When Megan Hill first worked as a travel agent, people would often ask her why the job even existed in the age of online booking platforms. Her answer was always simple. “When someone is spending $30,000 on a holiday, they don’t want it to go wrong,” she says. “And they want someone in their corner.”
Today, as director of First National Copper Coast in South Australia, Megan sees a direct parallel between that experience and her work in property.
The platforms may have changed, and AI may be reshaping workflows, but she believes the core of great real estate has not shifted at all.
“If someone walks through your door, you don’t want to lose them,” she says.
“You have to understand what they need from you … and that can be completely different from the next person.”
For Megan, customer service begins almost instantly and within the first few seconds of an interaction, she is already assessing how best to communicate with a client.
“In the first five to 10 seconds, you should have a feel for who you’re dealing with,” she explains.
“Not to judge them, but to adjust yourself.”
How a client presents themselves, what they wear, and how they speak can provide immediate clues about their expectations.
“What someone’s wearing is a really big giveaway,” she says.
“People who wear lots of black, they generally want you to be direct. They want their price, their plan, and they want you to execute. They don’t want hand-holding.”
By contrast, a client, perhaps dressed in soft pastels, approaching politely and a little hesitantly, will often require a different approach.
“They’re not necessarily nervous, but they’re going to need guidance,” Megan says.
“They want you to be there for them, answer their calls, explain things. They want the reassurance that someone’s taking care of them.”
Megan explains that reading these cues isn’t about stereotyping; it’s about tailoring service.
“If you try and give them the same approach, you’ll lose them,” she adds. “The key is adjusting to what they need.”
Principles from Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) can be useful for understanding these patterns.
NLP is a behavioral approach and personal development system that explores the relationship between neurological processes (“neuro”), language (“linguistic”), and learned behavioral patterns (“programming”).
Essentially, by observing how people speak, gesture, or respond, agents can gain insight into their clients’ preferred communication style and needs, helping them adapt without relying on assumptions.
Megan also believes the traditional golden rule, ‘treat others as you would like to be treated,’ needs updating in sales.
“Scrap that and instead treat others how they would like to be treated,” she says.
“That’s the shift. If you communicate the way you prefer, you’ll lose people. You have to communicate the way they prefer.”
“If someone comes in and they’re very direct – ‘This is my property, this is what I want, give me the price’ – don’t try and mollycoddle them,” she says.
“They don’t want you ringing them 50 times; they want efficiency.”
On the other hand, a more tentative client may need reassurance and consistent follow-up, and as an agent, you need to figure out the best approach quickly.
“If I don’t put in that extra work with them, I’ll lose them,” she adds. “They need to know I’m there.”
Empathy and emotional intelligence in real estate
The need for emotional intelligence becomes even more pronounced because property transactions are rarely straightforward.
Unlike booking a holiday, property decisions are steeped in emotion, and Megan regularly deals with deceased estates, divorces, and families navigating life-changing moves.
Each client brings a different emotional landscape.
“There is so much more to selling houses,” she says. “You’re often the emotional support person.”
She recalls a recent meeting with a woman selling the home she had built more than three decades earlier with her late husband, who had passed away only months before.
Her family wanted her to relocate closer to support networks, but she was struggling with the idea of leaving her home.
“She was crying across the table,” Megan recalls.
“This isn’t just a house. It’s her life. Her memories are in every corner.”
In those moments, she says, market knowledge and pricing strategies take a back seat to listening and understanding.
“If she doesn’t feel understood, why would she trust me with her most important asset?” she asks.
“You have to slow down, listen, and read the room.”
While technical skills can be trained, Megan believes emotional intelligence is more nuanced.
“You can teach someone to be aware that emotions are high in property transactions,” she says.
“But whether they truly get it often comes down to personality, or it can develop over time with experience.”
For her, the reward is not just strong sales figures but repeat business and referrals.
“When someone rings you two or three years later and says, ‘We’re selling again,’ that’s everything,” she says. “That tells you the relationship mattered.”
And those relationships are built on small but deliberate choices: reading the client, adjusting your approach, and giving them the time they need.
Ultimately, Megan believes that emotional intelligence, attention to detail, and empathy are what set exceptional agents apart in a digital, data-driven world.
“Read the room. Don’t say something inappropriate. Understand what’s really going on,” she says.
“Behind every listing, there is a story, and the agents who truly listen are the ones clients remember.”
