Stop Boring Your Clients... and Make a Lasting Impression!

Do our clients hire us just for our professional expertise or are they placing their bets with a whole person? My belief is that if I only talk about real estate to my clients, I would be amazingly efficient (and could catch up on my filing), but I would FAIL.  I'd fail to make a lasting impression, create bonds of loyalty, or even miss a potential friendship.

YOUR CLIENT IS MORE THAN A BUYER OR A SELLER

Your client is a whole person with a complex set of desires, hopes, dreams, and fears. That you already know, as sometimes, your clients tell you way too much about their marital problems, issues with their health, and other negative areas of their life.  Much of our time is spent refocusing some clients back on real estate, because our business plan doesn't include providing psychotherapy. Other clients remain somewhat reserved and distant, making it hard to build the trust needed for a good partnership.

By guiding the conversation to a part of their lives that is positive and that they care deeply about, we can avoid the problems of overengaging in personal issues or underengaging and being seen as bores.  Outside of everyone's day job, nearly everyone has some kind of interest that they are passionate about. If you can find out what that interest is and make a connection, your clients will appreciate the effort you've made to know them as a whole person and look forward to seeing you again.

I had one client who had spent a lifetime learning about and practicing gardening, another client was involved in monotype printmaking, and so on. In discussing these topics I learned about who they were on a whole new level and made a deeper connection.  That connection allowed me to stay in touch with them and lead to referrals to new clients.

YOU ARE MORE THAN A REAL ESTATE AGENT

You are also whole person with a complex set of desires, hopes, dreams, and fears. Your clients don't want to go that deep into your personal psyche any more than you want to go there with them. Keep your deepest darkest secrets and fears to yourself. Instead, let your client know about your avocations and interests as they come up naturally in conversation.

You don't have to say much about your interests for your client to form an impression of you as a more interesting person, who they would like to get to know further. If they ask questions, you can pursue the topic further. Never brag about your accomplishments with your avocations. You may have won awards, but bragging defeats your purpose? Your goal is to connect with your clients and just let them know there is more there than just a hard working, professional.  There's a whole human being.

My own avocation is running a grassroots environmental organization, which I founded 8 years ago. That raises a few eyebrows because real estate developers and environmental activists are often are at odds with one another.

CULTIVATING RELATIONSHIPS

The best gardens have a mixture of plants, not just one variety. They are also weeded, watered and fertilized. In the same way, your relationships with clients are cultivated by what you include and exclude in your conversations with them. Next time you are with your clients, try steering the conversation away from negative personal topics with grace and diplomacy, of course, and begin to find out what your clients are passionate about and give them a peek into your own passions.  I'll bet you have a life that extends beyond your real estate profession and you don't have to give away the most personal details of your life to establish that connection.