Since the coronavirus came to the forefront of the United States in early March, we have really had to more carefully consider our approach to the field of real estate. How we approach sales in tough times can make real estate professionals appear tone deaf and insensitive; and, that’s definitely not how to make yourself respected within the industry.
I’ve seen a ton of memes that point out the ways in which real estate professionals can often be insensitive in times of turmoil (such as during wildfires, tornadoes, or states of emergency). And, I think it is important for real estate professionals to avoid being the butt of those memes. Here are 5 tips to help your real estate business survive a national and global crisis without appearing as if you are an ambulance chaser.
5 Tips for Real Estate Survival During a Pandemic
- Show genuine care and concern for others. (This only works if you have it in you to be an empathetic and sensitive person.) People who are hard selling at the moment add to the trauma. Before picking up the phone or writing an email, take a minute to see the world through the lens of the other person. You have to care about someone and want to help them, especially now. Remember that consumers can smell your snake oil from a mile away.
- Invest in good karma. Be in regular contact with your sphere to offer support and advice. Now is the time to push the relationship and not the sale.
- Be useful. Are you more interested in selling homes or helping people? You know the answer within seconds of opening an email or newsletter whether someone would rather sell or help. Keep in mind that two metrics are on the rise at the moment: email open rates and email unsubscribes. If you’re a resource and a support system for individuals and businesses, you’ll experience the former. So, consider ways to provide valuable content and support to your sphere.
- Identify the problems that apply to your prospects and sphere. Figure out the needs of people who haven’t yet used your services. There are a lot of individuals that are hurting right now. Find ways to reach out to them or adapt to make your offering more appealing to them. Even if they’re not a customer today, they could still be a future customer.
- Publish content. For most businesses, this is as close to selling as you can get without chasing ambulances. People need help all over the world. Consider publishing as much free content as you can afford to—articles, blog posts, videos, etc. Now is the time to launch that book or start that podcast you’ve been thinking about. As real estate professionals, we need to think about how we can extend the value that’s usually reserved for clients to a wider audience.
It’s entirely possible that we will be soon pivoting into uncharted territory with respect to an economic depression not seen for nearly 100 years. If you follow the five steps listed above, you’ll be able to weather that storm much more effectively.
