Negative Communications and Good Leads

Real estate leads are often thought of in one of two ways. “Good” and “bad” The truth is far more complicated than that. When people describe themselves, have you ever heard someone say that they have a bad sense of humor? No. they always say that they have a “good” sense of humor. Everyone thinks they possess a superior taste in humor, film, music, whatever because they so rarely argue with themselves about what they like or don’t like. There is a guarantee that the French thought they had a “good” sense of humor when they loved Jerry Lewis. They didn’t say “We are sophisticated and worldly but Jerry is our guilty pleasure” No Sir. They said “That guy putting his fist in his mouth is really funny. We know because we have a very educated funny bone.”  

The situation with leads is no different (minus the French part)

If they have unrealistic expectations they feel that the right agent is out there with the perfect home. If they don’t answer the phone when they should, they don’t think they are being rude or that they are “bad” leads. They think that they would rather talk to you later or not at all. It is about them and their situation at the moment they receive your call. We cannot control them, we can keep an open mind when we do reach someone.

A scenario that is likely to happen to thousands of realtors this week is that the Realtor that spoke with a home buyer moments before told the buyer that they would have to put down 50% or that there is some blemish on their credit that has to be removed and then a 1 year waiting period has to elapse. So many people search for the negative and real estate agents are people. Then we call the home buyer and they don’t answer the phone. We think the lead is “bad” but in truth we just got shut down by someone who is not as talented or as professional as we are.

Home buyers don’t want to hear bad news…multiple times, yet our peers often think it is essential to provide bad news in the worst way possible. This happens to our clients every day. They are told by people who lack imagination or understand all the facets of a successful transaction. Sometimes it is better to provide a map even though we are not going to take the journey. By putting the need of the consumer to feel that there is an answer to their situation first we can often come up with a solution. Yes sometimes the solution is not immediate and that can be frustrating. But the person who helps the most people, makes the most money. The problems start when we close our minds. It is compounded when we make a determination without understanding all the factors and variables. How we enter a situation is generally how it will end up. Start positive and the results are more likely to be positive. Allow ourselves to create a negative environment and the results will reflect that. Perhaps it is the gravitational pull to promote drama or our natural inclination toward the most interesting story based on the television that we watch? (see Kardashian) Whatever the case, it is not new. The good news is we can change it whenever we want.

As an example of negative and positive and how we are programmed in our culture to look for the negative, British doctors are taught to provide the best case scenario while providing bad news to keep the patience spirits high. American doctors on the other hand are taught to provide bad news along with the worst case scenario in order to avoid being sued. This example is unfortunately the same way we communicate much of the time. We can’t blame the individual. It is a countrywide, systemic problem that permeates our entire culture and it will never be corrected. Just kidding. I gave the worst case scenario because it made it more interesting.