The long game: Why buyer relationships drive future sales

From building trust through transparency to providing accurate pricing information and delivering quality service, the agents emphasised that relationships with buyers are crucial.

For Vaughan, real estate agent at McGrath Epping, honesty and transparency in the buying process are pivotal, allowing buyers to feel a sense of trust and respect.

“I’ve been in the business for 29 years, so it’s really important … building the relationship [with the buyer] and just being honest, really and transparent,” she said.

“They appreciate that. Honesty is the best policy, right? So I get close to them because I have a genuine interest in helping people.”

Vaughan said respecting the buyer’s needs and wants, including their price range, is also essential to building and maintaining trust.

“If they can’t afford it, then we’re looking at the wrong thing, so I don’t like to mislead. And people appreciate that,” she said.

She said that while pricing errors can sometimes occur as buyers’ demand soars, the majority of properties sold through her agency are within the guided range and what has been previously discussed with the vendor.

Additionally, she said agents should never be pushy when communicating with prospective buyers about a property they are interested in.

“It’s all about taking my time, [I’m] not a push-to-sell type person. And buyers appreciate … if they ask you a question, they want to know the truth and that’s it,” Vaughan said.

When training her new staff, Vaughan advises them to consider how their current actions can benefit them in the long term.

“It’s not about now, because if you do the right thing by this person, in 10 years’ time, a friend of [the buyer] or they, will call you again because they remember what you’ve done for them.

“And that’s the quality to have, because it’s not about greed. It’s not about money. You’ve got to be in this business really for … good reasons.”

Likewise, Vitsent, a Jellis Craig Brunswick real estate agent and auctioneer, considers honesty and transparency to be essential for maintaining relationships with buyers.

“I think it’s probably the most important thing … you’ve got to be completely honest and transparent with property prices, where you can, where vendors are at and hopefully help someone get in.”

In addition, he said that following up with prospective buyers about new properties on the market is a way for agents to put themselves in good standing and make themselves memorable to the buyers.

“There’s been a lot of times where I’ll be speaking to a buyer very long term, I’ll know what they’re looking for, another [property] will pop up in the area with another agent,” Vitsent said.

“Sometimes even worth just talking to them about that one and offering the service of even bidding for them and seeing if they want you to do that just to help them buy, even if it isn’t with yourself.

“I think long term that puts you in good stead to build that relationship and a lot of times buyers will remember that help or that level of service that you’ve given, to then hopefully use you in the future when it does come time to selling their place.”

He said his team always aims to provide quality service to buyers by providing them with as much accurate information as possible and by aiming to answer all their questions.

“If we’ve got the answers we need to relay those answers or try and find out for them and give them as much information as we can,” he said.

Furthermore, he said agents shouldn’t overlook the power of referrals and how word of mouth from buyers can bring more business to agencies.

“A lot of our business comes from referrals from friends and family and buyers that will say, ‘Hey, we bought off of Chris from Jellis Craig’, or ‘We bought from the team at Jellis Craig and they were really, really great to deal with’.

“And you’ll be amazed that there’ll be vendors that will come out and give you a call because they hear that from friends and family.”

Vitsent said that ultimately, many buyers can appreciate that agents work primarily in the interests of the vendor.

“They appreciate the fact that at the end of the day, we’re out there to get the best result for the vendors and making sure that we’re turning over every stone to get the best price,” he said.

“And they understand that sometimes they might not be happy with the end result and how the options go on.

“But I think after the dust and it was a day or two later, if you give them a call with another opportunity, they actually really appreciate it,” Vitsent added.