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This post was updated Oct. 8, 2024.
At its most basic, a disappointment is simply an unmet expectation. We recently had a client who used our team to sell their mid-50s home. It had been remodeled in the early ’80s, but those upgrades were clearly showing their age.
Even though we counseled the seller that contemporized kitchens, baths and flooring could significantly improve the selling price, they were adamant that they only wanted paint and necessary repairs. A final caveat was that they insisted we utilize a number of their furnishings — also dated — and stage the home incorporating their personal belongings.
Our team member had wonderful rapport throughout the process, and things went well until the staging was done. It goes without saying that the staging crew had a difficult time locating items in their inventory that matched the items already in the home, but they did their best.
Upon arriving home after the staging crew had left, the owner immediately called our team member and said, “I am terribly disappointed; I thought my home was going to look like a model home!”
They had evidently gone through the models in a local new home development and somehow assumed that a decades-old home with no upgrades, ’80s wallpaper, old appliances and outdated furniture would somehow, after the staging was done, look like a newly built, upscale home with expensive furniture and lavish interiors done by a professional designer.
While we aim for perfectly smooth transactions, “stuff” inevitably happens that has the potential to derail the process. While this is just another day at the office for Realtors who have closed many transactions, most clients only venture down this road a few times in a lifetime.
As a result, they can easily be caught off guard or have a set of expectations fundamentally different than their agent — in some cases, wholly unreasonable expectancies that cannot adequately be met. Without adequate preparation and frank discussions up front, most clients have little idea what to expect or how to handle things when they go sideways.
At the end of the day, a successful transaction is not about the end, it’s about the process. If you manage to buy or sell a house, but your clients have been totally aggravated, frustrated or traumatized along the way, instead of a successful outcome, you will have secured an epic fail that could result in a negative review and subsequent lack of any potential referrals.
Success is achieved by effectively managing your client’s expectations. While there is no end of detailed lists online for managing expectations, I believe there are three fundamental components:
1. Tell them what you will be doing
Expectations start at the very beginning. From the first phone call, text or email, they are evaluating you and assessing your ability to manage their real estate process. First impressions matter, and it’s important to demonstrate your professional capabilities from the start.
Get to know your clients
At the end of the day, while they are “clients,” they are human beings with passions, goals, hopes and fears. While you may have clearly defined checklists and flowcharts for the entire process, if you fail to get to know them, you will not have the ability to gauge their expectations and will not be able to tailor your process to their individual needs.
While it may be business as usual for you, it’s deeply personal to them, and if you simply hit them with your process, they will feel like a cog in a machine.
Discuss communication methodology
Everyone has a preferred way of communicating. While I prefer phone calls, most of my clients want texts. Discuss preferred communication styles upfront, and clarify the primary form of communication along with the frequency at which updates will be delivered.
Even if primary communications are via text, I confirm that important communications will always be via email (so there is an audit trail) followed by a text alert. I also clarify that problems will usually be discussed via an actual call.
Clearly delineate goals
Goals can only be effectively implemented when everyone is on the same page. As an agent, you may think you know what the clients want; discuss everything with them in your initial meeting so that goals are clearly aligned and put into writing so that expectations are in sync.
Produce a roadmap
Systems ensure that no details get overlooked. We may do this every day, but our buyers and sellers do not. Effective checklists serve as roadmaps to clients to not only point the direction but also to highlight critical steps along the way. We frequently hear clients say, “I’m so glad you have that on your list — it never crossed my mind.”
Additionally, never communicate verbally without written documentation to verify. As an example, when meeting with buyers, our preliminary consultation includes an actual checklist of items they need to have in place before we will even show them the first property. The checklist also includes benchmark items that need to happen once we get going.
In California, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to obtain homeowners insurance, so our checklists include the necessity of shopping for insurance at the beginning of the process, not at the end.
Set a schedule
When will we start? What are the critical milestones along the way? For sellers, we often determine a date they would like to be on the market and then produce a flowchart that includes inspections, renovations, staging, pictures and any other benchmarks that need to happen prior to hitting the market. Make sure every key step has a deadline in writing that has been signed off by the client.
Define feedback
There will be times when the client may have questions or concerns. Make sure they understand the fastest and most effective way of communicating their concerns so they can be resolved as quickly as possible. As their agent, you must be willing to answer the phone when they call or provide rapid responses via text or email: There is nothing worse than an unresponsive agent.
Clarify expectations
We spend time in both our listing presentations and buyer consultations talking about potential problems. We stress that our goal is always to have a perfectly smooth transaction but highlight the fact that situations do arise and that our success rate in dealing with unexpected “surprises” is virtually 100 percent.
We have produced documentation that highlights past issues that we have resolved so that our clients have a better understanding of what might happen.
A few of the scenarios we share with sellers include:
- A few weeks before going live, a homeless group not only set up an encampment directly behind our listing but also began systematically breaking into the property. We moved a person into the home so it would have someone in residence and contacted city officials who had the encampment removed. We managed to hit the market on our targeted date.
- The day before going live, a leak in an upstairs bathroom caused catastrophic flooding of both floors, ruining substantial amounts of hardwood flooring and damaging numerous other items. We moved the staging out of harm’s way, worked with the seller to get their insurance claim processed, had our abatement crew begin cleanup immediately, followed up with our contractors to begin restoration, carried the cost of the repairs until the insurance money kicked in and worked with the sellers to redo their disclosures to incorporate the water damage. We hit the market one week later.
