You’re on the phone with a potential buyer who has been looking online and has found a few apartments they want to see. They’re anxious and want you to set up showings right away. They have concerns, assumptions, expectations, and a little anxiety and they are ready to have you set up showings right away.
But, as an experienced agent you know that you need to get to know them and they need to get to know you. So, you set up an initial consultation.
I’ve watched outstanding agents conduct initial consultations over the years, and one habit seemed almost universal. They listened longer than most people expected. They didn’t interrupt. They didn’t rush to demonstrate how much they knew. But, they answered all the questions the clients asked.
Then, they had their own series of questions that demonstrated their knowledge of the industry, their personal style, and their understanding of their clients needs.
Clients notice that!
They may not remember every question that was asked, but they remember how the conversation made them feel. More importantly, they become more comfortable sharing information that helps us serve them well.
I’ve often thought that to be a top real estate agent, you need to be able to deliver two important skill sets.
One is built on market knowledge. We study inventory, pricing, financing, contracts, negotiations, and neighborhood trends. Those are essential skills, and clients expect us to know them.
The other is built on understanding people. We learn to recognize concerns that haven’t yet been spoken, motivations that aren’t immediately obvious, and goals that extend well beyond buying or selling a particular property.
The first skill helps us understand the market.
The second helps us understand our clients.
When those two come together, our advice becomes much more valuable.
Looking back, I don’t think the best conversations I ever had with clients were memorable because I had all the answers.
They were memorable because, together, we found the right questions first.
And once we did that, the answers usually became much easier to see.