A driving force in the real estate industry is communication. For a REALTOR®, communication is key, frequently being a liaison between the buyers and sellers, the other agent, the title company, etc. Communication is really the backbone of the Real Estate business and a real estate agent who can communicate clearly and effectively will find success in the industry.

Andrew Siefers is a Licensed Professional Counselor with My Rooted Soul Counseling. He received his Master’s Degree in Counseling from Dallas Baptist University and has a decade of counseling experience in the DFW area. We sat down with Siefers to get some expertise about basic communication skills and how this applies to real estate.

I’s and You’s
One of the first things Siefers mentioned was watch your I’s and You’s. For example if you say, ‘Do you think this is a good idea?’ This can be seen as passive. Instead say, ‘Hey, I think this is a good idea,” which can be seen as more direct, action oriented, and less attacking.

“If I’m taking responsibility for what I control or influence, then I’m not pointing out what I don’t control,” Siefers said. “So many times I think we become disconnected toward clients, because we’re not listening to the control or influence they want us to hear. So, as a professional you may be saying something one way, and the client interprets your words a completely different way. Also, watch your ‘Feel Likes’.”

For example, have you ever known yourself to indicate you are feeling “like”? Individuals express emotions by saying they ‘feel,’ and then it is followed by a feeling word immediately after. If the real estate agent is paying attention to a potential clients feelings at an open house or listing appointment, it gives her the ability to have a deeper connection to that potential future sale represented in the individual they are conversing with. Paying attention to the clients feeling words will help the REALTOR® to interpret the client’s feelings in the right way. Siefers indicates he sends out a free guide explaining emotion words and definitions on his website for those who request the info.

Siefers suggested a practical application for fixing this for yourself. Experiment with how many times one might hear oneself say, “I feel like…” throughout the day. The phrase “I feel like… “ when not followed by a feeling word means “I think…”. Correcting your feel and thinking words will increase your emotional maturity and acuity zeroing in closer to the truth. One can videotape or record herself in a normal conversation and then go back, listen to it, and critique herself on the way she speaks. Or simply try to make a mental note every time she says “feel like” rather than “I think” and make an effort to express the correction out loud. Before long you will be doing great at this.

Emotion Does Not Equal Logic
“A common mistake a REALTOR® may make is to communicate with his emotions, rather than his logic,” Siefers said. “Sales is all about creating a felt sense of what the client does not realize they need and providing the solutions and answers for their need.”

A REALTOR® may walk into a potential deal desiring success, but the client still has a lot of questions. If the REALTOR® does not pause, stop or understand the clients questions, he or she is facing a potential communication disaster if the REALTOR® interprets the situation on his own desire to move forward, rather than listening to what the client is saying. If the agent is not listening well, there won’t be as much opportunity to close the deal.

“Clients’ expectations of Realtors being experts may be true or false,” Siefers said. “So, indicating a sense of transparency or openness about what you are an expert in and what you are not an expert in is ideal. This increases the client’s trust over time by building trust. Trust equals saying what you’re going to do and doing it. Consistent integrity will breed success over time. There is much effort having to keep up with incongruence than simply allowing yourself to make mistakes and admit your deficiency.”

Boundaries 
“Boundaries are like property lines,” Siefers said. “You can have a stone wall, you can have a picket fence, or you can have no fence at all.”

The stone wall analogy partly is illustrated from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Gottman’s research on marital relationships. The Four Horsemen are the following: Criticism, Defensiveness, Contempt and Stonewalling. Stonewalling means building a wall in between the real estate agent and the client, not attending to a customer needs because you don’t like the client, aren’t making a profit, don’t connect or don’t want to give them your time, etc. are all causes of stonewalling.

The picket fence analogy has a gate and this gives the REALTOR® the optimal ability to open and close the communication gate as she wishes. This means laying out times when she can focus on her clients, and then saving other times when she can be with her family.

The no wall at all analogy means that anyone can come and go on my property, time, and feelings as they please. This may mean clients think they are allowed to call the REALTOR® late at night or early in the morning, potentially ruining sleep or complicating the morning routine of the agent to provide balanced service.

