Property report: Stay out of the ‘friend zone’ with your estate agent
A strict professional line must always be adhered to throughout the relationship.
Having worked as an agent both overseas and in South Africa, and having interacted with hundreds, perhaps thousands of agents over the past two decades, I feel I have a solid understanding of what sets the top performers apart from the non-performers.
There are quite a few attributes that an estate agent must have to consistently perform well.
These include: a positive mindset at all times, agility, be an excellent listener, understanding what their clients want, have great discipline, be trustworthy and be willing to take a few risks.
These are just a few good starting points which we could talk about at length.
However, staying out of the “friend zone” is a lesser-known trait that is just as important as those already listed above.
This phrase, I believe, originated in the US sitcom “Friends” when Joey accuses Ross of not being able to get a date with Rachel because he has taken too long to ask her out and drifted into the “friend zone”.
Interestingly, this is not too different with regards to salespeople and their clients.
In real estate relations, be it with your seller or your buyer, a strict professional line must always be adhered to throughout the relationship, even though a friendly demeanour is likely and is often a crucial factor.
The truth is most property journeys hit some sort of stalemate between the client and the estate agent.
Take for example buyers who are not finding what they want because they are unrealistic on price or unwilling to compromise – that’s a stalemate.
A large majority of estate agents who have crossed that professional line and have treated their clients like a relative or friend, will now find it very hard to have the conversation that needs to be had.
These will include advice such as “you need to look in a different area”, but to clients it will appear as if the estate agent has turned against them.
A professional estate agent understands this from the start, has a good relationship with the buyer, but retains that little bit of constructive tension in the process.
They know that if they must communicate something the client needs to hear but may not want to, for example advising the seller their asking price must be reduced, they can do so in a way that doesn’t feel sudden or unexpected.
It is just part of the process that they have been prepared for.
Many estate agents fear conflict, because unhealthy conflict weakens a relationship, seeming like they are working against each other.
But healthy conflict strengthens relationships because those involved are working together to solve a problem.
So next time you pick your agent, choose wisely. A people pleaser might feel nice in the beginning, but 99% of the time it will not end in the result you desire.
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