Real estate is a competitive industry, with a large number of agents vying for the business of a limited number of buyers and sellers in your particular market. This means that the better you do your job, the more likely you are to convince these potential clients to work with you. While possessing a strong understanding of your local real estate market and having the ability to guide your clients through the entire purchase/sales process is critical to doing your job well, these aren’t the only skills you need.
Ultimately, real estate is a relationship-based business. Buying or selling a property is one of the largest and most important transactions people will enter into in their lives. They don’t enter into these transactions lightly, and they typically won’t work with an agent they don’t trust when such high stakes are on the line.
Being able to establish a rapport with your clients that leads to strong relationships will help you better understand their needs, build trust and ensure you provide the best possible service (and experience) with every transaction. When you’re able to cultivate successful client relationships, you’ll have an easier time generating the repeat business and referrals that are critical to building a successful real estate career.
The following tips will help you cultivate these strong client relationships and maintain them over time.
Effective communication is a critical component to any successful client relationship. Keeping your clients informed at every stage of the purchase/sales process is one of the most important things you can do to build a strong relationship with them. This involves both providing them with regular updates and responding to their questions in a timely manner. When you prioritize effective, proactive communication with your clients, it will demonstrate that you truly care about their needs and are willing to go the extra mile to ensure these needs are met.
There are several components to communicating effectively with your clients:
If you’re working with first-time homebuyers, they may need a higher level of support and guidance than someone who has bought and sold several homes in the past and has a clear understanding of both what they’re looking for and how the process works.
If a client is prioritizing buying a home in a specific neighborhood, your ability to show them properties in the location they desire may be the most important service you can provide.
If you’re working with real estate investors who are looking to get maximum value from a rental property purchase, your understanding of the rental market and your ability to identify properties that may be listed at a discounted rate or, at the very least, priced to sell quickly may help you address their needs.
Taking the time to discuss your clients’ goals, needs and motivations at the start of the process will help you better understand what they’re looking for, and it will allow you to tailor your strategy to deliver their desired results.
While understanding your clients’ needs is critical to building a strong relationship with them, it’s equally important to manage their expectations effectively. If a client’s needs and expectations don’t reflect the reality of the current market in your area, you’ll need to reframe these expectations based on what they can realistically achieve.
Managing expectations involves having honest, transparent conversations with your clients that may include information they don’t want to hear. Telling your clients the truth instead of what they want to hear is a critical component to building a strong relationship based on trust. This involves thoroughly explaining potential:
Sometimes, these conversations won’t be easy, especially if you’re delivering hard truths your clients don’t want to hear. But when you can explain these things in a way that your clients can understand and accept, you’ll be able to more effectively manage their expectations throughout the process. This will help you allow your clients to walk away from their experience satisfied with the result, even if things didn’t go exactly as they had initially hoped or expected.
Expertise can be demonstrated in a variety of ways:
When you’re able to demonstrate your expertise throughout the real estate transaction process, you’ll build a level of trust with your clients that leads to a long-term relationship and potentially lucrative referrals in the future.
Building strong client relationships goes beyond providing assistance with a specific real estate transaction. The relationship building process often starts well before a client needs your service, and it extends beyond the completion of their transaction.
It’s common to meet potential clients before they’re ready to buy or sell a property. You may have a conversation with a potential future homebuyer at an open house you’re hosting or at a real estate networking event you hold. You may also meet people in your social circles who aren’t actively looking to buy or sell a home at the moment but seem like they may be in need of a real estate agent within the next few months or years. Staying connected to these people and offering them useful information – whether on market trends, potential contractors they may need to use, or any other item that they can find helpful – will enable you cultivate a relationship with them that may lead to an agent/client relationship in the future.
It’s equally important to stay in touch with past clients. Homeowners are always in need of contractors, plumbers, electricians, landscapers, and other professionals who can assist with projects they need completed. By checking in with past clients regularly and making yourself a valuable resource when they need help, you will remain a trusted member of their network and build a long-term relationship that can pay dividends in the future.
Some of the ways you can stay in touch with past clients to build deeper relationships include:
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