Delivering a great experience to your real estate clients will make them happy. Happy clients mean you’ll get repeat and referral business. As simple as it may sound, there is a science to delivering a great real estate client experience.
“A great customer experience is one where customers feel good, even look good,” writes Forbes columnist Micah Solomon, customer experience coach, trainer and author.
All too often real estate agents try to impress their clients by using fancy terms or information that make their clients uncomfortable. The whole reason your clients hire you is to make them feel comfortable with the real estate sales process!
It’s important that you’re knowledgeable, after all, that is yet another reason they want your expert help. However, you don’t want your clients to think you’re a know-it-all.
Below are some examples of common mistakes agents make when meeting with clients. You’ll see what typically occurs, how this makes the client feel and what you should do instead.
Your Client is Wrong
How could that be? Isn’t the customer always right? Not always, but be careful in pointing this out to them.
What Typically Occurs
When a client is wrong about something, many real estate agents will take this as an opportunity to show off their knowledge and experience in the real estate industry.
Client: “I want to be here for all the showings.”
Bad Real Estate Agent: “Mr. Seller that’s not how this works. I’ve been doing this for many years and we’ll never sell the house if you’re here for all the showings. You just have to trust me.”
How This Makes the Client Feel
Depending on how confident your client was in their assumption, “schooling them” may hurt their pride. By doing this you’re making your clients feel foolish. Nobody wants to be a fool. They may even get argumentative defending what they think is true!
Client Response: “I don’t care how long you have been doing this, I know this house better than anyone! If you won’t let us be here, we’ll hire another agent that will!”
How to Handle When Your Client is Wrong
Agree and understand, but then explain to them why there is a better way than what they’re thinking.
Client: “I want to be here for all the showings.”
Good Real Estate Agent: “You know Mr. Seller, I completely agree with you. You’ve lived here for many years and nobody knows your house better than you. If I were selling my house, I would want to be there for all the showings as well. But here’s the problem, when the owner is present, any potential buyers will know they’re in somebody else house. It makes it very difficult for them to imagine this as their house. If they can’t think of this house as their own, they’re not going to want to buy it.”
Coming to a common ground first will help your clients let down their guard. When their guard is down, they will be open to suggestions and won’t be as concerned with their pride.
Assumptions About Your Client’s Real Estate Knowledge
Don’t assume your real estate clients know how things work. They’re probably hiring you because they have no idea about the real estate process.
What Typically Occurs
Often a real estate agent may ask if they already know something. Maybe it’s just them being lazy or maybe they think too highly of their client’s knowledge.
Bad Agent: “You guys have bought a house before. I don’t have to spend any time explaining the steps, right?”
Client Response: “Yeah, it’s been a while but I remember the gist of it.”
How this Makes the Client Feel
This won’t do you any good. It will make your clients uncomfortable with the real estate process. With the above scenario, you have put them in a position where yes is the only answer that doesn’t make them feel like a fool.
Now maybe they’re worried about what they don’t know or can’t remember. Now they’re going to try to go around you to find the information they need so they won’t look foolish to you. They may even end up calling another agent to get advice on how the process works!
How to Not Make Assumptions About Your Client
Assume your client knows nothing, but don’t do this in a demeaning way. Use terms that people outside of the real estate industry understand. Even if they have bought or sold a home before, they probably don’t remember the process. Even worse, maybe they had a bad experience before.
Good Agent: “Mr. and Mrs. Buyer, now I know you have bought a house before, but let me just take a few minutes to explain how I handle the process. This way, we won’t have any unexpected surprises along the way.”
Sure, this will take more time to explain this to your clients, but there are many benefits. Your clients will feel more at ease having demonstrated your knowledge to them. They’ll know they made the right choice in choosing an agent. They will also feel comfortable asking questions since they’re asking about your method and not just how things work generally.
Value Your Client’s Time
The golden rule: treat others as you would like to be treated. If you value your client’s time, they will value your time. Being short and to the point is one aspect of this, but the biggest offender: tardiness.
What Typically Occurs
Everyone has a life. You might be coming from another appointment, dropping off your kids or maybe you just overslept. There are many circumstances that may result in you being late.
How This Makes the Client Feel
When you don’t respect your client’s time, they will not respect your time. When it’s time for them to meet you again, maybe they will be running late.
Client Response: “Take your time honey, our real estate agent is probably going to be late again.”
Bad (Late) Agent: “Where are my clients? I have another appointment right after this!”
How to Value Your Client’s Time
Show up on time, or better yet, early! This will take a little more scheduling skills on your part. Make sure you budget for travel time as well as allow a buffer for when earlier meeting run late.
But it’s not just about showing up on time, you also don’t want to waste your client’s time when you’re there either.
Make Your Real Estate Clients a Priority
If your client feels like they’re a priority, they’ll feel like you are doing everything you can to best serve them.
What Typically Occurs
Real estate agents are busy people. When you’re working with multiple clients, there always the possibility that there a call, email or text you need to answer. Many agents think they need to excuse themselves from a meeting to take a call. Or maybe, they think it’s ok to be texting while a client is asking them a question.
How This Makes the Client Feel
No matter how good you think you are at multitasking, your client will feel like you have more important things to attend to. They’ll think that they’re not important to you.
Client: “Is this person too busy to give us the attention we deserve? Maybe we should explore some other options and try to find someone who will give us the attention we need.”
How to Make Your Client a Priority
When you’re on an appointment with a client, you need to be with your client. Look them in the eyes when you talk to them. Show them you’re listening when they ask questions by nodding and rephrasing their question before you answer.
But what about the phone? Maybe it’s a potential new client calling. Shouldn’t you answer?
This is where it can benefit from hiring an assistant to take all your new client calls. Now until you get to that point in your business, you’ll have to be skillful. Maybe you can’t afford an assistant yet. An answering service is another alternative to make sure a live person can take a message for you while you’re busy serving clients.
At the very least, take advantage of the declined call auto response texts you can set up with most smart phones. Almost everyone uses a cell phone to make calls today, so most numbers can receive a text. With a click or two, you can have your smartphone send a message that says something along the lines of “Sorry, I’m in a meeting. How may I help you?” This isn’t as effective as an assistant or answering service, but it’s totally free.
Remember, your clients are the life-blood of your business. Making them feel lost, frustrated or unimportant will reflect poorly on you. Ultimately, you want to ask, will this make my clients feel good, informed and taken care of? If you keep this in mind, they will become your biggest fans, resulting in repeat and referral business.
