Real Estate agents accompany people in some of the most important decisions of their lives. This means that trust is a key issue. The most successful real estate agents manage to give support to their clients in the entire process. It is important to understand how trust plays an important role in each part of the process: from the image that real estate agents give in their broad marketing promotion, the way they inform their (prospective) clients about the process and what they should expect, making sure the clients are safe and honest and, of course, details that will reassure your presence after the deal has been made. This is true no matter who is your main client (buyer or seller, tenant or landlord).
Successful real estate agents emphasize the importance or customer satisfaction in the generation of new leads. Word-of-mouth recommendations are the most likely source of new leads in Real Estate. According to some statistics published by Forbes, 92% of the consumers trust more in recommendations from family and friends over all possible forms of advertising. This analysis goes on to emphasize the importance of “connecting” with customers over “collecting” and that, independently of which business branch one is dealing with. This means that 10 quality leads from trusted partners or customers will be more worth than 100 that do not have this seal of trust. In this article we guide you through the different stages of the typical Real Estate deal, emphasizing ways to foster the trust that will lead to customer satisfaction and ultimately to more valuable leads.
The Real Estate process – Building Trust at Every Stage
1. Building trust in broad marketing campaigns and online presence
The first thing you should think about is the image that you want to project. The best is to be honest and authentic. If you try too hard, people will end up noticing. Nowadays, it is mandatory to have a professional website and some presence in social media. In terms of design, unless you are willing to invest a significant amount of money, it is better to opt for some templates for your website that starting one from scratch. As for content, choose how personal you want to get for example by posting pictures from your family time or your hobbies in social media channels. Make sure that people immediately know how to contact you.
2. Organization and efficiency in appointments and showing appointments
A very important part of building trust in the real estate business is giving your customers a feeling of reliability. Being impeccably organized and always being punctual and ready for your meetings is imperative. People are trusting you with guidance in an important investment, so they need to have the impression that you have everything under control.
3. Take time to answer all of the questions and assess clients about unexpected
Most of your clients will not necessarily be well-versed in the world of real estate. Buying or renting some property is very emotional but it also comes with a lot of bureaucracy and paperwork. A lot of people do not know in advance what to expect, the rights and obligations they have, and what might come after the deal is closed (for example, make sure that clients understand all the additional costs that might come after the deal). Assessing people (even before they are your clients) is the best way to connect with them. Do not charge money for assessing them, this will make you look greedy. If you can, set up a couple of hours per month to offer free public assessments on real estate. Promote this through your social media channels and within the people you know. Not only is this good for karma, but you might most likely end up with some new leads.
4. Set up an environment of transparency between both parties
Real Estate deals tend to imply huge amounts of money. This immediately means that parties are skeptical about the other. You can greatly contribute to both parties feeling more at ease in the whole process. The key here is to create some space for transparency. A pro tip is to offer to do background checks from the tenant or buyer. Background checks tend to have a negative connotation (like someone is intruding on someone else’s life). Walking the people through the process and explaining openly that it is a standard procedure, will help. The landlord or owner will appreciate you taking that from their shoulders and will feel reassured about getting a detailed report of the relevant points of their future tenant or buyer. The website Nuwber creates efficient background checks that search in publicly available data and finds all the relevant information about someone’s identity, current address, workplace, eviction reports, judgments, criminal records, marital status, and more.
5. Work only with lawyers, notaries and maintenance workers that have an impeccable reputation
The impression that your customer ends up having of other people involved in the transaction will have a big impact on the memory and long-lasting image they will have of you. In this interesting piece, the Harvard Business Review emphasizes the importance of reputation in the assessment and value of companies in all branches. This all means that a great strategy is to surround yourself with competent people, with great reputations and communication skills. The objective is that the customers have a happy experience.
6. Closing the deal and post-deal details
After closing a deal, the last details matter a lot. Find the right finishing touch. Whether it means throwing a small housewarming party for the new owner of the property or sending them some special gift. This last detail will help create the feeling of a well-rounded experience and also of being more than another number. This will increase the chances of getting recommended to other people.
By setting up a strategy that emphasizes “connecting” with customers instead of just “collecting” new leads, you will build long-lasting relationships that will make your real estate business work from alone. In every step of the process, ask yourself, how can you contribute to your client feeling more comfortable and empowered about such an important decision. It is these little details that will separate you from the others.
