Client Education in a Changing Market: 5 Tips

EPISODE SUMMARY
According to our 2023 Real Estate Marketing Trends, most real estate professionals felt challenged in 2022 when educating their clients about the home-buying process. Taking this into consideration, it is hardly surprising that most professionals in 2023 will focus on improving client experiences and becoming experts in educating consumers as one of their goals. 

Educating your clients on market trends is more imperative than ever in 2023 as a real estate professional. When it comes to helping clients better understand a real estate market in flux, real estate agents are the go-to resource. However, when it comes to educating clients in an ever-evolving industry, it can be challenging to determine the right approach. 

In this episode, our host Rachel Gombosch explores five strategies real estate professionals should use to become experts at educating their clients. Also, she discusses how significant it is to focus on the client experience to create a successful business and support a successful transaction process.

With these practical tips, you can smoothly navigate client questions and concerns to ensure you set the appropriate expectations and provide the best environment for your client.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome back to another episode of Curb Appeal. My name is Rachel Gombosch and I am your host.

[00:00:06] Real quick before we get into today's episode, if you like this episode, be sure to like it and subscribe, or even share with any of your real estate friends or colleagues. 

[00:00:17] We love providing these free resources, and information to you all. So make sure that you like and share and subscribe to our channel. 

[00:00:25] And with that, let's go ahead and get started. 

[00:00:27] So today I'm really excited about the topic at hand \ we discovered in our 2023 real estate marketing trends report, that most real estate professionals are struggling to educate their buyers. It was a big issue in 2022. 

[00:00:41] And because of this, a goal for most professionals in 2023 is about focusing on that overall client experience and becoming an expert in educating home buyers and home sellers in the market with what's going on, helping them understand the transaction process and really just educating consumers all around.[00:01:00] 

[00:01:00] So as a real estate professional in 2023, it is more important now more than ever to have a really deep and valued understanding of the real estate market and knowing how to educate your clients on the current trends that are at hand. 

[00:01:15] Even though you as a real estate professional, understand what's going on with the market, home buyers and home sellers don't always fully understand, the different trends that are taking place and the ebbs and flows. And so it's your job to really help them, through that transaction process to fully understand what's going on in the market so that they feel confident and comfortable working with you as a real estate professional. 

[00:01:37] So today we are discussing five tips to educate your clients and the importance of focusing on the overall client experience. 

[00:01:45] So since education is key, when navigating an ever changing market, we have five tips that we're going to be going over, to help you understand how to educate your clients on the market trends and the interest rates, that are fluctuating to ensure that you can [00:02:00] retain business and also prove yourself as a really reliable source and the industry expert that your potential clients are really looking for. So without further ado, let's go ahead and get into these five tips. 

[00:02:11] The first one is to keep up with market trends. Seems like a pretty obvious statement to say, right. It seems like a pretty obvious to do, but if you really want to educate your clients on marketing trends, you need to fully understand what is happening in the market, both on a local level, with your direct area and on a national level to help you really forecast what's going on and what potential, changes may result around or what the potential trends are. 

[00:02:39] So make sure you're following industry news, make sure you are attending conferences and webinars, and you're really investing in your education for yourself so that you know how to read and understand the market. 

[00:02:50] Also read up on the latest research. There are so many different forecasts out there and different outlets of media that you can really look into as different research [00:03:00] tools. So really dig into those research opportunities to fully understand what's going on in the market. 

[00:03:05] So this is all going to help you better understand, what the current market conditions are and how they're ultimately going to be impacting your clients at the end of the day. 

[00:03:13] And from there once you totally understand what's going on with the market and the different trends that are taking place, you can actually share resources that you use to educate yourself with your clients, such as websites, videos, informational pamphlets are really awesome to really leave your client with, give them something that they can hold in their hands. 

[00:03:32] Ultimately you want to provide resources that can provide valuable insights into that home buying and or home selling process. So beyond helping your clients understand the market itself, it can also help them understand the reasons behind listing prices or when you get to the negotiation process, if they understand the different trends that are taking place in the market, it can really help with negotiations as well. 

