Personalities and Pending to Close: Your Golden Opportunity!
A highly-overlooked referral opportunity in an agent's business is the "pending to closing" process. And the more you can tune into a client's personality during this time, the more effective you can be with that client. In fact, when done correctly this process can yield an incredible referral business.
When a buyer or seller is in the "active" part of their home-buying or selling journey they are usually consumed with the many appointments they need to look at homes, review offers, keep the house clean, and get their lending in order. But once the offer is pending the client moves into a whole new phase of their journey.
The pending to close part of their journey provides a different kind of excitement because the buyer or seller knows exactly what they have just bought or sold and where the next part of their life journey will take them. Gone is the waiting and the uncertainty, and although there are still hoops to jump through, in general, the steps become clearer and there is eagerness and relief.
This is also the part of the journey where buyers and sellers talk to their family and friends and share their good news and their plans. They also share their journey, the good and the bad, and they even talk about their agent. That is where you come in.
As an agent, you already know you need to make the "pending to closing" process as memorable and stress free as possible. Every one of your clients has a different personality type so you need to customize the communication plan for every client. Now that doesn't mean that you have to create a new plan for every client, but it does mean that you need to communicate that plan the way the client prefers and in a way that is suited for their personality.
For example, if you have a weekly pending to closing report you do for all of your clients then you would continue to do that, but you would consider each client's personality type to determine how to deliver it.
Here is a quick recap of the personalities and what they value using the context of the weekly pending to close report. If you haven't taken our free personality analysis yourself, here is a link.
- Supporter - These folks value the person-to-person relationship. They want to hear your voice and seeing you is even better. Provide them with the report, but give them a call to go over the details and make sure they are comfortable.
- Promoter - They want to know you are on top of things. They will be impressed with a visual report. They want to hear your voice and see you if possible, but these folks are also very busy, so they don't need you to go over a lot of detail with them. But a quick call summarizing the top 3 things they need to be aware of would be great.
- Controller - This personality also moves fast and they "get it" quickly. They don't need you to go over a lot of detail, but they need you to be on top of things and be proactive. Give them not only a report of what happened last week but what will be coming up. A bulleted emailed list will be just fine for these folks but it needs to look like a system.
- Analytical - Analyticals are the most detailed of all the personality types. They don't necessarily need a call, but you should definitely list out what happened last week, what sources you checked, what you are planning for next week and a detailed list of everything they need to know.
Remember, while some of your clients will be happy with the written report and your excellent attention to detail others might find it opens up a can of worms for them wondering what all that data on the report means. Perhaps with that client you would have been smarter to send the report followed by a text or voicemail that said to feel free to call if they had any questions. Being super attentive during the pending to closing process will result in referral business if done correctly.
Personality types are what should determine the kind of communication you have with your buyers and sellers during the pending to closing process. Agents that have a customized system impress their clients and increase their chance of being highly referred.
By Denise Lones CSP, M.I.R.M., CDEI - The founding partner of The Lones Group, Denise Lones, brings nearly three decades of experience in the real estate industry. With agent/broker coaching, expertise in branding, lead generation, strategic marketing, business analysis, new home project planning, product development, Denise is nationally recognized as the source for all things real estate. With a passion for improvement, Denise has helped thousands of real estate agents, brokers, and managers build their business to unprecedented levels of success, while helping them maintain balance and quality of life.
Comments(1)