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Imagine this: you’re about to make one of the biggest emotional and financial decisions of your lifetime.
You’re considering buying or selling a major financial asset; the impact of doing so will have ramifications upon your future, your family and your lifestyle.
What’s the scenario, exactly? Well, you’re buying or selling a property. Who do you call? Well, the likelihood is it’s a real estate agent.
And it’s what happens when someone makes that call that can be a deal breaker between you becoming an agent for life or just another voice at the end of the phone, answering a series of questions.
It all happens in a split second that works a little like this…
Speed is currency
Whether it’s the buyer or seller initiating the phone call or reaching out via email, the speed at which you answer their inquiry is currency.
After all, in the age of Uber and the era of McDonald’s, clients expect their needs will be instantly met.
They want answers or insight and they want them now. In the case of a seller, it’s the price their property might attract and the way you would go about getting that price.
In the instance of sellers, it’s the price the property might command and an insight into why they should get off their couch this Saturday and take the time to come see it.
They want a response and they want to feel valued, but too often, agents overlook speed as a key performance indicator.
That’s a mistake and I’ll tell you why…
I want it all and I want it now
Having recently spoken to a number of “seller referral” companies, I was absolutely fascinated by one particular statistic they shared.
The most successful agents using the platforms have one common trait: “speed of engagement”.
In fact, those agents who responded to “seller appraisal” requests within the shortest period of time had an 80 to 90 per cent success rate when it came to winning the business.
As for what that length of time was, it was less than five minutes from submission to a response.
That’s an incredibly valuable key performance indicator.
It’s a worthy reminder that “speed” in anything we do has “currency.”
Speed applies to everything
Let’s face it, from the early beginnings of McDonald’s and their successful introduction of “drive-thru,” right through to the more recent rise of Uber, we as consumers have become accustomed to “expecting” things instantly.
Any form of delay or waiting devalues the user experience.
In other words, speed and delivery of service must go hand in hand.
I’d like fries with that
While McDonald’s and Uber are good examples, the reality is speed has become a commodity across almost all sectors and industries.
If you’re seeking a personal loan, you can have cash in your bank as little as 60 minutes after making an application.
From the comfort of your couch, you can do your weekly grocery shop and have it delivered to your door within two hours.
Some lenders even advertise they can pre-qualify you for a mortgage in less than five minutes, and you don’t even have to go into the bank.
In a nutshell, speed has become synonymous with good service, but it’s a metric that can fall by the wayside in real estate, and really it shouldn’t.
Why speed matters
Every conversation with a client about real estate taps into three of the most important factors in life: a roof over their heads, financial security, and emotion.
Each of these are areas where people appreciate a swift resolution and a roadmap for moving forward.
And that’s what our job in real estate is to provide — problem-solving, insight and advice that allows people to move forward.
So I ask you this: If McDonald’s can feed you in the time it takes to drive around a corner, and major grocery retailers can deliver your weekly shop in less time than it takes to watch a movie, why should people expect any less when it comes to assistance in making big emotional, financial and lifestyle decisions?
The speed at which you can help people move forward by simply acknowledging and responding to their inquiries becomes a currency you can tap into in order to build a business, create raving fans, and ensure repeat clientele.
No matter what your role is in real estate, whether it’s in sales, property management or administration, a focus on “speed” will give you a competitive advantage.
Manos Findikakis is the CEO of Agents’Agency
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