Effective communication is one of the keys to a successful business. Think about any successful business you know or individual in it – they are probably pretty great communicators. This doesn’t necessarily mean they can speak in front of thousands of people at once. Most communication in the real estate world is done on a one on one basis or in front small groups. Successful communication is having the ability to convey your point in a manner that generates action. You can talk for hours but if no action is taken, you aren’t doing a good job of communicating your point. Whether you are an introvert or love a stage, there are a few tips to communicate effectively.
Conversational Tone With the advances in technology, there are a handful of different ways you can communicate. Between email, text, and phone, each presents a certain challenge. What is consistent with all of these methods is that you should keep the tone conversational. It may sound simple enough, but read your email aloud before you hit send. If you do not talk like the email you are writing, you need to change up the wording. People want to work with others that they feel comfortable with. One of the ways to do this is by feeling comfortable with conversation. If you can establish a relationship first, you will end up getting more business. This goes for whether you are talking to a seller, wholesaler, attorney, or fellow investor. Don’t just dive right into business. There is nothing wrong with making small talk and asking questions about current events, the weather, and even sports -whatever you know that your client is personally interested in. You never want to sound as if you are reading off a script and have made this presentation before. When you are developing a relationship, remember to keep the tone conversational.
Benefits. How will your client benefit when working with you? Whenever you are trying to get business from someone – or develop a partnership – this question hangs over the conversation. The other party doesn’t care about your past success and how many deals you may have closed. They want to know how working with you will benefit them. You don’t necessarily need to come right out and list the benefits, but you do need to make them aware. Will you do something cheaper, better, or quicker? Will their returns be higher working with you? How will you make their life easier? You never want to knock a competitor or someone else in the business. There is a way you can highlight your positives without bashing someone else. If your benefit is strong enough, you can bet that people will want to work with you. The key is portraying that benefit in a way that paints you in the best possible light. Whenever you are speaking with someone else, you need to think about how they will benefit by working with you.
Explain And Educate. A big part of communication is about education. You can’t expect people to work with you if they don’t understand what they are getting into. You need to be patient enough to answer any questions and educate your listener on the process. This requires you to be prepared for anything that comes your way. The best way to do this is by putting yourself in their shoes. What questions would you have if you were on the other side? Did you explain things or did you quickly gloss over them? The people you talk to want to be completely comfortable with you. If they feel you are hiding something they will find somebody else to work with. You never want to dumb down your conversation but you need to strike a balance between education proper use of jargon. Most people will not ask questions unless there is something specific they need to know. Make it easy on them and do the explaining for them.
Listen. Good communication is about listening. You can’t be so worried about what you are going to say next that you fail to listen to what is being said. By listening, you can hear what it is that the other person really wants. If you ignore this – or fail to make it your focus – you will lose the person quickly. It is a natural instinct to want to speak as soon as someone you want to work with is finished talking. This is a bad habit to have. Instead of talking just for talk sake, you should take a second to listen to the conversation then react. Nobody wants to work with someone that dominates the conversation. Conversely, if you listen to comments and ask questions or talk about what was said, you build a rapport. To be a good communicator you need to be a good listener.
Create Urgency. Any time you are trying to get a deal from a homeowner or work with a new business partner you need to create urgency. This urgency cannot be manufactured or fake. You can’t just tell them that if they don’t act right now the deal is off the table. Nobody likes to be pushed into making a decision. However you need to provide a specific time and date when you should expect to hear back from them. This gently pushes them into action. If you don’t set a date you will be in limbo for a long time waiting for a response. You won’t know exactly when and how to follow up. At the end of every new meeting you have to have a follow up plan in place. The greater the sense of urgency the more likely they will want to work with you.
The little things with communication are often the most important. You don’t need to be a great public speaker to be a good communicator. Keep these five tips in mind before your next big meeting.