[00:03:56] The second point I want to go over is be [00:04:00] open and be honest. So as part of educating your clients, is also admitting when you aren't really a hundred percent sure about something that's going on and that's entirely okay. Right? We're human. We don't necessarily always know everything that's happening, especially in an industry where trends shift within 24 hours. 

[00:04:20] So things are always changing and you don't necessarily always know right when something happens. So you're not always a hundred percent sure about what's going on.

[00:04:28] While I don't recommend you saying directly to your clients "I don't know". You don't want to say that, but you can actually navigate the question itself by mentioning that you are going to take the time and you are going to dedicate time to finding out the answer. And then you will follow up and get back with them. 

[00:04:49] You want to again, be open and honest to build that trust and explaining that you don't have the answer at the moment, but you're willing to take the time to understand the question and get them a [00:05:00] really well-educated answer is also showing that you are proactive and that again, you're willing to learn for your client, even if you don't have all the answers. 

[00:05:09] Additionally, it's really important to be honest with your clients and provide them with realistic expectations as well. So make sure that you are explaining risks associated with buying and or selling a home, in a changing market, but also what the potential rewards are when you are buying or selling a home in a changing market. 

[00:05:28] You don't want to overcommit to your clients on what you can provide or the results your clients will see. So make sure that you take the time to educate them about all of the different options that are in front of them. That is going to be a key element to the success in your transaction processes. 

[00:05:45] While interest rates at the time of this recording are still high. Right now, make sure that you are educating your clients on again, the different options as well after they purchase a home. So what may seem obvious to you may not [00:06:00] necessarily, again, be obvious for your clients. You are meant to be that real estate expert. You are meant to be the professional that they are looking to. 

[00:06:07] So you want to provide them with information on things like refinancing and other financial programs that can really ease their mind that is probably worrying all over the place. And the last thing you want to do is get them to turn to Google search. We want to make sure we're not, they're not turning to Google search to find all the answers. 

[00:06:25] We want to make sure that they are turning to you to provide the answers. And part of that is being open and honest with what you do and do not know to set those expectations, but also again, being proactive in the sense that you are willing to go out and find those answers. 

[00:06:39] So the third point I want to talk about is really just analyzing the data itself. So one of the most important things that you can do to help your clients make an informed decision is to analyze the data that is available to you. So take the time to look at historical data, to gain insight into your local market or again, even the national market. 

[00:06:59] And if you [00:07:00] haven't already provided your clients with a comparative market analysis now is the time. Take the time to fully understand that local market what's going on, what are people buying homes for? What are they selling homes for? What are the different resources that they included in their listing marketing that maybe got them to be able to sell their home for a higher price? 

[00:07:18] Now is the time to provide your clients with all of the data and information to again, keep them informed and help them to understand what's going on and what the potential process of the transaction can actually look like.

[00:07:31] So using data to make decisions and to showcase consistent trends in the industry can really help your clients make a more informed decision and provide evidence. 

[00:07:40] Um, from your point of view, again, if you're trying to educate your client and perhaps you get push back on something, you can back up what you're saying with data, with historical data, with different trends that have been happening, that you took the time to research and analyze, and then present that data to your client to back up, maybe a point you're trying to bring to light. 

[00:07:58] The fourth tip. I want to [00:08:00] talk about on how you can educate your clients is to encourage questions. So the best way to ensure your clients are really well-informed is to encourage them to ask questions. You want to make them feel comfortable that again, they can come to you with anything. 

[00:08:16] Take the time to explain the market and to understand what they're specifically asking in a thorough way. So this is going to help them better understand the market and what's going on, different trends that are happening, and how it can also affect their investments as well, make sure that you are thoroughly answering any questions they have so that they can gain that confidence in you. 

[00:08:36] So while providing education can really look like many different things, having a simple conversation where clients feel comfortable asking questions is going to be one of the easiest ways you can connect and educate with your client. 

[00:08:48] When you encourage clients to ask those questions, you not only are preventing them again from that Google spiral that they could easily get into if you're not providing all of the answers they need, but also to better understand their [00:09:00] concerns and how you can help address any concerns or problems they are experiencing. 

[00:09:05] By enabling your clients to ask anything that's on their mind you are helping to ease any concerns that they may have in this process. Again, keep in mind, this is a really big deal when someone's buying or selling a home. This could be a huge transition process for those clients. And you want to make sure that you are making this process as easy and as streamlined and as informative and a quality experience for your clientele. 