“You want to value yourself, and take care of yourself, promote healthy living and model these behaviors for your client,” Siefers said.

High-Stress Transactions
When asked about tips for dealing with high-emotion or high-stress transactions such as death or divorce, Siefers chuckled and suggested seeing a counselor.

“At least have a counselor handy in those situations to answer your concerns,” he said. “Utilize your network in order to maintain your sanity.”

Also, be sure to get adequate sleep, rest, relaxation and exercise. Physical health and nutrition are very important in this situations. Siefers also advised the agent to know limits. Don’t advise clients with expertise he can’t back up, and don’t get into the intimacies with your clients who are hurting and vulnerable.

“Crossing physical or emotional lines to make a sale isn’t worth it,” Siefers said. “Maintain your rational sense of professional rapport paying attention to where you meet, take notes before, after, or during conversations to stay on task, guide the process and focus on the goal rather being caught up in decisions that are not yours to make.”

Success
“As a lay person, I think Realtors generally believe communication is answering phones, answering emails, funneling facts from fiction and being a conduit for the process,” Siefers said. “And those might be the functions and behaviors of communication, but the rote behavior may not mean that you’re paying attention to the body language, tone, and professional idioms you use.”

The last bit of advice that Siefers gave for the REALTOR® is to simply say what she means. Also, knowing the definitions of words that the agent uses will help her be more confident in her day-to-day conversations and decisions. The REALTOR® should not be afraid to do research or ask questions and stay within the boundaries of integrity and excellence that she strive to exude.

You can contact My Rooted Soul Counseling by going to https://myrootedsoul.com/home/. As a title company, we partner with the real estate agents to ensure s/he and the buyers or sellers feel comfortable going into closing. Do not hesitate to call your local First International Title office with any questions or concerns you may have!

Are you thinking about buying your first home, but don’t know where to start? This process can be overwhelming for someone who has never experienced it. Whether you plan to buy a home in the next couple of months, or if it’s in your 5-year plan, there are steps you can take now to prepare yourself and your family for purchasing a house.

However, if you’ve already started the process as a first-time home-buyer, we hope these tips will encourage you to hit your goal and have a smooth transaction.

1. Save Money
You should already be setting money aside for your down payment and other expenses which arise that you didn’t know about or plan for at the beginning. Don’t forget about closing costs, HOA fees, purchasing a survey, etc. Every real estate transaction is different, but it’s best to be cautious and save as much money as possible to cover your expenses.

2. Work on your Credit Score
Whether you plan to buy soon or in 5 years, start building up your credit score now. Pay your bills on time, especially your big purchases like car payments, and then focus on your credit cards. Keep your credit cards at 10 percent or lower. It’s important to have a good credit score so that you may be approved to buy your home!

3. Keep a Steady and Reliable Job
Two-year employment is ideal, but at least a 2-year history of your job is required. If you have over a 6-month gap in employment, it can start to get tricky to get you approved through a lender.

4. The Truth Behind Your Down Payment
You don’t actually need 20% down to buy a house. There are several grant and down payment assistance programs that can help with up to 7% of your closing costs and down payment. Those programs aside, the FHA minimum down payment is still only 3.5%. Every lender or bank is different, so be sure to talk to your loan originator about your options.

5. Don’t Feel Obligated to Buy at Your Highest Approved Amount.
Even if you are approved for a higher-priced house, that may not always be the smartest choice depending on your needs and the needs of your family. Look at your budget and see how much house you can afford to live in and still be comfortable with your finances. You never want to be ‘house-poor’.

Voila! These are our top 5 tips for first-time home-buyers. If this is you, we are very excited to help you and would love to give you more information. Please reach out to us today if you have any questions and happy buying.

Questions? Comments? Reach out to your First International Title rep today!

Erik Qualman, author of the book Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business said, “We don’t have a choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it.”

For today’s REALTOR®, social media is not as much of a choice as it is a necessity to keep your business alive and growing. According to an article by Forbes, 90 percent of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business, and online reviews have also been shown to impact almost 70 percent of purchasing decisions.

