Ā There are so many moving parts in a real estate transaction. Youāve got your client, yourself, the other agent, and the person they represent.
Ā But youāve also got the lender, the home inspector, the appraiser, buyer and seller attorneys, a representative from the title company, and insurance agents for either or both sides.
Ā Any one of these could forget what they were supposed to doāor forget to attend an important meetingāor surprise everyone with a revelation that upends the deal.
Ā While everyone wantsĀ the transaction to go smoothly from start to finish, no one can guarantee that it will. Because all those moving parts are humans. And humans are great at complicating things.
BECOME YOUR CLIENTāS SECRET WEAPON
Ā So, if and when things get messy, do you know how to keep your cool and keep your client happy?
Ā Iām about to share what Iāve learned to help you become the kind of agent who can handle any complication with a calm confidence that instantly dissolves your clientās fearsāand assures them you will do everything in your power to make that complication work to their benefit.
Ā It starts with your willingness to do what it takes to build a strong, connected network of trustworthy and capable real estate professionals.
NO TOP AGENT IS AN ISLAND
Ā Itās super beneficial to have relationships with other agents. And there are plenty of ways to build and maintain those relationships.
Letās look at places where you can meet the people who might be involved in real estate transactions in your area:
- Networking eventsāespecially those in your area or events thatĀ everyĀ real estate professional should attend every year.
- Social mediaāuse theĀ top social media platformsĀ to search for real estate professionals in your local market; follow them and comment on their posts.
- RealTrends.comĀ and ZillowāsĀ Agent FinderātoĀ find the top producersĀ in your area, then reach out and ask to set up a mastermind over coffee or lunch.
Ā When things do go wrong, it helps to draw from experiences and insights other than your own. Plus, the more people you know who are different from yourself, the more you learn to empathize with people whose backgrounds and perspectives differ from your own.
Ā You also learn helpful tricks and hacks you might never have learned if you hadnāt met so-and-so at one of the networking events you attended. And who knows? Perhaps so-and-so will introduce you to a new client ā or a lender or appraiser or home inspector.
Ā With all the variables involved in buying or selling a home, it makes a huge difference when you know you can trust the people involved in the transaction.
Ā And since you know things can still go wrong, you need to be constantly building and nurturing these relationshipsābefore the deal, during the deal, and after the deal is done.
BEFORE THE DEAL
Ā Make it a top priority to build strong and mutually beneficial relationships with as many competent and trustworthy real estate professionals as you can.
Ā Here are some actions you can take before (and after) taking on a real estate transaction:
- Search the internet for local real estate professionalsĀ who serve as mortgage lenders, home inspectors, appraisers, attorneys, insurance agents, etc.
- Attend open housesĀ to meet the listing agent and, if you get a positive impression from them, look them up on social media.
- Create events of your ownĀ and invite real estate professionals in your area, so you and your guests can get better acquainted with each other.
Ā Make as many friends as possible. The actions listed above arenāt just for the early stages of your career. You will want to continue taking action to connect with other real estate professionals and nurture the relationships youāve built.
DURING THE DEALĀ
Ā When youāre in the middle of a deal, there are things you should be doing to keep that deal on the railsāor to get it back onĀ the rails when something goes wrong.
- Send a closing team emailāto everyone involved so everyone knows all the players and how to get a hold of any of them. Make it as easy as possible for everyone involved to get in touch with anyone else on the team. If you have aĀ transaction coordinator, have them reach out to everyone and invite questions about the process.
- Constant communicationāYou need to be in constant communication with your client and other professionals involved in the transaction to ensure everyone knows whatās going on and whatās expected of them.
- Keep an open mindāremember not every transaction is the same, and be prepared to try an outside-the-box approach to keep your client happy. What you did for your last client may not be as helpful with your current client.
- Keep the long game in viewāitās not the end of the world if the transaction doesnāt go exactly as planned. Consider it an added challenge to help you grow as a real estate agent. Always be learning and be willing to adapt.
Ā If thereās no saving the deal, the number one thing is to keep your client happy.Ā Do whatever you can to save your relationship with that client. Take your own emotions out of the equation and get back to the process at hand.
Ā When things go wrong, the TWO KEY pieces of information to identify as early as possible are:
- Whoās the number one player/decision-maker
- Whoās the easiest to get a hold of
Ā Reach out to both of these people to maximize your chances of getting a helpful and timely responseāgetting you that much closer to an outcome that is favorable to your client.
AFTER THE DEAL
Ā The deal is finally done. Youāre happy with the outcome, and, more importantly, so is your client. Naturally, youāre feeling especially grateful for the people involved who contributed to that outcome.
Ā So, what can you do to solidify and strengthen the relationships you built during this deal? Because when someone goes above and beyond to save a deal, a thank you card just doesnāt feel like enough.
Ā Fortunately, there are a million different ways to set up client appreciation events or agent-appreciation events to call these people out for whatever they did that you noticed and appreciated.
Ā For starters, you could throw a closing team party to thank everyone on the closing team with a hearty meal and an assortment of drinks to make everyone feel at homeāand make youĀ someone theyāll remember.
Ā For more ideas, stay tuned for my next article, which will go into more detail on what you can expect and what you can do after the deal is done.
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