Imagine this – you’re about to make one of the biggest emotional and financial decisions of your life.
You’re considering buying or selling a major financial asset and the impact of doing so will have ramifications on your future, your family and your lifestyle.
What’s the scenario, exactly? Well, you’re buying or selling a property.
Who do you call? In all likelihood it’s a real estate agent.
And it’s what happens when someone makes that call that can be the difference between you becoming an agent for life or just another voice at the end of the phone, answering a series of questions.
It all happens in a split second that works a little like this…
Speed is currency
Whether it’s a buyer or seller initiating the call or reaching out via email, the speed at which you
answer their enquiry is currency.
After all, in the age of Uber and the era of McDonald’s, clients expect their needs will be instantly met.
They want answers or insight and they want them now.
In the case of a seller, they want to know what price their property might attract, and how you would go about getting that price.
If it’s a buyer on the line, they want to know what price a property might command and why they should get off their couch this Saturday and take the time to see it.
They want a response and they want to feel valued, but too often agents overlook speed as a key
performance indicator.
That’s a mistake and I’ll tell you why…
I want it all and I want it now
Having recently spoken to a number of ‘seller referral’ companies, I was absolutely fascinated by one
particular statistic they shared.
The most successful agents using the platforms have one common trait: ‘speed of engagement’.
In fact, those agents who responded to ‘seller appraisal’ requests within the shortest period of time had
an 80–90 per cent success rate when it came to winning the business.
As for what that length of time was, it was less than five minutes from submission to a response.
That’s an incredibly invaluable key performance indicator.
It’s a worthy reminder that ‘speed’ in anything we do has ‘currency.’
Speed applies to everything
Let’s face it, from the early beginnings of McDonald’s and their successful introduction of the ‘drive-thru, right through to the more recent rise of Uber, consumers have become accustomed to expecting things instantly.
Any form of delay or waiting devalues the user experience.
In other words, speed and delivery of service must go hand-in-hand.
I’d like fries with that
While McDonald’s and Uber are good examples, the reality is speed has become a commodity across
almost all sectors and industries.
If you’re seeking a personal loan, you can have cash in your bank in as little as 60 minutes after making an application.
From the comfort of your couch, you can do your weekly grocery shop and have it delivered to your
door within two hours.
Some lenders even advertise they can pre-qualify you for a mortgage in less than five minutes, and you
don’t even have to go into the bank.
In a nutshell, speed has become synonymous with good service, but it’s a metric that can fall by the
wayside in real estate, and really it shouldn’t.
Why speed matters
Every conversation with a client about real estate taps into three of the most important factors in life: a roof over their heads, financial security, and emotion.
Each of these are areas where people appreciate a swift resolution and a roadmap for moving forward.
And that’s what our job in real estate is to provide – problem solving, insight and advice that allows
people to move forward.
So I ask you this – if McDonalds can feed you in the time it takes to drive around a corner, and major
grocery retailers can deliver your weekly shop in less time than it takes to watch a movie, why should people expect any less when it comes to assistance making big emotional, financial and lifestyle decisions?
The speed at which you can help people move forward by simply acknowledging and responding to their
enquiry becomes a currency you can tap into in order to build business, create raving fans, and ensure
repeat clientele.
No matter what your role is in real estate, whether it’s in sales, property management or administration,
a focus on ‘speed’ will gain you a competitive advantage.
For all enquiries and more information on how the Agents’Agency can help you take your career to the next level, please visit agentsagency.com.au or email hello@agentsagency.com.au.
