Know Clients’ Motivation

As with any successful relationship, it’s important to understand what motivates a client. Agents should know how to work with — and read — many different buying styles and behaviors.

To respond appropriately to different personalities and adapt to clients’ buying styles, agents must pay close attention to body language and verbal cues. “If a client comes in and is easygoing and seems excited about finding a new home, that gives me a chance to have fun and joke around during the process,” Fiorito says. “I know I can ask more questions and at a faster pace.”

If a client appears nervous and tight-lipped, Fiorito slows down the process and focuses more on building their trust, saving the qualifying questions for later.

For her part, McNamee stresses that agents be flexible.

“As an agent, you have to be a chameleon — you have to understand your client’s actions and non-verbal cues — and adjust your actions accordingly,” says McNamee.

In the first meeting with a client, McNamee lets the client drive the conversation while she listens and observes. If the client asks for a listing agreement prior to meeting, for example, she knows that moving forward, every time a signature is required she must be prepared to present paperwork in advance, providing the client with ample time to go over documentation, answer questions, and sign.
Agents need to understand the different ways buyers consume and digest information in order to truly succeed.

While trust is the pillar holding up any successful agent-client relationship, the goal of that relationship is, ultimately, a business transaction: the sale or purchase of a home. Asking “closing” questions throughout the process will help agents work toward that goal while building a relationship with the client.

“I always ask my buyer clients two things before we start actively searching for properties together: ‘Are you pre-approved for a purchase?’ and, ‘Are you in a position to be ready, willing and able to make a purchase in the next three to six months?’” says McNamee.

Agents should qualify leads by investigating four factors: needs, financials, desire, and timing. That can be done by asking qualifying questions, such as: How soon do you want to move? What price range do you feel comfortable with? Are you prequalified?

Be a Teacher

Real estate agents must be ready to serve multiple functions for their clients, and perhaps the most important is that of educator. Ryan notes that in this regard, being a real estate agent can sometimes feel like being a teacher. “People learn, receive information, and process it in different ways,” he says. “Some people are analytical and like to receive information in spreadsheets. Other people want to get in the house and see how it feels to them.”

The early stages of getting to know a client will be when agents ascertain how best to inform them throughout the process. Some clients will need hands-on guidance, down to being shown where to sign – agents will need bulletproof understanding of the entire process to confidently lead the way. Others will want to feel more independent and may prefer to do their own research, which agents will need up-to-date market knowledge to vet.

Regardless of the individual client’s needs, the fact is that an essential aspect of salesmanship is the ability to provide clients with the information that they need to make a buying decision. Keeping up with that knowledge is a lifelong process.