All too often talented, knowledgeable, and successful agents can hardly wait to voice their opinion. They reason that knowledge is power. And, if they have all of the answers, why shouldn’t they impress their clients with their intellectual prowess. In theory that strategy may seem to make sense, but in practice, when you’re attempting to win your clients trust and confidence, this strategy is seriously flawed.
The more prudent strategy applies the cliché:
“People don’t care what you know, until they know that you care.”
A very wise person once pointed out that people are endowed with two ears and only one mouth for a reason. Under this strategy, it doesn’t matter what you think. What matters is what your client or prospect is thinking. Instead of arguing the obvious logic of your position, ask as many questions as possible to present a different perspective and open your clients up to a different way of thinking.
This approach should be employed with the utmost courtesy and respect. You are much more likely to achieve the desired outcome if you identify your client’s comfort level and respect their opinions. Here are some great examples of how this can be achieved:
- If a prospective buyer or seller isn’t comfortable until they have read every word in an Agreement, you should read every word with them, not point out that “nobody ever reads the fine print.”
- If a prospective buyer likes the hustle and bustle surrounding a home located on a busy street, don’t insist on showing them a home that is at the end of a cul-de-sac with nary a pedestrian passing by because it has better resale value.
- If a seller insists that what they paid for their home, has nothing to do with what they should sell it for, respect their view point and don’t insist on pointing out how much money they will be making when they sell for far more than they paid.
- If a great client just purchased his third investment property from you and is very down to earth and loves pies, don’t send a gift certificate to one of the fancy local restaurants, ask the chef at his favorite bakery to deliver one to your client as a thank you.
I think you get the idea. DON’T IMPOSE YOUR SET OF VALUES ON THE PEOPLE YOU REPRESENT. Respect their opinions and values and use the knowledge that you gain from listening to your clients to develop a high level of trust with them.