[00:09:30] So make sure that you are providing a safe environment, that if they have questions that perhaps they feel silly asking, you're letting them know that no question, should go unheard and that you're there to be that open ear to listen to anything that they have to say. And you're encouraging them to ask those questions because you want to provide them with the answers and make them comfortable in this process. 

[00:09:53] And then the fifth tip I want to give you about how you can educate your clients is to really customize your approach. So, [00:10:00] although you may specialize in one area of real estate or for a particular client, it's still important to customize your approach to each and every single one of your clients. 

[00:10:10] They all likely have different needs and different circumstances. So make sure that you are taking the time to really understand the goals they want to achieve all of the concerns they have and what are their top priorities in this process? What are the top priorities they have in this experience that they want to achieve? 

[00:10:28] If you customize your approach for every single client, you now have more success educating them and providing those different resources that they need. 

[00:10:36] For example, if you're working with an experienced buyer, who's concerned about the market shifts. They're used to one type of experience and, you know, working within this transaction process in one type of market. And now this market feels potentially unstable for them. 

[00:10:52] Providing that buyer with first time home buyer information is not going to be helpful to them. It's not going to be useful and [00:11:00] resourceful information that they can take to the process and the experience that they are having now. So make sure that you are adjusting your communication style and you are adjusting the advice you're giving per client that you have. 

[00:11:12] One client is a first-time home buyer, obviously it makes sense to provide them home buying information. Maybe you have the experienced buyer, provide them with additional market trends and resources, historical data that you can back up any points you have, or again, refer back to that historical data to show them that, Hey, the market seems kind of wonky right now, but it's not always going to be this way and here's the data to prove it. So be sure that you are adjusting again, your communication style and the different advice you're giving according to the client you're working with. 

[00:11:42] And that's it. Those are the five tips we have for you. Again, we'll go over them real quick. 

[00:11:46] Keep up with the market trends. Again that seems like an obvious one, but it is really important if you're going to be trying to ease someone's mind with what's going on in the market. You need to also know what's going on in the market and what all the trends are that are happening. 

[00:11:58] Two, be open and [00:12:00] honest. It's okay. If you don't know. Dedicate time to finding out the answer to provide to your client. 

[00:12:06] Three, analyze the data. There are so much data out there in real estate. So many different resources that you can tap into regarding what's going on in the market. Forecasted trends, historical data, all of this information you can use to create that comparative market analysis, to share with your clients to help them understand what's actually going on in the industry and to help ease their mind. 

[00:12:29] Number four, encourage questions. Provide a safe space for your clientele to ask any question that they have, no matter how small it may seem to them. Make sure you give them that space and you encourage questions to help ease their mind in this process. 

[00:12:45] And then five, customize your approach. Again, everyone is different. Everyone has a different experience. Everyone has different priorities and goals and concerns they have in this home buying or home selling process. So make sure that you are adjusting any [00:13:00] communication styles or any advice that you are giving to your clients per what that client needs and what that client is looking to achieve. 

[00:13:08] By following these tips, you can help your clients make informed decisions in a changing market. We know the market seems kind of wonky right now, but it's your job to help educate your clients, and I know sometimes that can be difficult, but using these tips, I know you can really help your clients make those informed decisions that they need in this home buying and home selling process. 

[00:13:28] Additionally, when we talk about using resources and finding tips, and resources to use to educate your home buyers. At Virtuance once we have a ton of different free resources for you guys to use on our website. We have a whole tab dedicated to it. We've got educational webinars that are on demand. We have templates and guides for you to use. 

[00:13:47] Different resources you can use for your marketing materials, and they're all there to help you with that education process, for your home buyer or to help you in your education process as well and understanding these different trends. 

[00:13:59] Make sure [00:14:00] that you tap into those different resources that we have, that are totally free to you to ensure that you have the tools you need to educate your clients. 

[00:14:07] And with that, I hope you got some value out of this short podcast episode. 

[00:14:12] If you guys liked this episode as always be sure to like, and subscribe, or even share this with a fellow colleague of yours who you think would find this information useful.

[00:14:21] Thanks again for listening and we will talk to you soon.