Using Empathy to Accelerate Real Estate Sales

• The Role Of Empathy in Sales
• Tips To Cultivate Empathy

Buying real estate can be an emotional decision for property seekers, as it often involves a significant financial commitment for long time periods. Which is why solely talking money, figures and data to your real estate clients can create a disconnect between the customer and the real estate agent. This is where empathy comes into play.

Empathy, or the ability to really understand what another person is feeling, requires active listening – closely paying attention to what the other party is saying, and stepping into their shoes. Acknowledging their fears and concerns and addressing them with data and knowledge is the way to go.

In today’s real estate market, empathy is a crucial tool to succeeding as a sales agent. Let’s take a dive into understanding how empathy works, and some ways you can use an empathetic approach when conversing with your clientele.

Why Empathy?

Showing that you’re genuinely interested in what your client is going through and making them feel valued can increase their willingness to share information about their real estate needs. Empathy can be great to get an in-depth understanding of your client’s concerns and pain points, giving you the opportunity to address these fears and meet their real estate requirements.

It also opens the door to building trust and rapport, helping you create a positive atmosphere for customer satisfaction and future referrals.

Tips For Cultivating Empathy

There are three things you can do to cultivate empathy while conversing with your client:

1. Practice active listening – which is different from just hearing what your client is saying. You’re paying close attention to both the verbal and non-verbal cues, engaging with the other party and understanding what your client is saying.
   You can ask open questions to understand your client’s needs, goals and challenges further. Open questions can encourage your client to share their feelings, but be patient while obtaining this information. You want to let your client feel at ease throughout their property journey with you.
2. Leverage emotional intelligence, which means being aware of your own emotions and that of your client. Being emotionally intelligent requires understanding what your client is feeling and navigating the conversation accordingly.
3. Once you’ve got all the information about your client that you need, you can tailor your solutions and communication style to their scenarios. Be honest about what you can offer, and maintain transparency – your client will always appreciate you for this.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when leveraging empathy while working with your clients:

• Every customer has different needs based on their individual scenarios. For example, a first-time home buyer wants an agent who understands and acknowledges their fears and concerns, and will walk them through the home-buying journey. On the other hand, an investor looking for their second home would want an agent to be able to speak numbers, share data, facts and figures. With an empathetic approach, you’re able to segment your customers based on the role you should be playing, and tailor your approach accordingly.
• Using empathy as a sales tool means doesn’t stop at listening and pushing for a sale; it involves providing actionable solutions to the client that solve their concerns. This requires being knowledgable about the property and the real estate market. Use tools like Bayut’s Area Guides, Building Guides and last sold transactions from Dubai Transactions to be prepared to answer and guide your clients.
• One of the signs of good real estate customer service is post-sales service and maintaining the relationship that you have with your client. Even after your client has made their property purchase, keep this empathetic approach while maintaining your relationship with them to retain customer satisfaction and increase your chances of getting a referral in the future.

It is hard to fake empathy, which is why this is a skill that needs to be cultivated with consistent practice. Ask your peers and colleagues for feedback on your conversational skills during role plays, or ask one of your colleagues to shadow you for more perspectives on how you come off to your client. Ideally, you should be able to adapt to different prospects based on their individual scenarios and needs.

Empathy is a huge part of exceeding customer expectations and offering extraordinary customer service. Take the time out to understand your client and tailor your approach accordingly – to be an agent that your client will never forget.

Learn about how you can elevate your real estate customer service skills by joining us for our Customer Service To Win The Real Estate Game session at Bayut Academy. You can also check out our library of resources for real estate professionals that can take your career to the next level on our Content Corner on the Agent Portal.