The 2009 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers is out, and I'm just jumping around grabbing items of interest. Exhibit 4-19, on page 66, is the "Satisfaction With Real Estate Agent Skills and Qualities" chart (Buyers). The two items ranked highest in satisfaction were "Knowledge of purchase process," at 88%, and "Honesty and integrity," at 87%.
The two lowest were "Skills with technology," at 73%, and "Negotiation skills," at 72%. We all know that many of our clients are more knowledgeable about tech than we are, but you might want to see how much time and effort you're putting into learning tech to "get business," instead of learning tech to "serve the client." They're different, and things like digital signatures, and better document and file sharing are probably where we drop the ball at times.
The lowest 72% satisfaction rate with "negotiation skills" showed 22% only "somewhat satisfied." Sure, some buyers will never believe they got the best deal, no matter how many counter offers you put together. But, this item, coupled with consumer forums showing that many believe that keeping the deal together is more important than aggressive negotiations, could signal a need to look back at your recent transactions. Did you ever find yourself guiding your buyer to settle on an offer or counter offer because you were afraid of pushing the seller too far and losing the deal (commission)? This item had the highest "Not Satisfied" percentage at 6%.
It's tough to think about, especially when deals are few and far between, as they have been the last couple of years. But, I'm going to take a little extra time before delivering counter offers in the future. I'll use it to examine perceived seller motivations, my buyer clients' motivations, and mine. I may have to remind myself that my motivation should be the very best deal for my client, even if it means moving on to another property.
Get the member discount and buy this valuable report today.
More on This Site About Serving Buyers
Follow me on Twitter for real estate business articles.
Let's talk! Check out our Forums and get involved in discussions to help our industry and your business.