- A listing had just finished probate, and because the home had been vacant a while, a neighbor, looking to make a fast buck, had broken in, changed the locks and “rented” the property with a fake rental agreement. Due to California tenant protection laws, even though the home was illegally rented, the police would do nothing. We had to retain an attorney to evict the “tenants” and, once they were out, managed to get the home prepared and sold.
We have stories we share with buyers as well:
- We were well into a purchase when the appraiser came back with a low value. Upon receiving the appraisal, we discovered that the appraiser somehow mistakenly entered and appraised the house across the street.
- Near the end of a transaction, a buyer’s insurance company, doing an insurance audit on the home being purchased, discovered an extra insurance claim. This caused them to refuse to insure the property, making it impossible to close escrow. We worked with them to locate another insurance company, renegotiated the closing date and managed to close only one day late.
2. Tell them what you are doing
Historically, NFL plays from the coaching staff were run onto the field by substituting players. This could produce delays, so beginning in 1994, the NFL authorized the installation of speakers in quarterback’s helmets to allow one-way communication from the bench. This improved communications and allowed teams to respond better to situations on the field.
While agents working on the backside of a transaction know what is happening and can take everything for granted, without communication, your clients are operating blind. Consequently, like sports, the need for real-time communication is critical in real estate, and in many cases, there is an urgent need for speed.
Here are a few key considerations when it comes to effective communications:
Communicate their way
Whether text, email or call, keep them informed every step of the way using their preferred method of communication.
Communicate at their frequency
Nail down how frequently they want updates, then ensure that you follow through consistently. It’s impossible to overcommunicate; if they tell you they need less communication, ease up a bit. In reality, I have found that clients typically want more communication than we want to provide.
Communicate all milestones
There are two aspects to this: Clients need to know the next milestone to occur, and they need to be notified when it actually happens. Your clients should never be calling you to ask how things are going or if their transaction has closed: You should have systems in place to notify them continuously every step of the way so they never have to guess.
Communicate all issues
Some agents are afraid to call their clients for fear of their response. Trust me — their reactions will always be far worse if they find out later or after the fact.
We have a script we use at the beginning of new client relationships:
“Imagine you are on an airplane and the pilot comes on the intercom to announce rough weather ahead. They state, ‘This is the flight deck – radar shows a rough patch ahead – things might get bumpy – please return to your seats immediately and fasten your seatbelts.’ It goes without saying that the pilot has flown through many rough spots before and has always made it safely to the destination. Like that pilot, when things get a bit rough, we will call you and let you know it’s time to fasten your seatbelt. And like the pilot, we’ve managed to navigate a bunch of rough spots in the past and have always made it to the close.”
Communicate all successes
As we are beginning to see compensation compression as a result of the NAR lawsuits, do not miss any opportunity to let your clients know when something good has been achieved. For years, most agents have worked quietly in the background, handling things so that their clients never have to worry. Those days are over.
Whether you managed to solve a problem, save them money, discovered a shortcut — make sure you let them know. This is not patting yourself on the back; it’s helping them feel good that selecting you as their agent was the right choice, and it highlights the fact that you are constantly working on the backside.
In the absence of communication, they can easily assume that you are doing nothing, proving, in their minds, the old adage that real estate agents do little or nothing to justify their compensation.
Communicate next steps
Every communication with your clients should have the same ending: “This is what happens next … ”
Solicit feedback
Never assume things are going well — always ask for feedback. Take notes, and then make sure any issues are handled immediately. When the input is good, that is the perfect time to say, “Oh, by the way, do you know of anyone who would benefit from our services?”
Surprise them along the way
Look for ways to actively exceed their expectations. Rather than just check off events as they happen, celebrate milestones as they occur, perhaps with a celebratory gift.
3. Tell them what you have done
While forward progress is always important, it’s important for people to be reminded of what has already transpired. There are two reasons for this. First, it provides a sense of accomplishment. Even when things hit a snag, they can look back and remember, “We’ve made it this far — there is hope for the rest.”
Second, people have short memories. You need to help them remember so they can appreciate the full impact of what is happening in the transaction and how your constant interaction on their behalf is keeping things moving forward.
Recap constantly
Sitting through a communication class years ago, the speaker made a statement about effective communication.
He said, “First you tell them what you are going to tell them. Then you tell them. Then you tell them what you told them.”
It’s true: Recap constantly, so they not only know what milestone has occurred, but they also know what will be happening next. The three most important words in real estate relationships are: “Communicate, Communicate, Communicate.”
Monitor expectations
Ask a simple question, “Are there any expectations that are not being met?” Then listen. If there are any outstanding issues, work to resolve them immediately. Pay attention to body language: Some clients may not be willing to speak their disappointments or frustrations, but their body language might be communicating otherwise.
Celebrate
Don’t only celebrate when milestones are met; go big at the end. They have entrusted you with the biggest financial transaction they will most likely have for years; you have scored a touchdown, and it’s time to party in the endzone!
Back to our disappointed seller: In the end, we were able to bring them around by graciously reminding them of the realities of the situation and then by bringing our staging crew back in to tweak some of the rooms.
We also received permission to remove some of their older furnishings, leaving room for our crew to provide some upscale items to get closer to the look they had anticipated. Once the dust had settled and they saw our efforts to assuage their initial disappointment, they were happy, and we went on to a very successful sale and a five-star review.
At the end of the day, to truly succeed, the goal is to not only meet client’s expectations but to exceed them at every step.
Carl Medford is the CEO of The Medford Team.
