When it comes to winning real estate clients over, building rapport is something that too many agents overlook. Instead of taking the time to establish trust and find commonalities, they push sales statistics and reasons why their services are preferable to those of other agents.
According to Real Estate Rockstar Amanda Todd, this is a huge mistake.
By establishing rapport with a potential client, you’re putting yourself on the fast track to becoming someone they like, know, and trust, which will greatly increase your chances of becoming their agent of choice.
In the podcast interview below, Amanda talks in depth on the importance of building rapport in addition to offering advice on real estate expansion, outlining her best business sources, and more.
In this post, we explore three questions Amanda asks during listing appointments to build rapport with sellers from the start. Read on and learn exactly what you should ask sellers to increase your chances of winning their business.
[app_audio src=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/hibandigital/Amanda_Todd_2.mp3″]
“Why are you moving?”
Always ask potential clients why they’re making a move. In addition to showing interest, it often provides excellent information for you as an agent, like whether or not there’s the potential for a buy-side deal.
More importantly, though, this question provides insight on a potential client’s motivation. Since buying and selling homes is a lot of work, for consumers as well as for agents, strong motivation is a good indicator that the client will see the deal through instead of giving up halfway through the process.
“What’s your timeline?”
Asking about a potential client’s timeline is a great way to lead into a conversation regarding realistic expectations. You should always ensure that a client’s expectations are in line with yours before moving forward. If not, you could easily waste countless hours working listings that will never sell due unrealistic client-side expectations.
Besides, sellers appreciate honesty in an agent. While some agents tell clients what they want to hear at listing appointments, this practice should be avoided as it will leave clients disappointed in the event that you’re unable to deliver on your promises.
As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn’t make any assurances unless you’re fairly certain you’ll be able to meet or exceed them as things move forward.
“How can I help?”
Finally, once you’ve established strong motivation and have ensured realistic expectations, it’s time to explore exactly what you can do to help the seller achieve their goals with this deal. In order to do this, you need to know what their goals are.
For some clients, the goal may be selling their home at or above asking price in under three months. For others, it may be lining up another home to buy before selling their primary residence. Unless you ask, you won’t know and will have a hard time delivering what they’re looking for.
Once clients know that you understand what they’re hoping to accomplish with the sale of their home, they’ll know that you’re the agent for them. Also, if you’re able to help them meet their goals by the time the deal is done, repeat business and referrals are essentially guaranteed.
Learn More About Building Rapport with Clients
To hear more about building rapport with real estate clients and dominating your local market, listen to the complete podcast interview with Amanda Todd.
Also, remember that asking questions isn’t the only thing you can and should do to build rapport. Read this article on building rapport in five simple steps and walk into each listing appointment with the confidence and the tools needed to get a signed listing agreement.
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Spotify
Stitcher
RSS