BUILDING SUCCESS IN REAL ESTATE: THE POWER OF RELATIONSHIPS AND PROFESSIONALISM

As Featured on greaternashvillerealtors.org & mainstreetmediatn.com 

Real estate is often perceived as a sales profession and in many aspects, it is. However, I think many real estate professionals would argue that real estate is a customer service and relationship-building profession and prefer to view it as such.

Agents who invest time and energy into genuinely getting to know their clients and serving them well in real estate transactions, combined with maintaining post-transaction communication, tend to excel in this business. Agents who learn to nurture relationships can enjoy businesses flowing with repeat clients and new clients through previous client referrals.

Another aspect of relationship building that Realtors can benefit from fostering and investing time in is our relationships with other agents and brokers. We spend a lot of our time and energy learning about clients through the real estate process, but we also spend a lot of time interacting with other real estate professionals.

We communicate with other agents to set up showings, reach out for insight into a property, make offers, negotiate, collaborate in a transaction, and problem-solve when challenges arise. So much of our business can also be measured by the quality of interactions we have with our colleagues.

Real estate can be stressful for both clients and agents. It’s sometimes difficult to take the conversations and stresses of our clients and then pivot and mindfully and calmly relay and discuss situations with agents on the other side of a transaction. To facilitate smoother conversations and interactions, several strategies can be employed. These include:

• Taking deep breaths before making difficult phone calls

• Outlining discussion points beforehand

• If appropriate, resorting to text or email communication initially, and then extending an invitation to delve deeper through a call.

Leveraging personal connections with fellow agents can yield advantages, so it’s worth acknowledging their efforts.

Positive interactions and rapport with other agents versus negative ones can even impact whether or not our clients are successful in competitive offer situations. When given the choice between an offer presented by a communicative, collaborative, timely, and professional agent with a proven track record of success versus an agent who is unresponsive, difficult to work with, or known to have deals unravel, the former option appears more enticing and will likely be a better choice for the seller clients.

Keep in mind, your transaction with an agent is probably not the only transaction that the agent is dealing with, not to mention they have a whole personal life outside of real estate. We never know what one another is dealing with on any given day so be clear and to the point in professional matters but be kind and don’t be afraid to connect beyond the transaction. A thoughtful phone call with another hard-working, level-headed professional out there doing their best may make all the difference in a colleague's day.