As a real estate agent, client meetings are the fruits of all your labor. They are your reward for the time, money, and energy you spent on social media posts, cold calling, and earning referrals.

If you’re now finding yourself with clammy hands wondering what to do next, that’s understandable! Getting the meeting is only part of the equation. The actual meeting itself is the point where you will really stand out to clients. It is your chance to start building the foundation of an enduring relationship where they keep coming back to you. 

While the topic of your meeting will vary greatly based on where in the sales funnel your client is, there are some things you need to be consistent on in every interaction to ensure a great meeting. These apply regardless of the context. Whether it's a phone screen, in-person consultation, or post-contract chat over Zoom, you should always follow these basics.

Be Professional

Take a step back and ask yourself: what behaviors would you find off-putting if you were trusting someone to handle the buying or selling of your most valuable asset? How can you avoid these, and ensure you come across as professional at all times?

While we all have different areas of improvement, common ways of ensuring your client leaves the meeting with a good impression include:

• Using a neutral background when on video calls.

• Using good grammar in all communications.

• Ensuring prompt responses to all client inquiries.

Make the meeting about them

While this may seem obvious, it can be easy to fall into traps that shift the meeting away from your client.

Example:

If your pipeline is empty, you may find yourself wallowing in the lack of home sales in your area when your client asks for a market update.

While your anxieties are absolutely valid and understandable, this is not the appropriate setting to talk through this. What your client is looking to know is what slowing sales mean for their home value, and the timing of their buy and sell decisions.

While this is all well and good (and again, so obvious) it can be difficult to identify these patterns in your own behavior. It can seem as though you're genuinely answering the question. 

So, how should you deal with this?

Discover when you shift the meeting away from the client by:

• Asking a trusted mentor to shadow you, and give you feedback on how you handled the meeting.

• Writing down or talking through anything that's weighing on you prior to your meeting, so it's off your chest.

• Being mindful during the meeting, and mentally reviewing what the client has told you to guide your responses.

What if you’re the culprit?

If by doing these exercise you find you are in fact taking focus away from your clients:

Don't panic!

Simply connect what you're saying back to your client and their needs. Refocus on them going forward.

Take Notes

Develop a systematic note-taking method. Whether you type into your CRM as you go, or have a dedicated notebook to jot things down in, it's important not to forego this step. Nothing will crater your credibility faster than not recalling important facts your clients have already talked to you about.

The Basics:

• Date and who you spoke to (did you talk to a primary contact, their spouse, or parents)

• Important takeaways (the main points you talked about)

• Follow ups (did you commit to sending them market stats, or to call next week)

You can really streamline this process for yourself by scheduling these follow-ups, complete with a due date, right from the client’s profile in RealOffice360.

Take your time

It may seem paradoxical when as a real estate agent you’re used to squeezing as much productivity as you can from each moment. However taking your time allows you to get through your meeting on time. The key is to have a clear objective. 

By having an objective for each meeting, you can take your time to:

• Ensure you have everything you need from your client, 

• Explain things thoroughly to your client, and 

• Ensure all questions they have are answered.

If your client has a lot of questions that are beyond the scope of the original meeting and you don't have time for it, don't rush through! You might miss something important and create a lot of work for yourself with an unnecessary back-and-forth later on. Instead, say you will get back to them and schedule a follow up meeting. 

Ask Thoughtful Questions

Don't fall into the trap of asking questions on autopilot because that's how you learned how to sell. This means:

• Don't just ask questions for the sake of asking questions.

• Really listen to your client's needs, want, and concerns.

• Don’t blurt out questions because you're impatient for a sale.

A conversational pause is okay. You don’t need to jump in right away, but if you find yourself floundering, ask yourself:

• Where are there gaps in my knowledge? 

• What more do you need to know? 

• Did you overlook something? 

• Is there information that could help inform your client's decision-making? 

• These are the questions you should be asking.

It is beneficial to reframe your role in the transaction - you are not just a salesperson; as a real estate agent you are an advisor!

 

Make them feel understood and empowered, not obligated

Successful relationship marketing relies on developing a relationship of trust, where you are the natural choice for your client's real estate transactions. Making your clients feel obligated is corrosive to that trust.

Tell them directly that there is no obligation on their part to ever use you. This is just how you do business - your sole focus is on delivering value to homeowners. 

When contemplating a large life decision, undue pressure from real estate agents can lead to a bad consumer experience. By taking the time to understand your client’s situation, and empowering them to make the best decision, you put them in a position where they will want to reciprocate by using you for the transaction.

Follow up is key

Now that the meeting has concluded, keep the ball rolling! Log your follow-ups and upload your notes to the system right away.

Do it right then and there, or schedule to get it done well in advance of when you promised it for!

Final Thoughts 

Well-run meetings lead to sales

Maintain a professional environment. Take thorough notes, and take your time to understand your client's situation, needs, and wants.

Have a thoughtful interaction. Don't rush the meeting, or fly on autopilot by giving canned answers. By present in order to evaluate the information you have, and what you need to know on an ongoing basis.

Follow through. Schedule follow-up meetings as necessary, and consistently do what you say you will do.

Between marketing your business, juggling showings, and staying on top of your leads, you need a system to manage your workload in a stress-free and intuitive way. RealOffice360 is an unbelievably simple CRM, business tracker, and daily planner for real estate agents and Realtors®. Rather being just a data dump for client information, RealOffice360 helps you visually build your business plan, cultivate your real estate database towards your goals, and ultimately keeps you focused on what matters most: your clients and your deals. Get started for free - no credit card required!