Shifting Perspectives

One of my favorite questions to ask my agents is, “What’s really going on here?” I’ve talked about this before, but I’m bringing it up again as it’s a recurring theme in my coaching meetings with my agents.

We all know, real estate transactions can be very tense, stressful, and emotional for our clients. There is often a major life event coinciding with a client’s decision to buy or sell a piece of real estate – birth, death, marriage, divorce, retirement, job move, etc. So along with negotiating for the curtains or the microwave, your client might also be dealing with a lot of other stuff on the outside of the real estate transaction.

When the client is yelling down the phone and reminding us of all our shortcomings because the seller won’t agree to their demands it’s not so easy to remind ourselves that it’s the stress and the emotion of the transaction that’s causing the anger.

And it’s not so easy to take a step back, take the abuse, and ask ourselves this simple question: “What’s really going on here?”

The chances are that what IS really going on has absolutely nothing to do with your skills or abilities as a real estate agent and instead has absolutely everything to do with the client’s own anger, frustration and stress at what is intrinsically a very charged business transaction.

I coach my agents to use this question with themselves when they find themselves dealing with a client who appears to have lost all reason, rationality, or politeness.  Take a deep breath, take a step back, and ask yourself, “What’s really going on here?” You’ll find the answer helps you avoid getting mired in your client’s stress and may just help you help your client more effectively.