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“I want you to eliminate ‘buyers’ and ‘sellers’ from your vocabulary. That is one of the ways that you dehumanize your transaction, rather than humanizing the experience,” Giselle Ugarte, founder of The Talent Brokerage, said onstage at Inman Connect New York during an Agent Connect session titled, “Beyond the Transaction: Understanding the Psychology of Consumers.”
Instead, she said, focus on how you can humanize the experience.
Purchasing a home is an emotional journey. Find out how to tailor your approach to align with each client’s unique story, and create meaningful connections that enhance the transaction experience for everyone.
HUMAN — a framework for putting people first
Using the HUMAN acronym to help you remember, here’s how to connect better with consumers.
H: hesitations, hangups and heartbeats
Who are the heartbeats in the room that matter? Read the room, they say, but perhaps even more important is knowing the heartbeats in the room. Know what they care about, what drives them, what they’re feeling. The same goes for hangups and hesitations. Get to the bottom of what’s going on with everyone involved in the transaction.
U: Understanding your terms on their terms
“A good expert will explain something to you, tell you what’s about to happen, but the GOAT [greatest of all time experts] will help to break down sometimes the most complicated concepts and the most similar words in terms that your client will understand,” Ugarte said.
Sometimes clients will hear things and not have the context or correct information to understand why what they’re hearing should (or shouldn’t) matter to them. It’s your job to communicate what matters in a way that your clients can relate to.
Many agents put out monthly marketing updates for content but without context. Nobody cares about your monthly market update unless you put it in words that they’ll understand, Ugarte said. Be sure to break down the information that truly matters to your sphere and hit hard on why they should care.
M: Meaning of money
You might think that your job is to get your clients the best price — and it is — but now, especially with all of the commission conversations, you really need to understand what the money means to your clients.
For example, some clients might be willing to entertain a low-ball offer because they need the money, they need to move to another city for a job or they simply want to get away. How can you help your clients achieve their goals if you don’t understand their money motivations?
A: Attachments and affiliates (and associations)
What do your clients love? What are they attached to? What are they excited about?
Is it sports? Having kids? Vacationing? Find ways to connect yourself to the conversation and ensure that they know and like you faster and deeper.
This is also a great way to think about social media. Rather than posting all business all the time, post some personal tidbits about yourself as well. Do you love hiking, trying new restaurants, your Peloton? Share it so that people have something to connect with.
Pro tip: Start introducing yourself and putting a face and voice to your name as quickly as possible, whether on social media or face to face. The more conversations you’re having, the more business you’ll do.
N: Naming your ‘you’
Often, we talk about people in groups: buyers, sellers, followers. Eliminate those words from your daily life. Instead, put people first. People who want to buy a home. People who want to sell a home.
Even better, skip third-person and go straight to second-person. Talk directly to your audience using the word “you.” Focus on putting the “you” back into your interactions, marketing and presentations, and you’ll find that you’re connecting with more people.