The Real Word: How agents should adapt as crisis mode kicks in

Byron Lazine and Nicole White are two agents in Connecticut who give us their thoughts on the week’s news every Friday in “The Real Word,” a weekly video column on Inman.

Watch Byron Lazine and Nicole White give a real estate agent’s perspective on industry-related topics. This week, in a complete shift as a new reality sets in, they’ll cover how coronavirus is impacting real estate culture, what Gary Keller, CEO and co-founder of Keller Williams, has recommended, and how agents should be approaching their clients. Here are a few tips from the video.

• Show leadership in your community. Protect your team, staff, clients, family and your direct community. Be that helping hand. People will remember how you stepped up in a time of crisis.
• Instead of buying new leads, double-down on the leads that you already have. Reach out and say: How can I serve you during this time? 
• Communicate with people via your social media platforms. Talk to those who are at home in front of their phones and computer screens. 
• Do what you can to support the community. All of your messaging should be about ways to help small businesses survive through this difficult time. 
• Spread positivity through any channel or platform that you’re on. Be authentic, thoughtful and professional. It’s important for people to know that you might not have every answer, but that you’re here to support them. 
• Share useful websites that are hosting helpful in-home webinars. (BomBomb, for example, is offering its video platform to teachers for free.) 
• Start preparing. Put in the work to prepare for what’s to come. Get rid of the expenses that you can just replace with just doing the work yourself. Do more with less.