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Dealing with This Ongoing Communication Frustration

By
Real Estate Agent with Dirt Road Real Estate SA676002000

Maybe it’s me, yet one of the most consistent and continual communication frustrations is the inability of people to read.

 

Just this morning I sent out an email to our local realtors who participate in a monthly informal learning session entitled “Breakfast Breakout.” The focus of this one hour monthly professional development is to breakout from the flow and stay ahead of current real estate trends by sharing our experiences and knowledge. Informal learning, learning from others, is where we gather 70% of our knowledge.

 

Within this email I wrote “Office will send out an invite late Tuesday afternoon.  The ZOOM meeting will start at 7:30am and open at 7:15am.” In less than 15 minutes I received this email from one of the recipients “Have they sent the invitation yet? if so, I have not received it.”

 

Of course, it is more common than uncommon for sales leads not to read emails. Even after I have shared with clients "I will be sending some emails, please read them,” I have had clients tell me “Oh, I just delete all the emails as I don’t have time to read them.”

 

Then there are those Realtors who also fail to read email communicationa as well as text communicationa. These folks will also delete emails even without reading them.

 

Beyond the frustration, the failure to read creates additional work for all parties involved. Sometimes what happens is the receiving party of the communication starts to disagree to even argue because they have not read the entire email communication. What should have taken at the most five minutes now has turned into back and forth exchanges which double if not triple the involved time.

 

Yes, everyone is busy.

Yes, some are busier than others.

Being busy is still no excuse for NOT reading.

 

In real estate, reading is essential from closing documents such as Title Commitments to legal descriptions to Contracts to Listing Agreements, etc. The skill of accurately reading is probably one of the most critical sales skills in real estate. Dollars can be easily lost because of the failure to read.

 

My simple sales coaching tip is to slow down. Invest the time to read. If you have the habit of deleting emails before reading them, maybe you may wish to re-consider that habit. Your fellow Realtors will appreciate one less communication frustration on their plates.

 

Graphic courtesy of Gratisography.com

 

 

 

Posted by

Leanne M. Smith, MS, GRI, rCRMS

2018 KGVAR Rookie Realtor of the Year-55+
219.508.2859 MST
Life Begins Where the Pavement Ends
Connect with me on LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/leannehoaglandsmith

Comments (18)

Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hello Leanne - I hear you and it seems I understand both sides presented.  Information overload as well as "is this really important?".  Solutions?  I'm not so sure. 

Can we mandate thoughtfulness and other "secret ingredients" that we know can lead to eventual success if correctly implemented?   Maybe we can't achieve 100% comprehension but hopefully capture those who matter.  Emphasis on Maybe.  

May 11, 2020 10:07 AM
Leanne Smith

Maybe is a good word in sales and apologies for the delay in responding to your comment Michael Jacobs 

May 18, 2020 05:27 AM
Anna "Banana" Kruchten
HomeSmart Real Estate - Phoenix, AZ
602-380-4886

Seems to me Leanne they're not that interested in learning and discusing.  If they were they'd act like adult professionals and put it on their schedule!! Good grief.   Clearly they're missing a great opportunity learning from you.  Perhaps there is a better audience more fitting with your energy and passion.

May 11, 2020 01:51 PM
Leanne Smith

I am going to do a series of articles regarding the D.A.N.G.E.R. Report. THe first danger to Agents is the lack of professionalims/incompetence of agents.  Clearly the mandated Code of Ethics training is not reaching numerous agent. My apologies for the delay in responding to your comment Anna Banana Kruchten Arizona's Top Banana! 

May 18, 2020 05:29 AM
Bruce Hicks
Best Homes Hawaii - Honolulu, HI
Your Best Hawaii Realtor!

In a similar circumstance Leanne Smith , I've had rental ads running with the first line saying, "Drive by First, then contact us".  The majority emails and asks, "Im interested in the place".  When I ask "did you drive by first", they say NO can we make an appointment? 

