The last thing you want to do is drive away clients when you’re a real estate agent. While you might not have the intention of driving away real estate clients, you could be doing some things that cause this anyway.
If you’ve noticed that you’ve lost a few clients lately, it might be time to evaluate what’s going on. Sometimes, real estate client’s defect because they think they can find a better agent for them. However, it could be something you did.
Let’s look at some of the common mistakes agents make that drive away real estate clients.
7 Top Mistakes Made by Agents That Drive Away Clients
1. Presenting Homes Buyers Cannot Afford
One of the most common things real estate agents might do that drives away clients is showing buyers homes outside of their budget. Maybe you have buyers that have been pre-approved for $250K, but they have made it clear, they want to stay under $225K. If you show them homes in the $250K range, they may not think you heard them.
Even worse, if you’re showing buyers homes, they cannot even qualify for, you could be driving away real estate clients. It’s not a good idea to do this, especially if the market doesn’t support any type of negotiation to get the price into a range they can afford. It’s better to respect your buyer’s decision and show them properties they can afford.
2. Getting a Sellers Hope Too High
Sometimes, real estate agents will tell a seller they can list their property for a much higher price than what the market will support. This is dangerous and can end up driving away real estate clients.
Overpricing a property can have it sitting on the market without much interest. It can also get a seller’s hopes up, while you don’t deliver on what you said was the price you could get for the home.
When you have to drop the price a few months later, the property doesn’t look as attractive to buyers. Some may even wonder what’s wrong with it.
Pricing a property with a fair market value price or even slightly below it can attract more buyers and give the seller what they really want. They might end up getting a higher offer than the list price, anyway, if a bidding war starts.
3. Not Being Available When Clients Need You
It can be a problem when you don’t communicate or you fail to get back to a client as fast as they expect. As a real estate agent, they are trusting you with one of the biggest decisions of their lives. They need to know you will be available and you will get back to them when they need you.
When a client contacts you, it’s customary to get back to them within 24 hours (except maybe on Sundays). Always follow up with the form of communication they used when possible. If they called you, call them back, but if they emailed or sent a text, use that form of communication.
Along with the way you communicate, you could be driving real estate clients away if you use strict hours for showings and meetings. The best real estate agents know they have to remain flexible, so their clients can meet with them when it works for them. Make sure you stay flexible and expect to work nights and weekends often.
4. Letting Your Temper Show
As a real estate agent, you cannot let your temper show in a high-pressure situation. You will encounter stressful situations often and your clients will already be on edge, sometimes. Make sure you don’t let your temper get the best of you.
Stay calm and remain positive, even in the most stressful situations. A good real estate agent is often the calmest person in the room and knows they have to keep their cool for their clients.
5. Poor Marketing Plans
When you’re working with clients, a poor marketing plan can drive away real estate clients quickly. You can even end up getting a bad reputation when working with sellers.
It’s best to make sure every listing you take on gets your full attention and gets proper marketing. Use high-quality listing pictures, staging, virtual tours, video tours, and even Zoom appointments, where necessary.
You want to spread the property out to every interesting buyer you can find by using a solid social media marketing plan and even having a list of buyers and buyer’s agents you can email when you have a new property on the market.
Make sure you spell out the marketing plan very well for clients and use proven methods to reach buyers.
6. Not Completing Your Research
Some agents don’t do enough research before showing up at a property to show it to a buyer. You should know the property well and it’s even helpful to visit it before your clients do. This will help you to explain the features and give them all the information they need.
7. No Willingness to Negotiate
As a real estate agent, you should know that all contracts are negotiable. when you’re not willing to negotiate for your clients, it can be a huge problem and can drive away real estate clients. Be willing to counteroffer the price, negotiate contingency dates, ask for specific closing times, and make other requests for your clients.
There are many potential mistakes you could be making causing you to drive away real estate clients. Whether you’re newer as a real estate agent or you’ve been in the business for a few years, it’s good to evaluate yourself and see where you stand.
Make sure you’re not doing any of these seven common mistakes and you’ll likely be better off. It can also be a good idea, especially in the technology age of today, to ensure you’re working with a broker giving you all the right tools to market properties, easily communicate with clients and leads, and find new listings for your real estate business.
