Real Estate Agents Need To Be Trusted Advisors in 2009, Not Cheerleaders
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I know I did as it was the first time I have spent the actual Christmas Day with my whole family in 15 years. Usually some of us got together a couple of days before and a couple of days after the actual holiday, but yesterday was the on Christmas Day and in these tough times it was very reassuring.
This morning I was reading a post by Tom Peters, management guru who has advised many of the financial leaders who have created the mess we are in now. So you can imagine this was a Christmas of soul searching. But what makes Tom great is that he is authentic. Instead of hiding behind guru speak, he admits that some wrong turns have been made and he may have contributed to it.
His pre-Christmas post has some nuggets in it. For those of you in the real estate world, these are important to remember. Almost of all of your clients are scare right now. Their net worth has taken a hit, their job may be in jeopardy or their retirement. Their home has lost value, but they are not sure how much or if they are buying how good a deal should they ask for.
So your job as agents has changed. Instead of being the beacons of unbridled optimism you are now counselors walking people through a difficult time. I truly believe that the emphasis of your discussions should be along those lines, especially with sellers. You still need to be positive, but the rah-rah stuff has to be put on the shelf.
You will be able to bring it out later on when the economy turns around. But to be a great agent today and for much of 2009, the tone should be more serious. Sellers will appreciate it and will be much more receptive to you as a trusted adviser than in the past.
But back to some of Tom Peter’s advice. Here are a couple of them that struck close to my heart this year.
***Kind words or no words. Go gentle in the world. Period. A little kindness goes a long way. Especially when the fans are all covered with crap. I said “action” a minute ago, but now I’m saying attitude. No, not some ginned up “positive mental attitude”—just human grace and thoughtfulness and gentleness and decency roughly 100% of the time.
***Say “Thank you” to anyone who goes even a quarter-step, eighth-step out of their way to be helpful or cheerful. Most everyone is under great pressure—and positive acknowledgement of their being is a true and enormous gift.
***In your professional lives, work on your thoughtfulness as if your life depended on it—it does in the sense of your Final Exam with St Peter. (Or whomever.) You may have to make tough decisions, but you can streeeeetch to ameliorate the pain and, per the above, exude decency 100.00000% of the time…
***People have long memories. To be “P&L” focused, those to whom you extend kindnesses in tough times will likely reward you 10-fold in the long term. (Make that 100-fold.) “Thoughtfulness pays” is a fact of life in business or “the rest.”
Merry Christmas, or Happy Hanukkah, to you all. I truly hope that you had a wonderful time with loved ones yesterday, and that in the coming year the thoughts of love and service dominate your real estate business and careers.
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Comment by Dan Simon - Charleston SC Real Estate on 26 December 2008:
Thanks for the great article, you make excellent points! As Realtors, we need to maintain a positive outlook but we also need to portray an accurate and realistic picture to our clients and contacts. It is easy to just tell buyers and sellers what you think they want to hear. It won’t take long before that over priced listing or that search for the “deal of the century” has frustrated everyone involved and damaged many good relationships.
Comment by Paul on 26 December 2008:
What I’m noticing is that no one seems to be willing to say real estate is a bad investment! Too many are itching to buy. Thus… We seem to be getting further from capitulation.
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Comment by Christopher Hain on 27 December 2008:
I totally agree with not being cheerleaders. I got a lot of flack last year and earlier this year from my co-workers and colleagues for saying that 2008 was going to be a terrible year for real estate. Obviously, I was right.
When I was quoted mid-year in the L.A. Times saying the rest of the year would stink, I got more flack. And on my blog I call it how I see it, good or bad.
I think clients and potential clients appreciate it.
Everyone hates a realtor who is always spinning bad news into good news. People see right through it. It’s like listening to a used car salesman.
News travels so fast these days that everyone is aware of what’s going on. And because more people started thinking of real estate as an investment, they’ve paid a lot closer attention to real estate news. You can’t “spin” what’s going on with the real estate market. Many of the real estate blogs call out “realtor alert” when they have comments from head in the sand realtors. And N.A.R. is no help either with their unrealistic predictions.
What you can do is be a resource about real estate, about local markets, about good properties you know about, about creative ways to sell things, about different ideas to consider for purchasing.
Listen to your clients. Do what serves them best. You can’t trick them. You can’t spin them. People pay too much attention to real estate these days. They’ll see right through it.
Comment by Randall Sandin on 27 December 2008:
You are on the money with the “cheerleaders” comment. In 2009, more than ever, Realtors need to be honest and blunt as we will be delivering tough news sometimes. But remember, sometimes just getting out from underneath a property and helping the seller retire that debt is more important that putting cash in their pocket.
Comment by Christian on 31 December 2008:
Ah yes. So refreshing to see this in print. So many Realtors are talking about how awesome the market is. Truth be told, it IS awesome, but the way we interact with clients needs be done delicately. NAR has reported that ethics is rapidly becoming one of the most important concerns to the consumer. We need to not only be ethical, we need to be *perceived* as ethical.
Comment by anonymous on 1 January 2009:
SoCal real estate is where its at!
Comment by Atlanta Homes on 16 February 2009:
This is a very important point going into 2009. Many people I have talked to have blamed the NAR for thier “Now is a great time to buy commercials” in late 2007 to 2008. The truth was that it was a horrible time to buy and many claim the NAR new it. This is a refreshing article and the truth needs to be told now whether it is good, bad, or ugly.
Comment by Charleston SC Real Estate on 22 January 2010:
I think consumers are tired of all the “fluff” and are ready to hear the facts. Cheer leading has caused a lot of consumers to go into default.