When sales campaigns drag out, seller anxiety can quickly turn into frustration at their agent, requiring real estate professionals to manage their clients’ fears as much as the campaign itself.
In a slower market where buyers are more selective, agents have an opportunity to become trusted and knowledgeable experts who can easily alleviate sellers’ fears during longer campaigns.
First National Druitt Saunders principal, Rob Druitt, said sellers were particularly fearful when they depended on the sale of their property to fund their next purchase, with emotions running high.
He said agents could help prevent panic from setting in by setting realistic expectations from the outset, maintaining regular communication and having a clear process for responding to market feedback.
Druitt said experienced agents ensured to get ahead by preparing the vendor for possible outcomes from the very start, explaining the selling process in detail.
“The main thing is communication and setting the scene as early as possible with the reality of where the market is, and that requires an honest discussion, “ he told REB.
“It’s about what you can control and what you can’t, and having the seller understand that so that they’re then not blaming the agent for things which are out of your control.”
He said agents needed to show they had a clear process in place to manage the campaign, regardless of the market feedback.
“That means doing your marketing properly, exposing the property to the marketplace in the way that you said you would, following up every potential buyer, and giving the buyer feedback to the seller.”
Druitt stressed the importance of frequent communication to keep sellers across all updates and changes and to maintain agents’ trust.
He said some clients wanted agents to call them when they had news, while others preferred them to play a more active role and update them frequently.
“You almost can’t do too much communication, particularly for a client that’s anxious, because they want to know what’s going on, what’s happening, what are you doing as the agent to help them sell the property.”
He also said agents needed to pay attention to different personalities and the way clients wanted to receive information.
“Some clients are very analytical, so they want all the sales evidence. They want to know exactly what’s happening and you’ve got to provide that information to them.”
“Others are not interested in that; they might be more emotional. So you’ve got to have different skills to deal with them in that regard so that you don’t fuel their emotional anxiety.”
He said agents should always be mindful of how they deliver bad news to their clients and make clear that the situation was not in their control.
“Tell them, ‘That’s the feedback, and this is what we’re going to do about it. We’re going to change this, we’re going to increase this information, we’re going to revitalise the marketing’.”
He also said, depending on the state of the market, easing buyers’ fears may involve showing them comparable sales or other recent data.
“But if you’re in a falling market, you need to explain to the seller where you’ve got to be careful so that you’re not actually chasing the market down.”
“So by the time you realise all prices have come back, you’ve dropped the price, but you’ve actually only dropped the price for where it was a month or so ago.
Additionally, he said it was essential to be honest and to inform the buyer correctly, remaining positive without sending the wrong message.
“Our job as an agent is to get the property sold at the best price, as quickly as possible, and they need to be informed correctly so that they can make the right decisions.”
Druitt said once all the information and feedback was passed onto the seller, they could collectively decide on the best course of action.
“It sometimes comes back to, ‘our price point or offering isn’t attractive enough for the market, and an adjustment of that could make all of the difference’,” he said.
“You’ll get a much better result as an agent that way, and the seller will understand that it’s not about just making a quick sale; it’s about getting the best result and working together to achieve that.”
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