Become The Hero Your Town Deserves
A real estate agent’s job is more than about aiding home purchases, but about connecting people within their community. Are you up for the challenge?
Today’s modern technological age allows us to do amazing things. All at the same time you can be texting a friend in Taiwan, reading online about Great Britain politics, while also talking to an Apple customer support representative based in India. It’s almost incomprehensible how far our technological capabilities have come. And yet, there’s a very good chance most of us don’t even know our next-door neighbor’s name.
This conundrum is a paradox. How can one thing make us so interconnected while simultaneously alone? There’s no simple answer for why, but there is something that can help.
That something is YOU.
Let’s step back for a moment, and observe the one thing that keeps us internally connected: The human heart. For those without a medical degree, the human heart is a muscular organ that pumps blood through our circulatory system, helping supply our body with oxygen, nutrients, and other vital essentials for living our lives. Without a heart, the body doesn’t function.
This is just like a community without a real estate agent; a limited neural pathway that minimizes growth and connectivity.
A real estate agent’s job is so much more than helping individuals and families discover their perfect home. It’s about uncovering their needs and matching them with the community right for them. Here’s how you can do this to best suit your clients.
1) Know the Community Like the Back of Your Hand
Just like our conversations on Centers of Influence, over time and hundreds of new relationships the real estate agent becomes his own COI.
This eclectic network allows them to bring different people together. They should easily be able to connect the local bakery with the best plumber, or a family who owns a hardware store with the best SAT tutor in town. It’s similar to distant, non-communicative neurons suddenly connecting. When you know everyone, it dwindles down to the six degrees of separation for the community into a single person.
2) Create a Client Needs Hierarchy
Following Maslow’s Hierarchy, once our basic needs are met (food, shelter, clothing, exc.) we desire higher “wants”. These could be simple like, “Being within walking distance from a grocery store” or complex like “We need to be near a top-rated school, but also within distance of the F train, so I can get to work. Oh, and it needs to be a stand-alone duplex near a park that’s safe.” The best way to discover these needs is to simply ask. As their desires become more convoluted (see example above), a great way to meet what a client needs most is to rank them. Sometimes, a buyer isn’t going to be able to get everything they want, which is completely fine. You’re best asking them what their needs are and which of those are most important. This gives you the ability to create a “Client Needs Hierarchy”, and equips you to meet their most important needs.
3) Be Active in the (Social) Community
This may seem like a no-brainer. Joining a diversity of clubs, groups, and societies will all provide new leads that, in turn, become new connections. But something you don’t think about is your social connectivity.
One outlet most agents don’t use is social media. This arena is the perfect place to create new relationships due to two reasons:
- It’s the simplest tool to connect various people instantly
- Discovery of similar interests or needs is right in the open
Within seconds, you can introduce different people through messenger apps without having to deal with the awkwardness of first interactions. It’s also a place where we tell people our interests through social posts, things we like, and groups we join. How many times have you seen a post where someone asks “Does anyone have a recommendation on where to get their car fixed in the Huntington Valley area?” or “I’m looking for a new tennis partner. Can anyone help a player?” Consumers trust their friends. Being active on social by commenting and providing recommendations to new people will only reinforce trust in relationships on both sides of the connection.
When thinking about why you are joining or are a part of the elite ranks of real estate agents, it’s not just about the listing. It’s about using your skills and connections to help people find their dream home while immersing them into the community.
“With great power comes great responsibility.” Are you up for the challenge?
