When you meet with a prospective buyer or seller for the first time, you naturally want to make a good impression. You want them to recognize your knowledge of the market, your familiarity with neighborhoods and buildings, and your ability to help them make good real estate decisions. You’re prepared to answer their questions, discuss the market, and explain how you can help them accomplish their goals. It’s an important meeting, and you’ve probably given considerable thought to what you want to say.
Over the years, I’ve found that some of the most productive initial meetings were the ones where I spent a good deal of time asking questions. I wanted to understand the person sitting across from me, what had brought them to this point, and what they hoped to accomplish. Their answers frequently gave me a much clearer picture of how I could help them, and they also gave us an opportunity to begin getting to know one another.
Consider a prospective buyer who tells you they’re looking for a two-bedroom co-op on the Upper West Side with a budget of approximately $1.2 million. You have enough information to begin discussing available apartments, but there are some things I’d be curious about before getting too far into the search. Why have they chosen the Upper West Side? What prompted them to begin looking? How did they establish their budget, and what are they hoping will be different about their next home? These are natural questions to ask, and the answers can tell you quite a bit about the person and their plans.
Perhaps the buyer has lived on the Upper West Side for years and wants to remain close to friends and familiar places. Or maybe they’ve heard good things about the neighborhood and would be happy to consider other areas if they found the right apartment. You may also discover that their interest in a two-bedroom apartment has something to do with plans for a growing family or the need for a home office. As the conversation develops, you begin to understand which of their preferences are particularly important and where there may be some flexibility.
One expression you’ll hear frequently from prospective buyers is that they’re in no hurry. I’ve always been interested in what that means to the person saying it, and a question such as “What timeframe do you have in mind?” can lead to an interesting conversation. The buyer may have a lease expiring in six months, be waiting for a change in employment, or simply be trying to decide whether this is the right time to purchase. Once you understand their circumstances, you have a much better idea of how to approach their search and what information will be useful to them.
The same approach can be valuable when meeting with a prospective seller. Suppose the owner of a Manhattan co-op tells you they’d like to list their apartment for $1.5 million. You’ll naturally want to discuss comparable sales and current market conditions, but I’d also be interested in knowing how they arrived at that number. Perhaps they’re planning to purchase another home and have calculated how much money they’ll need from the sale. Maybe they’re basing their expectations on a recent sale in the building. Understanding their reasoning gives you an opportunity to discuss pricing in the context of their plans and the decisions they’ll be making.
As you gain experience in this business, you develop a sense of which questions are worth asking and how to introduce them into a conversation. Some involve finances, others concern personal circumstances, and many are simply about understanding what matters most to someone. These are reasonable subjects for a real estate professional to explore, and you should feel comfortable taking the lead in discussing them. People are generally willing to share their thoughts when they recognize that you’re genuinely interested in understanding their situation.
There’s another benefit to approaching an initial meeting this way. As you ask thoughtful questions, listen to the answers, and discuss the client’s plans, you’re demonstrating how you approach your work. The prospective client is beginning to understand what it would be like to have you representing them. They can see that you’re interested in their circumstances and that your advice will be based on what they’re trying to accomplish.
The next time you sit down with a prospective buyer or seller, give some thought to what you’d like to learn about them. Your knowledge and experience give you every reason to feel confident guiding the conversation. By the time the meeting ends, you should have a clearer understanding of the person and their plans, and they should have a better appreciation of how your experience can help them make the decisions ahead.
George
Streets365 — Think Beyond The Deal.