People that buy homes notoriously rate the experience – the entire experience as a whole – very low on a satisfaction scale.
The math tells us that people in general are overwhelmed and confused by the entire process of buying and selling real estate.
Buyers and sellers may love the Realtor they choose, but much of what happens after a property goes under contract isn’t under the Realtor’s control.
This is dangerous and costly for Realtors. Time, effort and work into a great experience is frequently unintentionally sabotaged. This means opportunities for timed referrals and reviews to grow a Realtors business are squandered.
No matter who else is involved and contributed to making things feel confusing (mortgage, title, appraisers) buyers and sellers only remember three things after the transaction is done:
- the peak moment
- the end
- you
Meaning, all those feelings brought on by the lender asking for the same docs three times, the seller leaving all the trash in a pile at the door, the appraiser undervaluing the property and of course, the most common complaint of all: “I don’t know what’s happening now and I don’t know what happens next”… reflect on the Realtor.
This means that other people and things outside of your control are affecting the happiness of your clients, your ability to get referrals and grow your business.
The good news is, even though you can’t control other people, you can do something about this.
It’s time to tighten your business; only the best will survive
Let’s examine
- Why people rate buying and selling real estate so low in satisfaction
- What you can do to change this for your buyers and sellers
- How you can turn that into money
Why satisfaction with buying and selling real estate is so low
Confusion. It boils down to this.
Buying real estate isn’t really one transaction. Buyers and sellers feel like it is, and they expect it to feel that way. In reality, it’s many transactions with many service providers, each with their own processes and job to do.
Appraisers, loan officers, mortgage processors, home inspectors, movers, realtors, title companies.
Setting expectations ahead of time and giving buyers and sellers the feeling of control is what makes all the difference – and is what is almost always missing.
Scenario 1: Imagine going to a busy restaurant. You’re seated at a table, then wait 15 minutes for anyone to acknowledge you. You can see all of the servers are overloaded and running around while you’re being ignored. How do you feel? I know I’d be annoyed, stressed and distracted. I’d also probably lose confidence in the restaurant and the entire experience. My expectations of this meal would fall and I’d walk out at the end with a negative perspective.
Scenario 2: Now imagine sitting at the same table at the same restaurant. But this time, someone stops over shortly after you sit for 10 seconds. They tell you they’re understaffed and busy, apologize, give you some water and ask for your patience. They just bought 15 minutes. The same 15 minutes that ruined the experience in the first scenario, I’m now relaxed and comfortable. I feel in control. My expectations have been set well.
Scenario 1 is the reason satisfaction is rated so low and it’s what happens in most situations.
It’s not because things don’t go perfectly, it’s because expectations haven’t been set well and communication is weak.
How can you improve the experience and turn it into money
Let’s look at the facts so far:
- Confusion and lack of communication are the source of low satisfaction for buyers and sellers of real estate
- This confusion mostly stems from activity between the time the property is under contract and settlement
- Most of the activity in this time frame is controlled by the title company
Well, this seems pretty obvious.
Success in anything has a lot to do with the vendors and partners you choose and use. You can’t do everything or be everywhere.
In real estate sales, this is exaggerated. There are functions of deep expertise – specifically lending and title. The competence and quality of those people will shape how buyers and sellers feel, which reflects on referrals and reviews, and the long-term success of a career in real estate sales.
Title and mortgage companies should be partners. They’ll either help you make more money or cause you to miss out on making money.
You wouldn’t choose a partner because your broker told you to use them because they get a cut of profits. You wouldn’t choose a partner because they buy you tickets to a game or donuts in the office. You wouldn’t choose a partner even because they’re sweet or nice. You’d choose a partner that’s sophisticated and competent and obsessed with having raving-fan clients.
This is the easiest thing you can do to increase your odds of long-term success in real estate.