Marketing methods used even just one decade ago are not nearly as relevant as they were at that time. With the majority of the American population on social media, and the majority of home buyers being millennials, it is imperative that real estate agents spend a proper amount of time marketing on social media.

If you’re a REALTOR® thinking to yourself, ‘I’m already on social media,’ now would be a good time to re-evaluate your pages and marketing techniques as Facebook, who also owns Instagram, went through many changes in the beginning of 2018. Here are our top 7 social media tips to keep you up to date.

1. Online Reviews

Google, one of the only companies to successfully turn its name into an actual verb, is still incredibly relevant. Most Americans, who are considering buying something (or, in our case, using a REALTOR®) still read reviews before making a final decision.

Luckily, whenever someone gives your services a review on Google, this increases your organic results, also known as SEO (Search Engine Optimization), thus pushing your name and business higher up in the results. Google considers this an “update” to your website, therefore the more updates you make, the more relevant you become. In essence, the more Google reviews you receive from clients, the more other people searching for real estate agents in your area will see your pages.

This also goes for Facebook reviews, which have recently changed to “Recommendations” on your page, in order to minimize the amount of fake and paid reviews online. Be sure to ask for the review at the end of every transaction.

2. Facebook Targeted Ads

Some REALTORS® claim that they get better views, more engagement, and a higher number of shares on their personal pages than they do their business pages. If that works well for you, keep on doing what you’re doing! However, one of the major drawbacks to this is Facebook targeted ads are only available for those who have business Facebook pages.

Targeted ads allow you to reach a very specific target audience. Think of this way. You have the potential to reach thousands upon thousands of people in their most relaxed state: drinking coffee in the morning, or laying on the couch after a long day of work, and browsing their newsfeed. There is a reason these ads are so popular right now: they work. You essentially cut out everyone that has zero potential to be interested in the services you offer. You only target those you would need your real estate expertise.

3. Facebook Live

Take a moment to scroll through your newsfeed and take a mental count of how many videos you see versus how many written posts, or even just a photo. It’s a huge difference. Facebook is currently rating video as the highest and most relevant form of communicating on your page.

Facebook Live takes it a step further. Not only is your live video pushed up to the top as one of the most important posts, but your friends and followers get a notification whenever you go live. This is a quick, fun, easy to get in front of people. Nervous about going live? Give your local First Western/International Title Rep a call and they’d be happy to get you started!

4. Instagram Hashtags

Many real estate agents are saying that their Instagram leads have a higher ROI than their Facebook leads. This is something to consider. Instagram, although it is owned by Facebook, has its own way of reaching people.

There are 4 types of hashtags you should use with every post on Instagram to increase your SEO:

1. Content-related (this will change depending on the post)
2. Your niche
3. Your industry
4. Company-branded

Using these specific hashtags will help people who like similar pages to yours find you easier.

5. LinkedIn

A friend of mine once said, “Do you want clients who are business people with a college degree? …Then why aren’t you on LinkedIn?” Running an ad campaign on LinkedIn will help you to reach those exact people, as the majority of LinkedIn users are working and have college degrees.

With that being said, make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date, as these people typically want to work with others who are go-getters, hard-working, and have a lot to show for their work. Also, look for many different types of LinkedIn groups that you can join, as that gives you the ability to reach an even wider audience.

6. Quality Over Quantity

Be intentional about the types of people you are following on Instagram and inviting to like your Facebook page. Is this a person someone that you want to work with? Do they even fit the description of your ideal client? Don’t waste time following people who aren’t going to get you where you want to be.

Your followers on social media should be liking your content, having a reason to comment on your posts, and eager to share your thoughts to their own page. If someone doesn’t fit the bill, move on.

7. Be Yourself

Now more than ever, people want a relationship, a connection, with someone before they do business with that person. Are you portraying your true self online or will your potential clients be surprised when they meet you in person for that listing appointment? There shouldn’t be any surprises. In fact, when you meet a social media lead in person, there should be some sense of “I already feel like I know you,” before you even sit down. Are you being yourself?

Social Media is an ever-changing and a never-ending conversation. Be proactive about attending classes and asking your business developer for updates on social media. First International Title offers classes for realtors every month.

Questions? Comments? Reach out to your sales executive today!