Elite AgentFEATURE INTERVIEWS

Real estateโ€™s quiet reset: bringing humanity back into the conversation

Tech might be faster, but itโ€™s not always better. Barry Plant's Spiro Drossos says the industryโ€™s obsession with automation is costing agents something vital: real connection. From shifting vendor expectations to team morale and post-sale loyalty, he explains how bringing back the basics โ€” genuine conversations, face-to-face care, and clear, simple language โ€” is more important that ever.

In an industry racing to automate, Barry Plant Eastern Group Managing Director and Auctioneer Spiro Drossos is advocating for something much simpler – something thatโ€™s always been at the heart of good real estate: human connection.

โ€œThis is not an impersonal market,โ€ Spiro says. โ€œItโ€™s not a bag of chips we’re talking about – itโ€™s someoneโ€™s wholehearted and financial investment. We have to treat it with care.โ€

Spiro believes the rise of automation and reliance on tech platforms is creating distance at the exact moment real estate professionals need to lean in.

โ€œThereโ€™s too much tech stack now in our businesses. Too many things are automated that are taking away from the true relationship.โ€

One of the most obvious pain points is the breakdown between vendor and agent communication.

Many sellers are clinging to outdated price expectations, hoping for post-COVID highs to return, and resisting advice on where the market really sits.

โ€œThey believe interest rates are the whole reason the market will bounce,โ€ he explains.

โ€œBut itโ€™s not just interest rates – itโ€™s cost of living pressures, external factors, buyers being conservative. Sometimes we see a vendor reject a strong offer on auction day, only to come back weeks later and accept $40,000 less. The next offer isnโ€™t always better.โ€

This disconnect has forced Spiroโ€™s team to rethink how they communicate. The solution wasnโ€™t more data or fancier reports. It was less formality, more honesty – and better conversations.

โ€œWeโ€™ve gone through a process of ‘de-realestating’ our communication,โ€ he says.

โ€œWe used to be so scripted. People couldnโ€™t relate to that. Weโ€™ve worked really hard to create dialogue thatโ€™s human to human … clear, simple and logical.โ€

Part of that approach includes a shift in terminology. They no longer talk about โ€œvendor management.โ€ Now, itโ€™s โ€œvendor care.โ€

And care, in practice, often looks like a spontaneous check-in rather than a scheduled meeting.

โ€œWe call it the pop-in strategy. Just turning up for a coffee and a 10-minute update. Letting the client know weโ€™ve got their back, that weโ€™re working hard, that we care. No slideshows, no presentations, just a conversation.โ€

This change in tone extends to appraisals too: โ€œPeople used to give you an hour. Now youโ€™re delivering the key information during the property tour. Youโ€™ve got less time and need to connect quickly and informally.โ€

That emphasis on connection is just as important internally.

Spiro is acutely aware that todayโ€™s sales environment can feel like a grind compared to the high-flying days of the COVID boom.

โ€œWeโ€™ve got agents who were thriving when everything was selling fast. Now theyโ€™re in a more normalised market and having to grind. Weโ€™ve had to support them, motivate them, and reframe expectations. This is what steady growth looks like.โ€

He also acknowledges the generational gap in how newer agents communicate.

โ€œYounger agents are so used to text and email, some are almost fearful of picking up the phone. But if youโ€™re not having real conversations, youโ€™re not building relationshipsโ€”and that makes you easy to replace.โ€

In Spiroโ€™s view, the ability to communicate personally – by phone, in person, or even with a quick video message – isnโ€™t optional. Itโ€™s foundational.

And when email takes over? His team has a rule: โ€œMore than two emails? Make a call.โ€

This principle has shaped decisions across the business, even in property management. After taking over a large PM portfolio, Spiro found a sleek automated system was actually undermining service.

โ€œEverything was automated – rent increases, maintenance requests, updates. But there was no connection. So we switched platforms to one that had great tech but still required the property manager to do the communication. Itโ€™s not about adding more tech. Sometimes itโ€™s about removing it.โ€

Communication preferences, too, are never assumed.

โ€œWe always ask the client how they want to be contacted. Younger clients might prefer a message. But overwhelmingly, people still want a phone call and a real voice.โ€

That human voice carries through to post-sale relationships. Spiroโ€™s team doesnโ€™t rely on awards or slogans to stay front-of-mind.

They focus on useful, relevant content that adds value.

โ€œMarket updates, local pricingโ€”itโ€™s information-based marketing, not awards-based marketing. People remember you if youโ€™ve added value, not if youโ€™ve won something.โ€

The point, he says, is not to resist technology altogether. โ€œWeโ€™re not anti-tech. You can still use it wellโ€”like video messages, for example. But the second tech starts replacing the human side, thatโ€™s where the danger is.โ€

As the industry grapples with change, Spiro believes a reset is overdue.

โ€œWeโ€™ve gone so far forward with automation that now we need to go back the other way. Not to being old-fashioned, but to being connected.โ€

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Catherine Nikas-Boulos

Catherine Nikas-Boulos is the Digital Editor at Elite Agent and has spent the last 20 years covering (and coveting) real estate around the country.