An unfortunate facet of being a real estate agent, is the fact that you’ll likely have to deliver bad news to clients at some point. This may come in the form of a withdrawn offer, or a last-minute fail to sell at auction. Whatever the case, delivering bad news is always tough and not a task that most of us enjoy.
No one likes giving or receiving bad news, and it can often cause a considerable amount of apprehension. There’s certainly an art to communicating negative information, especially when it’s something that nobody wants to hear. Let’s cover some pro agent tips on how you can be better at delivering bad news to clients.
Taking The Good With The Bad
One of the best ways of communicating successfully with clients, is to mix the bad with the good. The bottom line is if you just try to give bad news, your clients will feel like you’re trying to condition them. This will never go down well, as no one wants to feel like a chump. Communicating well with clients will involve incorporating good news and bad news.
As the agent who will mediate all your client’s real estate activities, you’re going to be a messenger of sorts. You will want to be the messenger of both good and bad – it can never be one-way traffic, because there will always be positives and negatives. Unfortunately, this is just the way that the market works.
Regular Communication And Making Mistakes
Regular communication with sellers and landlord clients is essential. Coupled with this, is the idea that you will always operate from a position of honesty with your clients. An example of this, is that it’s important to admit when you’re wrong – for example if you’ve given a pricing estimate that was off the mark.
It’s important to be able to admit fault when you’ve made a mistake – transparency is key in real estate, because otherwise your clients won’t trust you. A shady agent will always have less clients, because people need to trust the person in charge of sorting out their most valuable financial asset – their home.
Recognising that you’ve made an error – such as an over appraisal, will hopefully show your clients that you’re an agent to be respected, because you want the best for them. Showing that you can take it on the chin and make it right, is a good skill to have – even if it means telling your client something they don’t want to hear.
When The Time Is Right
When markets are challenging, it’s super important that agents are able to deliver information in a transparent way. Timing is also imperative – with clients understanding the outcome of the conversation because of when the information was presented.
Giving bad news to a client can be viewed as an opportunity to gain their trust and foster the relationship. Being consistent is the key here, showing a constructive outlook when giving and receiving bad news.
It’s always better to deliver bad news to a client sooner rather than later. Delaying bad news can only make matters worse, especially when acting quickly in real estate can often be the difference between a purchase or sale.
Agents who allow bad news to linger, often find that the situation will snowball out of control, so don’t be that kind of agent. Make sure that you are honest and transparent with clients – not wasting time in the process.