Three ways to help clients shift back into forward gear.
By Daniel Rome Levine
As with any major life decision, buying or selling a home can lead anyone to freeze up. It’s up to you to get clients over their fear and back on track so they seal the deal.
Pat Wattam, CRS, can relate to clients who become scared and stuck in their tracks when buying or selling a home. As an accomplished musician, it’s exactly how she felt before a performance. Whether it was waiting to go on stage for a piano recital when she was 5 years old or playing other instruments in later years, “I definitely had butterflies in my stomach,” says Wattam, with RE/MAX First, The Pat Wattam Team, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Method 1: Arm Clients with Knowledge
Over the years, her instructors taught her how to control her fear and that knowledge enabled her to push her panic aside and stride confidently onto the stage. “Knowledge and preparation are the keys to overcoming fear,” Wattam says.
Now, Wattam starts educating her clients in their very first meeting about what to expect when buying or selling a home. She gives them a handbook that covers everything from getting prequalified for a mortgage to making the right offer. Armed with this information, clients are less likely to be surprised by unexpected issues that may arise. “If you lay things out for clients in a step-by-step way up front, it takes their fear away,” Wattam says.
It is almost inevitable. At some point during the process of buying or selling a home, your client will turn to you with a panicked look and say, “I can’t go through with this!” Whatever their reason, knowing how to handle such a situation can make the difference between a ditched deal and a successful transaction. As their trusted advisor, it is up to you to talk them through their crisis of confidence and calm their fears.
Method 2: Remind Clients of Their Goals
Marilyn Messenger, CRS, a broker with Andrew Mitchell & Co., in Concord, Massachusetts, calls it “talking people off the ledge.”
“Moving is a big deal for most people, and the fear of making a wrong decision is very real,” Messenger says. “Even the most logical, unemotional people will have a meltdown and hit the wall at some point in the process. It’s our job to help them stay on track and get moving.”
Homebuyers’ Biggest Worries
In a May survey of nearly 1,000 buyers, Redfin, a national real estate brokerage, found these are homebuyers’ top worries:
- Affordability
- Competition from other buyers
- Low inventory
She does this by gently reminding them why they decided to move in the first place and reassuring them that they are smart, successful people who have done far more difficult things in their lives than buying or selling a home.
“Keeping them focused on why they first decided to move helps get them focused again and boosts their confidence,” she says.
Messenger recently worked with a couple who asked her to help them find a house in a specific town that is closer to Boston than the one in which they were living. In their first meeting, Messenger asked them why they wanted to move to that town and the husband said without hesitation that he had always loved the town, its easy commute to Boston and its great schools.
After months of searching, they found a house that was perfect. But then the husband started wavering. Messenger took him aside and gently, but firmly, reminded him of everything they had talked about since their first meeting. “Why are we here?” she asked him, and answered for him. “Because you always wanted to live in this town and this is the house we keep coming back to no matter how many we see. You’ve taken your time and done your homework and you are making a smart, rational decision based on good reasons. This is the best house in the market for you.”
Messenger’s words boosted his confidence and he moved forward with the purchase. “They love the house and couldn’t be happier,” she says. “It absolutely was the right decision.”
Be the Therapist When They Need It
Michael Burkhard, CRS, managing broker at Bray & Co., in Grand Junction, Colorado, says REALTORS® can best help hesitating clients when they put themselves in their shoes. “We buy and sell houses every day,” he says, “but not our clients. It doesn’t matter if it’s a $100,000 home or $1.5 million home. Either way, it’s a major gut check for anybody. We can’t lose sight of that.”
Burkhard likens a REALTOR®‘s role in these situations to that of a therapist or a counselor. You can’t help them if you’re not listening. “As professional agents, we need to make sure we’re listening to clients in an authentic way,” he says.
Burkhard sees clients hesitating most often when they are ready to make an offer and when financial issues arise. “At these times, as well as at any other times, when panic sets in, clients need somebody who has the confidence, knowledge and experience to say with compassion and understanding that, ‘You are going to be fine and we’re going to make this work for you,'” he says. “Paying close attention and listening to each client will make all the difference in the world when it comes to helping them get off the fence.”
