I would credit strong client relationship building skills as the single biggest reason for my success in real estate. My career’s success was measured not by my sales conversion rate or total number of houses sold, but instead by how many client relationships I could procure and cultivate.
I was fortunate enough to realise early on in my career that a strong client relationship will yield positive benefits both currently as well as into the future, which was why I allocated the majority of my efforts in building the relationship.
The motivation behind my client relationship focus
Part of the reason for my maniacal approach towards client relationships was because I entered the industry as a buyer. At the time of starting my real estate career, I was also building a new home for my family. We had a family friend who was in the industry and was extremely helpful in guiding us through the unfamiliar process of building a home.
We were eager to learn as much as we could about home building, and to avoid being a constant pest to our family friend, we would spend most of our weekends visiting new home displays and other sales representative offices. It was not like we were shopping around for better deals – we were just eager to learn of the different products and gain varying perspectives about the industry.
In the space of two months, I may have met close to 60 sales representatives, most of which misunderstood my intentions for an opportunity to sell me on a home. Perhaps I shouldn’t be too critical of them – at the end of the day, they were there to perform a job of securing me as a client.
As a new buyer in the market, I found it somewhat off-putting that these sales consultants were single-minded in their approach. They failed to take the time to understand me as a potential buyer and pave the foundation for a constructive working relationship. Through that experience, I vowed to start off my real estate career with building relationships as the goal.
You must be able to build rapport
Building rapport is certainly easier said than done. Each client is different in their personality, preferences and motivations, all of which takes time to identify and to relate. As a sales consultant, a way to subvert this effort is to focus solely on the product itself and place little to no emphasis on the client’s buyer profile. While this can prove successful, what you lose is future opportunities to work with that client, or be referred by that client to other potential buyers.
Choosing to build a relationship may take longer, and may end up being unsuccessful due to potential personality clashes. However, in my experience, it is the only way to ensure a sustainable dynamic with the client that transcends beyond that first home purchase. To put another way, in building a client relationship, you are not only learning about the client, but also giving up some information about yourself. That sharing process helps build trust and authenticity, serving as the key building blocks for a fruitful relationship.
Training the next generation on building a strong client relationship
Towards the back-end of my career, one of my responsibilities was to train younger sales professionals. As part of these training sessions, I provided examples of what it takes to maintain client excellence. Working overtime, meeting clients on their schedule, sacrificing personal time to address client needs, were all themes used in these sessions.
The response I received from the sales professionals was frankly underwhelming. Some found it unnecessary to meet clients after-hours. Others were not responding to sacrificing some personal freedom for the job.
My response to this reaction was that they missed the point completely on the lessons. These were instances in my career where I could have easily done nothing and passed the buck to someone else, or make it clear that we have company policies for a reason. I noted to the young professionals that they could certainly follow that approach, yet they should not be surprised by their lacklustre sales performances.
The key lesson from my experiences was that I wished to empathise with the client and their circumstances, and find a solution that makes their situation a little easier. I could have certainly been unsuccessful in securing deals, however it would certainly not be for my lack of effort and my display of empathy.
As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, sales persons lose the trust of their buyers when they display a single-minded focus on securing the sale. Through the relationship building process, you gain benefits that exceed well beyond that initial sale. By placing this front of mind in your sales process, I am confident that you will have an enriching career in real estate sales.
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Building client relationships take work and is in no way an easy feat. However, with some time, patience and empathy, they will serve as the foundation for a successful career in real estate.
Looking back, I have no regrets on the significant time and effort spent cultivating and strengthening my client relationships, as it continued to pay dividends throughout my career (in the form of repeat business and referrals). My only hope is that new real estate sales professionals appreciate and focus on the client relationship and less on the sale.
The content outlined above was written, edited and published by the Lost Realtor. The author has over 20 years or real estate sales and investing experience in the Australian property market. He has held senior positions in Australian building companies, including being the General Manager of the residential sales division of Collier Homes. His qualifications include a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Graduate Diploma in Building and Construction Law.