May 13, 2020 06:18 PM
Leanne Smith

Totally understand that frustration. My apologies for the delay in responding to your comment Bruce Hicks 

May 18, 2020 05:30 AM
Kelly Dixon
RE/MAX - Clearwater, FL
Broker Assoc., GRI, ABR, PSA, SRS, SFR, RSPS, CN

OMG.....so much this......I am dealing with a listing agent and her husband and I swear they both are replying off of the same email address but neither bother to follow the entire email exchange (nor create a unique signature to ackowledge I'm dealing with two different people)........but because they both use the same address, I feel like I'm dealing with a schizophrenic person.....


"It aint that hard to slow down and read".......

May 13, 2020 06:32 PM
Leanne Smith

That must be very frustrating.  Why not two email addresses especially given this is an agent?  Apologies for not responding earlier to your comment Kelly Dixon 

May 18, 2020 05:31 AM
Jana Holmstrup
Jana Holmstrup - CCO - Kings Mortgage Services, Inc. - Visalia, CA

Haha! Must be a trait in sales. My LOs straight up admit they don’t read all the way to the bottom.
I have learned to keep it short and bold & underline what they need to know.
Then you can follow up with details in new paragraphs for future reference. They may not read it all today, but they remember the bold/underlined and will go back to it when the scenario arises.

May 13, 2020 06:54 PM
Leanne Smith

Well Jana Holmstrup you can "hope" they read it all.  I have scanned and highlighted sample copies of many of the AZ real estate documents. They receive these in a packet as well as email. Often I get questions and then asked if they read what I provided them.  The answer is usually No. So I direct them to the page of the document.  As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink it. Apologies for the delay in responding to your comment,

May 18, 2020 05:45 AM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

No, it is NOT just you.

I have would-be customers write to ask me questions that are clearly answered on whatever web page they were looking at. For instance, "How many letters are in that set, and how much is it?"

I also get frustrated with some copywriting clients for not reading. If I have a question, I'll email. Often I'll get an answer that shows they read perhaps half of the first sentence.

With some clients I learn quickly to send just ONE question per email. If I ask two or three - forget it. I'm apt to get half an answer to just one.

One of my best memories of a client I worked for over a period of 6 or 8 years was the time I wrote and asked Do you want me to do this or this? (I forget what the options were by now, as it was  years ago.)

His answer: (really!) was: "K." That was the entire response.

I was quite fond of the guy and thought he was  great agent, but sometimes... !

May 13, 2020 07:42 PM
Leanne Smith

Yes brevity in communication is not necessarily a good thing. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Marte Cliff and my apologies for the delay in responding.

May 18, 2020 05:42 AM
Anonymous
Rose O'Reilly HomeSmartRealty

I wanted to get 5 or 6 Agents together at our office for a Mastermind group every other Monday morning at 9 am to discuss Real Estate. They would say, Oh that's a good idea, but when I tried to tie them down to a specific date and time, they would come up with this or that excuse. Very frustrating.

May 13, 2020 08:32 PM
#7
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Communication consists of many layers, being open to reading... not skimming... for starters... let me give you  a parallel how many times do you read a blog post on this platform and you get people commenting and all you can do is scratch your head... did they read the post?? So with that said it is not just you... and I could write a book but this is just a comment:)Endre

May 13, 2020 10:03 PM
Leanne Smith

A truly great observation Endre Barath, Jr. People have conscious and subconscious attitudes (agendas) which prevent them from accurately understanding communication. My issue is I am a very literal reader and listener.  My apologies for not responding earlier to your comments.

May 18, 2020 05:40 AM
Jamie King
Hoty Enterprises, Inc. - Huron, OH
Sandusky, OH

It's not just you! It's a pet peeve of mine. I am very detailed and organized. I try to be precise and clear with instructions so the intended recipient has all the information they need to show a property, or proceed with a transaction, or some similar task. Only to have some come back and ask a question that was clearly addressed in the email. I have to bite my tongue to keep from replying, "What did I just say?!"

May 13, 2020 11:32 PM
Leanne Smith

Yes Jamie King the "What did I just say or write," is often in my thought as well. Thanks for commenting and apologies for the delay in responding to your comment.

May 18, 2020 05:38 AM
Mary Hutchison, SRES, ABR
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate-Kansas City Homes - Kansas City, MO
Experienced Agent in Kansas City Metro area

It's so lazy and inconsiderate!  One of my pet peeves is if I leave a message on a voice mail--and I get a call back but the person says "I didn't listen to your message".  Again, RUDE--my brother does this all the time!

