Is Your Communication Style Outdated?

Like a shot of adrenaline in the arm, technology has invigorated the real estate industry by accelerating the time it takes to list, show and close a home. Think about it--buyers no longer need to look in the paper or troll neighborhoods looking for "For Sale" signs; they can find homes for sale from wherever they are, right from their mobile phone. Agents no longer have to meet clients to sign papers; today, everything can be signed electronically.

However, if you think about how information is communicated between agents and clients, the model we use is still very linear. For example, let's say a couple found a home online that they're interested in viewing. First, they tell their agent that they want to view the home. Their agent then contacts the listing agent, who, in turn, contacts the sellers to propose a viewing time. Then the communication reverses and goes back through the listing agent to the buyer's agent and, finally, back to the buyers.

That's five touchpoints just to schedule a showing--and we're assuming the buyers are available at the proposed time! If not, the process starts all over again. As you can imagine, the touchpoints in this linear model add up pretty quick. The more touchpoints, the slower the process becomes and the greater the chance for miscommunication. The image below from showing solution TourSimply illustrates this well: