The real estate landscape is constantly evolving. The last few months have certainly put that innate flexibility to the test. As you navigate these changes, as you adapt to shifting expectations and regulations, focusing on understanding your clients' needs has never been more important as you grow and sustain your business.
What are prospective clients seeking from a brokerage or real estate agent?
They want to see market knowledge.
Between increasing numbers of first-time homebuyers and those who have stayed in their homes for several years, there’s a lot consumers may not know about the housing market. But because of our society’s plugged-in nature, they’re aware of how much things have changed over the last handful of years, and they understand there’s a lot they need to learn to enter the market.
Clients want to know that their agents and brokers—the people they trust to guide them toward the biggest purchase or sale of their lives—can help them learn and navigate all the changes with confidence.
They want to see accessibility.
As a real estate professional, you already know how to glean knowledge from the standard MLS handout format, but a seller or buyer client wants to know that you have the resources to translate that information into something they can understand, too.
We’ve all heard the jokes about social media brain; folks today want to be able to learn and understand at a glance—quickly and on demand—without digging deep into the intricacies of paperwork or fancy real estate jargon to find what they’re looking for in their dream home.
They want to see simplicity.
Buying or selling a home is a massive undertaking and a complex process—one that can be intimidating to someone not used to the real estate industry or its terminology. At the same time, people want to be involved in the process, and will look for agents who can help make sure that it’s simple and straightforward for them—all the while empowering them in their decision-making, too.
In their most recent edition of the home buyers and sellers profile, for example, NAR highlighted that 85% of sellers looked for an agent who could provide a wide range of services to help manage as many steps of their home sale as possible.
How do you deliver on all this?
Now that you understand what your clients are looking for, the next step is figuring out a way for your brokerage and agents to give it to them without impacting the quality of service you provide. That starts with assessing your technology. Ask questions like:
- How are you sharing your in-depth knowledge of the market with clients?
- Could you, if needed, give clients a visual method for understanding the market?
- What do you provide above and beyond the competition?
Then, look for software that can help you answer those questions.
Maybe it’s a solution for comparative market analysis reports that can highlight for a seller exactly how they can expect their pricing estimate to go over with buyers, or that can show a buyer details about their prospective neighborhood they couldn’t find online.
Perhaps it’s the flexibility to integrate with third-party providers to go above and beyond the traditional transaction experience.
Or it could even be all the above—ideally in one place, to keep your life simple.
No matter what your answer is, though, don’t forget to ask as much of your software as your clients ask of you. After all, it’s there to help you do what you do best, from the first contact to the final contract.
Want to see how Lone Wolf can help you deliver? Learn more here.
