Real Estate Mom Post #2 (Communication)

Every year I goal plan for the upcoming year. I set professional goals and personal goals. Once 2010 started I already had my goals set but, I looked back at 2009 and realized there were a few things I felt guilty about in the area of communication and needed to make some changes. I had perceived ideas of how often I should contact my clients and the amount of attention they should receive from me while I am helping them with a real estate sale on the buying or selling end. However, I failed to ask them how often they would like to be contacted and just assumed I should contact them at least once per week.

So March 2010 comes and I get a voice mail from former client asking me questions about their lot which I had listed last year but did not sell. It had since expired and was not re-listed. When I picked up the voice mail I got nervous because I felt guilty that he called me first and that I had only spoken to him a handful times while the lot was listed for 6 months last year.

I knew I was going to return the call within minutes and decided total upfront honesty about how I was feeling was the professional and personal approach I wanted to take. So I made the call and told my client that before we started talking about his lot that I wanted to apologize for my lack of communication with him last year and that I felt I had done a dis-service to him for not calling more. His response was, " I don't want you to call me all the time. If you call I will think you have an offer and will only be disappointed if you do not have an offer." That comment was a weight lifted from me. I was beating myself up about not calling him once a week and when in realty I gave him the amount of attention he preferred.

So there are two lessons I now employ. #1 if something is bothering me I use total up front honesty and address it, I may or may not get the response I would like but at least I will feel better. Or it may turn out that I was beating myself up for no reason. I cannot assume someone feels the same way I do or that I know how they feel.

Lesson #2 is to ask my clients how much communication they would like from me. This way our expectations are in line with one another. I will also follow up to make sure these expectations have not changed and that I am meeting if not exceeding the service and communication they desire.

When I look at the lessons above I realize they not only apply to my professional life but also my family life.