The Key: Proactive Realtor Practices for 2021
“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.
If we’ve all learned anything over the last year, it’s that the real estate market waits for no one. That’s why we’ve rounded up our best proactive practices for 2021, so you can stay ahead of the game and ensure no client is left behind.
Manage Client Expectations
Miscommunications often occur when a client’s expectations don’t align with their budget, needs, or the reality of the current market. The best way to avoid this issue is to ask them what their expectations are and clearly outline your role as their Realtor® before you begin the house hunt.
Some good questions to start with are:
What are your top three wants for a home?
What are your top three needs for a home?
When is your ideal moving date?
What is your budget?
Use this consultation as an opportunity to elaborate on the current status of the market, define each step of the buying or selling process, and educate them about the misleading information often found on the internet. Communicating with your client from the very beginning allows you to share your knowledge, provide expert advice, and establish their preferred communication methods for future contact.
Embrace Technology
The continuation of the pandemic and the rise of remote work has made it difficult to meet with clients in person. Once you identify how your clients prefer to communicate in your consultation, don’t be afraid to embrace video conferencing tools to help you stay connected through every step of the transaction.
Additionally, the competitive and fast-moving market will require you to be more available to your clients to address their concerns and answer their questions throughout the transaction. This might present an opportunity to adopt helpful technology tools and systems to streamline your administrative tasks. We recommend using a digital project management system to help you stay on top of important deadlines and prioritize daily tasks.
Be a Trusted Source
People are experiencing information (and misinformation) overload these days. That’s why it’s important to be a credible resource to your clients long after the transaction closes.
Here are a few of the ways we provide value to our clients:
Sharing our preferred vendor list full of local experts
Sending out monthly mailers with helpful information, tips, and credible sources
Keeping our door (both literal and virtual) open for questions about all things real estate
Verifying information found on third-party real estate websites
We hope you will use these tips to keep up with the evolving market, create value in your client relationships, and most importantly—have a very successful year.
We invite you to follow us on our social channels @blakemorerealestate for more insights and tips.
