Proud To Be A Service Provider

I feel proud to work in a service business. That’s not just because I like to make people happy, although that is certainly a factor. Offering a great service requires focus on multiple issues, often in conjunction with another. Like a great restaurateur or luxury goods dealer, a great broker thinks ahead to optimize her client’s experience in a variety of ways.

In real estate, we love referrals. Referrals are the highest compliment a satisfied buyer or seller can pay us. Nothing gives an agent more pleasure than knowing that a satisfied client has urged a friend to call her. But building a relationship requires more than a few kind words from a mutual acquaintance; we agents always need to build on that auspicious beginning. Here are a few suggestions based on my own experience of how to build trust.

The tone of the first contact sets the stage for what is to come. If the initial conversation takes place on the phone, I like to keep it brief and to the point. What are the time frame, the goals, the preferences which I can use to create some search parameters? If the first contact is via e-mail or text, I will respond in kind, asking similar questions.  I always express my appreciation and pleasure that the client has chosen to contact me. And always, what I really want to do is create an opportunity to meet.

In our business, a successful transaction rises or falls on a sense of personal connection.  With something as significant as the purchase of real estate, buyers and sellers each want an advocate at their side. And the most successful advocates listen acutely to their client’s hierarchy of needs.

In my first meeting with a new client, I listen for clues. I try to minimize talk about real estate (especially with new buyers) and engage them in conversation about themselves. Where have they lived? Where do they live now? Do they have kids? What do they like to do? What excites them? Do we have other connections than the person who brought us together? I try to ask as many questions and do as little talking as I can. Because it is here, in the clients’ tone and inflection, in the information in the interstices of what they do and don’t say, that I can gather what I need to create both a transaction and an ongoing relationship.

I like to push boundaries a little when creating a list of properties to show. Buyer preferences evolve, and often their priorities clarify as they look at property. So if I have intuited that they love light, I might show them one new building with floor-to-ceiling windows even if they have expressed a preference for prewar. If a third child is on the way I might find a great four bedroom in a slightly more out of the way location than the Park Avenue three bedroom they have requested. An outlier property can stimulate a buyer’s thinking while at the same time demonstrating that I have been listening carefully to that buyer’s needs and preferences.

With sellers, the key to a successful relationship is frequent communication. All sellers are anxious, and all sellers want their property to be appreciated. The agent’s job, challenging at times, is to convey this appreciation while concurrently managing the seller’s expectations. Only through regular feedback can the agent both reassure the seller and explain what issues may be holding up the sale or may require a price adjustment.

Real estate brokerage at its best is a high touch business. Building and maintaining relationships matters far more than the success or failure of any individual transaction. We listen and advise, we research and refine, we recommend restaurants and schools, introduce neighbors, send baby presents and wedding gifts. We strive to convey to our clients that, even five years after their transaction has closed, we are there for them. We want to manage all the details to create the best possible retail brokerage experience. When clients reach out to me as Warburg’s president to express their appreciation for the excellent job one of our agents has done in facilitating their sale or purchase, those are my best days. I hope we are improving every day, but I am PROUD of the service we provide!

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