May 14, 2020 07:46 AM
Leanne Smith

Mary Hutchison, SRES, ABR with family we can excuse and chalk it up as family. My daughter does the same thing. Sometimes out here the voice mail message comes 24-48 hours later. Gotta love technology. Apologies for the delay in responding to your comment.

May 18, 2020 05:37 AM
Lindsay Reagan, Realtor
Bowen Realty - Wellington, FL

It seems that people are so busy rushing to and from something that they do not take the time to slow down and breathe.  With most of my advertisement I request clients call or text me.  I can get back to them quicker if they would just do this..many times I am on the road and I can reply to them with a text or call back while I am driving.  I pride myself on being responsive.  MOST of the time people will shoot me an email... and then they have to wait hours for me to get back to them.

May 14, 2020 09:22 AM
Leanne Smith

Here in NW AZ even texting can be delayed.  Funny thing about people they demand immediate attention, but fail to respond when they receive that attention.  Lindsay Reagan, Realtor thanks for comments and apologies for the delay in responding to your comments.

May 18, 2020 05:36 AM
Dana Hollish Hill
Hollish Hill Group, JPAR Stellar Living - Bethesda, MD
REALTOR * Broker * Coach

You are so right. 

May 14, 2020 11:15 AM
Leanne Smith

Thank you Dana Hollish Hill and my apologies for not responding earlier to your comment.

May 18, 2020 05:34 AM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

Smart advice and as you say, would eliminate unnecessary communication by reading the entire email before responding. I've had this happen countless times, especially with listings that have special instructions!

May 14, 2020 01:40 PM
Leanne Smith

Thank you for the kind words Jan Green My apologies for the delay in responding to your comment.

May 18, 2020 05:33 AM
Nina Hollander, Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC
Your Greater Charlotte Realtor

It's not just the reading... how about listening to voice mail messages so you know whether you need to call someone back or not?

May 14, 2020 02:14 PM
Leanne Smith

Novel concept, listening Nina Hollander . My apologies for not responding earlier to your comment.

May 18, 2020 05:32 AM
The Derrick Team - Indy Metro Realtors
Carpenter Realtors - Avon, IN
Your Pet Friendly Realtors

When someone asks something I answered in a previous email, I just resend the email without comment, and let them get the message.

May 15, 2020 08:52 AM
Leanne Smith

The Derrick Team - Indy Metro Realtors good tactic.  And I know where Avon is as we were from NW IN (Valparaiso). Apologies for the delay in responding to your comment.

May 18, 2020 05:32 AM
Richard V. Foster, Esq.
Law Office of Richard V. Foster - Henderson, NV
Broker (58356) - ABR/M, CREN, CRS, GRI, RRG, SFR

This is the oldest complaint in real estate, or any business for that matter. It s long proven, most of customer satisfaction, or dissatisfaction, is based on the quality of communications. The better the communications, the smoother business progresses. How hard is it to answer a call or email? I have long said it should be a violation of the Code of Ethics to ignore communications. but how do you enforce it? There comes the rub, and why this subject continues unabated.

When people reach out, even with a ridiculous request, just respond, stay civil, and things will be better in the end.

May 18, 2020 01:46 PM
Leanne Smith

And from what I understand very few people complain to the AZ Dept of R.E. regarding violations because no one wants to rock the boat so to speak.  Thanks Richard V. Foster, Esq. for commenting.

May 19, 2020 11:20 AM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Leanne, no need to apologize now that AR does not let you know that someone commented it makes the process harder...and yes we are on the same page, Endre

May 18, 2020 09:20 PM
Leanne Smith

So when did AR change its policy Endre Barath, Jr. ?  I thought I had inadvertently changed some settings.

May 19, 2020 11:21 AM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Who knows Leanne, I have not been getting any messages in about three weeks but it has been a blur with everything else going on... my take what a shame the platform is missing out on activity, Endre

May 19, 2020 08:57 PM
Leanne Smith

Yes I just learned as I asked a question.  Technology is not a fail safe product and why we shall always be valuable. Thanks for responding Endre Barath, Jr. 

May 20, 2020 05:47 AM