The Key: Improving Agent-to-Agent Communication
“The Key” is Blakemore Real Estate’s agent-focused blog series in which educational tips, best practices, and expert insights are shared to help Realtors® excel in their careers.
At Blakemore Real Estate, relationships are at the center of everything we do—and while we are fueled by client relationships first and foremost, our ability to engage, connect, and negotiate with other Realtors is paramount in any transaction. As your client’s chosen representative, you must maintain a cooperative spirit to simplify the buying and selling process’s most complex aspects. To support you in strengthening your communication processes, we’re sharing three guiding principles.
#1 Coordination
Set the stage for a smooth transaction by identifying how each stakeholder prefers to be communicated with. Just like you want to know how and when to best reach your client, you’ll want to know how to get a hold of the other agent as well—is it via email? Via text? What times of day are they most likely to respond? Learning these preferences early on gives you both a chance to communicate your expectations for everything that is to come. Knowing that transactions tend to move fast, it’s vital that you aren’t spending any time duplicating efforts or struggling to get a hold of one another when important updates need to be shared.
#2 Cooperation
With the expectation that anything can change at any moment throughout the buying and selling process, the best way to avoid conflict is to promptly and courteously respond to one another. We recommend checking in at pivotal stages in the transaction to ensure everything is going as planned rather than assuming. These frequent, intermittent pulse checks enable you to prevent future conflicts and address issues in the moment. However, not every agent is cooperative or communicative, and you have to be prepared for that. Part of being a trusted real estate professional is having the ability to shift your mindset from “doing your job” to truly getting the job done and taking care of your client by all means necessary.
#3 Negotiation
Although we put negotiating at the top of our list in terms of importance, we saved it for last because your communication efficacy throughout the transaction will considerably impact your ability to negotiate in your client’s best interest. Here are three guiding best practices we live by:
Do your research: The best negotiations start with facts, not feelings. Come prepared with all the offer details, so you aren’t blindsided or at a disadvantage if something is mentioned you aren’t aware of. The more you know, the better leverage you’ll have.
Keep your calm: Approach the conversation with comfortability and remember that you aren’t trying to prove anyone wrong. You are just trying to do what’s best for your client, and in most cases, that’s what the other agent is trying to do as well.
Prepare to walk: Before you talk, be prepared to walk. You must be prepared to follow through with any claim you make in your negotiation to build credibility and trust. Have an understanding of your client’s must-haves and deal-breakers early on so you know how far to go.
We hope you will use these strategies as a baseline for communicating effectively, promptly, and professionally.
We invite you to follow us on our social channels @Blakemore Real Estate for more insights and tips.
