Top Tips for Real Estate Agents to Create an Easier Client Experience
It's a passion and a profession for you as a real estate agent/realtor. For your clients, no matter how wonderful the outcome may be, it is an emotional trip. A journey full of shifting components and unfamiliarity, which is quite disruptive to the average daily routine. No wonder clients are so stressed out; they're almost certainly way outside of their comfort zone.
Anxious customers are a no-win situation. Stress can quickly cause you to make mistakes or lose interest. Who wants to be stressed and on edge at work? This is not why you entered the game!
How can you make your client’s experience more pleasant?
I'm aware that you are already doing these things as a real estate agent. However, viewing it from the viewpoint of a nervous and worried consumer might help you refine your service and leverage your client’s experience.
My top three recommendations are as follows.
Know What you are Dealing With
Get to know your clients.
You need to be a part of this process because your clients want someone who will listen and support them through the ups and downs. Also, you need to understand when it is time to be sensitive or straightforward with them!
You are an important person in their lives. Knowing everything about your client helps make sure that they have what’s necessary at every step during the homeownership process. Therefore, it’s important to always ask ‘why’.
Get to know why they are selling or buying.
To help relieve emotional stress associated with the selling /buying process, being considerate or even offering a cup of coffee at the right time goes a long way. In some cases, you may need to remind them of their ‘why’.
Some insight might also assist you in directing buyers to avoid getting emotionally invested in any homes until the closing is secure.
Key Communication Points
Consider some of the various types of communication that might help relieve your customers' tension:
Have a balanced approach
Don't get caught up in any drama when getting to know your clients. You may help your customers deal with any issues by maintaining a calm, professional demeanor as a real estate agent.
Be upfront and honest
Keep doing what you're doing! Your professionalism will be the driving force behind this when they understand even the unattractive aspects or low probability of some of their expectations.
Be involved - face to face
To leverage your client experience, do as much as possible in person. It's this bond that makes them more trusting of you, which reduces their fears and allows them to accept your leadership even if they're disappointed or angry.
Clearly Outline the Process
Even if a customer has gone through the procedure previously, offer them continual reassurance by making a checklist of actions to expect. Also, list any potential roadblocks and what will happen if they do occur. I'm not talking about a brochure or a presentation here. Give them a simple list with specifics they can tick off once done.
This gives them a feeling of control. Knowing what to anticipate reduces a lot of the uncertainty for clients, which is a major stress source! According to Zillow's most recent survey, 95% of sellers cited fear as their main source of anxiety. Having evidence that your agency has control gives them peace of mind.
It also assures customers that you know what you're doing.
I am a firm believer in systems and organization; it is the lifeline of my business for a reason. Contact me for a free business assessment if you need help converting your knowledge into a structure that works, and let's see if we're a good match!
Where to Start
Service based on values is fundamental to an outstanding client experience. Start by identifying the values you strive to achieve in working with your clients. Then, evaluate how you can structure them, clarifying your vision of how your services should unfold.
Once you have a clear vision, you can create a strategy.
The next step is to align your team’s perception with yours. Clarifying your expectations and approach will create a supportive team culture, bringing consistency into your brand’s service delivery.
How to Connect Your Values & Vision to Client Expectations
Building customer personas is not only for marketing purposes - on a deeper level, but they also assist you and your team in envisioning the types of clients and situations you may encounter. It creates a client-centric mindset. With time and experience, you will be able to perfect these client types.
This information is invaluable to improving your vision and resulting actions. It evolves into a dataset for evaluation in all aspects of your service offering.
About That Human Connection
Think about how much emotion plays a part in building true loyalty. We can spot someone being fake from a mile in most cases. But when we are authentic, we start feeling a connection and may even start to bond.
Be mindful, though, when we try to replicate this in our marketing, there is a big chance of coming across as insincere if you do not genuinely care about your client. It’s a fine line. But when we strive to connect with our clients, truly, we build loyalty.
Understanding their emotional needs when it comes to the transaction will help you be empathetic to their viewpoint. Listen to them. Along the way, look for opportunities to add value to their lives - be it a small gift or a simple call from a sincere place when they experience a setback or a win. Even if not specific to the transaction. That is the beauty of real estate! We can build authentic connections because it is such a personal journey for the client.
The Power of Feedback
Don’t just strive for testimonials - encourage feedback. Even when negative, use this information to perfect your unique approach to the client experience. Look for ways to identify:
Development and training needs of your team
Ways to mold your team culture
Areas to craft realistic, practical customer personas
How to improve on your service delivery
Instead of waiting for testimonials, encourage and ask for feedback. Doing this allows your client to voice their feelings in a safe space. Then, when the feedback is positive, simply ask for permission to publish it as a testimonial.
Technology as an Enabler
Technology won’t rob you of your human connection! I see so many agents get stuck on this view. By automating aspects of your business, you get to clear away the daily clutter, opening time and energy to focus on our clients. You also create a sound and consistent structure (you know, being on time, the reminders, and technical details that boost your productivity!)
Technology is not a replacement for your human connection, but it is a powerful aid to enhance and facilitate it.
Approach the information as an ongoing strategy. We all fail, and we can all succeed. So give yourself time, focus, and put in consistent effort. I guarantee it will build into a service experience that will give you that top brand reputation.
meet Sheena
Backed by two decades of demonstrated experience, I help purpose-driven women in real estate grow their businesses and achieve ultimate success with proven systems.
