Level 3 – Knowing The Truth About What Your Real Estate Clients Want

(This is the 3rd post in a 9 part guide, please read them in order)

What do your real estate clients actually want?

Here’s a sobering reality about this industry.

If given the option, nearly every consumer would prefer to not work with a real estate agent when buying or selling a property.

In fact, I think most real estate agents would prefer to not have to deal with other real estate agents either. *ba-dum-tss*

But lets get back to the clients, and deconstruct why.

1. They feel agents don’t deserve what they get paid.
2. They don’t want to give up control or rely on somebody else.
3. They feel they can do it themselves.
4. They don’t like or trust salespeople.
5. They think you care more about yourself than about them.

This can be incredibly discouraging, yet promising at the same time because if you build your business around your clients’ obvious pain points, you can immediately stand out from the crowd.

How do we take this information and make it useful?

Be More Valuable

Take a moment to think about what you typically do for a client. If you’re just a combination of a chauffeur, tour guide, and paper signer, you have NO VALUE to a consumer because they can do all of this without you.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of real estate agents never get past this stage. The main culprit is that agents tend to think of the transaction instead of the relationship.

So how do we move past this stage and work on adding more value to our services?

You need to:

• study the market and stay up-to-date on recent solds, trends, and larger economic conditions
• have a network of experienced professionals (ex. lawyer, home inspector, lender, home stagers, appraisers, contractors, photographers, etc.) that you can either access for knowledge, or provide to your clients as potential service providers
• get good at negotiating (this is how you’re going to get famous and get flowers at your doorstep)
• talk a lot less and get better at asking the right questions (selling is not telling – selling is asking questions)
• find ways to deliver what you promise (or more), and you’ll be surprised at how even top agents in the business often over promise to win the business and then under deliver during the process.

Empower Your Clients

So on that previous note, don’t ever make your clients feel like you have disappeared or you’re gatekeeping information from them. This is the quickest way to lose their trust, and winning it back is nearly impossible.

You need to:

• manage expectations from the beginning by laying out the process and the commitments expected from both sides
• always return their calls/emails/texts as quickly as possible, even if you have bad news
• show buyers ALL properties that fit their criteria (regardless of the commission being paid to you)
• schedule weekly feedback calls with your sellers so they know you’re on top of things
• provide them relevant information so that they’re always making informed decisions

The good news is that if you focus on your clients’ needs and deliver them an outstanding experience, you win future business and potential referrals.

How simple is this formula?

Give clients what THEY want = Happy clients

Give clients what YOU want = You back to begging for your cubicle job

Several years ago, one of my agents had a property listed and the seller called her the day after a terrible storm to report that the For Sale sign (and every other one in the area) had knocked over from the wind.

Despite the listing being a 2.5 hour drive away, she immediately got into her car and drove out to not only put up her sign, but also one that was for a competing listing across the street. She just felt it was the right thing to do.

The seller was stunned by her actions. He didn’t expect her to deal with something so insignificant so quickly, especially given the agent had to fight rush hour Toronto traffic to get to the property.

Turns out, the client was an influential person at their church and retold this story on the following Sunday, earning this agent over a dozen deals over the next 2 years.

The lesson is simple, clients are starving to have people who work in their best interest and care about them.

The sales industry as a whole, including the real estate industry, tends to attract people who are only interested in the sale, not the people. This may seem like a wide-sweeping generalization, and I certainly don’t have any number to prove it to you. But ask around and see how consumers generally feel about salespeople, and you’ll likely come to same conclusion.

And if you’re only focused on the sale, then the only merit you have is what you do to facilitate the transaction to completion.

Your goal is to actually figure out what value you bring to your clients. This is no easy task, and something you must develop over time. The good news for you is, you have very little competition. Most real estate agents have no idea what their value is.

Lets move onto Level 4: Knowing The Truth About The Real Estate Profession