider listing.
2.2 As the seller’s agent
- You want to proactively offer the listing to a wider agent network.
- A viewing is coming up and you want to inform potential buyer’s agents.
- You want to propose a change to the cooperation terms (e.g., commission split) before someone reaches out to you.
3. Sending a negotiation request as the seller’s agent
3.1 Open the listing’s negotiation section
In Insider, go to the listing card for the listing you want to start a negotiation for. In the Negotiations section, you’ll see the New negotiation button, or Start a new negotiation on behalf of another client if there are already ongoing negotiations for the listing.
3.2 Choose the other party’s agent and a buyer prospect
As the seller’s agent, you need to specify who you want to send the request to. You can:
- Select an Insider user (another agent) from the list as the recipient
- Attach information about a buyer prospect to the request (e.g., a client identified via a search-alert match)
Good to know: The buyer prospect’s details are not disclosed to the other party in Insider. The other party will see the buyer under an anonymous identifier.
3.3 Choose a refinement for the request
Select one refinement for the request, which briefly describes the background for the initiative. The refinements are listed in section 5 of this article.
3.4 Send the request
Review the details and send the request. The other party’s agent will receive an email notification and an in-app notification within Linear. The request is valid for 72 hours. If no response is received, the request expires automatically, and you can send a new one if needed.
4. Sending a negotiation request as the buyer’s agent
4.1 Find an interesting listing
Browse Insider’s listings or use search alerts. Open the listing you want to send a negotiation request for.
4.2 Click "Send negotiation request"
In the listing details, you’ll see the Send a negotiation request to the property's agent button (or similar). Clicking it starts creating the negotiation request.
4.3 Select a client
As the buyer’s agent, you need to choose which client you are negotiating on behalf of. You can:
- Select an existing client from the list
- Use the client’s search alert, if the match came through it
Good to know: The client’s name or contact details are not disclosed to the other party in Insider. The request is linked to an anonymous identifier that allows the other party to keep track of contacts.
4.4 Choose a refinement for the request
Select the reason for the negotiation request from the dropdown. The refinements are listed in section 5 of this article.
4.5 Accept Insider’s terms of use if needed
If you’re sending your first negotiation request, you’ll be asked to accept Insider’s terms of use. The same applies to committing to pay any potential service fee if the transaction closes. Read the terms carefully before accepting.
4.6 Send the request
The other party’s agent will receive a notification about the request and can see:
- An anonymous buyer identifier
- The selected clarification for the request
- A timestamp of when the request was sent
Good to know: The property’s commission and its split may be hidden until the negotiation phase. Make sure you’re prepared to negotiate the commission if it isn’t visible yet.
5. Request clarifications
A request always requires selecting one clarification. The clarification helps the other party’s agent understand why you want to start a negotiation.
5.1 Buyer’s agent clarifications
When you send a request to the seller’s agent, the clarifications are:
- No clarification
- I have a motivated buyer
- I have a buyer mandate with a potential buyer
- My client would like to view this property
- My client is ready to negotiate and I wanted to get in touch
- I wanted to check whether the property suits the buyer’s needs
- I propose a change to the cooperation terms
- I want to ask additional questions about the property or the client
- I want to schedule a time for contact
5.2 Seller’s agent clarifications
When you send a request to the buyer’s agent, the clarifications are:
- No clarification
- I wanted to share additional details about the property that aren’t included in the listing
- A viewing is being arranged for the property and I wanted to let you know
- I want to ask additional questions about the property or the client
- I want to schedule a time for contact
- I propose a change to the cooperation terms
Tip: A descriptive clarification helps get the other party interested in your request faster. “Motivated buyer” or “a viewing is being arranged” clearly communicates that there’s a concrete reason behind your outreach.
6. What the other party can do with your request
After you send a request, the other party’s agent has 72 hours to respond. They can:
6.1 Accept the request
Acceptance moves the negotiation to Negotiation in progress. Both agents’ contact details are revealed to each other, and the negotiation remains valid for 30 days at a time. The buyer’s agent gains access to more detailed property information.
6.2 Decline the request
Declining requires selecting one reason:
- No specific reason
- Not suitable for my client
- Not relevant right now
- The cooperation terms don’t work for us
- The property is no longer available
- A transaction is already in progress for the property
The other party is notified of the decline and can send a new request if needed.
6.3 Not respond
If 72 hours pass without a response, the request moves to Negotiation request expired. You’ll be notified when it expires and can send a new request if it’s still relevant.
7. Canceling or declining a request
7.1 Canceling your own request
You can cancel your own request as long as it’s in Negotiation request sent (72 hours). Canceling:
- Removes the request from the other party’s view
- Does not send a separate message to the other party
- Lets you send a new request immediately
Tip: If you notice after sending the request that the clarification was wrong or you selected the wrong buyer/client, cancel the request and send a new one.
7.2 Declining the other party’s request
If you receive a request you don’t want to proceed with, select a reason for declining and confirm. Declining isn’t final: the other party can send a new request later.
8. If something goes wrong
8.1 I can’t send a request
The most common reasons:
- You or the other party aren’t using Insider, or the terms of use haven’t been accepted
- The property is missing a sales price or commission information
- You don’t have access rights to the property (as the seller’s agent) or to the client (as the buyer’s agent)
Go to the Insider settings to accept the terms of use and make sure the property’s publication details are complete.
8.2 I got the error message “the same agent cannot have both roles”
The system prevents a situation where the same user tries to act as both the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent in the same negotiation. Make sure the agent assigned to the property is someone else, or that the client is handled by another agent.
8.3 I’m not sure which clarification to choose
Select the clarification that best describes the reason for your outreach. If none of the ready-made clarifications feel suitable, choose No clarification and agree on the details directly with the other party.
8.4 My request expired, but I still want to continue
You can send a new request for the same property. The earlier request remains in history, but the new request will be handled independently. If needed, you can also try reaching the other party by phone or email, if the agent’s contact details are available through other channels.
8.5 I just wanted to ask for a small detail, but I don’t want to start a full negotiation
In Insider, a negotiation is the only structured way for agents to discuss a property. You can use the clarification I want to ask additional questions about the property or the client or I want to schedule a time for contact to start a lighter conversation. You can then continue the conversation directly by phone or email.
8.6 I can’t find the Insider property my match was for
Check that the property is still active. If the property has already been reserved or sold, it will be removed from Insider and you can’t start a new negotiation for it.