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Good communication is central to the success of businesses no matter the industry. This is especially true, however, in the real estate sector where stakeholders across multiple aspects of the sales process must be able to share insightful information quickly, reliably and professionally.
Clear lines of communication must always be available between brokers, managers, agents and clients to ensure all parties are updated when circumstances change, which can happen frequently and without much warning. This is particularly important for agents and brokers overseeing the minutiae of real estate transactions.
To help brokers and agents ensure operations run smoothly, and to aid all parties in building trusting relationships, below are some strategies for enhancing broker-agent communication.
Identify Communication Issues
To enhance broker-agent communication, it’s first important for brokers to remember the various unique issues that their agents face in the field, like sometimes constant communication with clients, factors that change quickly and without warning and unforseen issues or delays. It's up to the broker to model prompt, concise and insightful communication with regularity so that agents have an example of what to emulate to their business partners and clients.
There are also common communication barriers that brokers will want to consider when assessing the root cause of communication breakdowns in the office:
- Language barriers - Around 20% of US citizens speak multiple languages, though in some locations this figure is much higher. Brokers working in multilingual locations need to understand the language needs of their agents and their clients to be able to communicate effectively.
- Geographical circumstances - In some cases, brokers and agents may be situated in different localities or states during the completion of a real estate transaction. This can impact communication capabilities, especially if different time zones are involved. Brokers need to accommodate for geographical circumstances.
- Conflicting objectives - Brokers and agents may simply have different priorities and timelines in mind when ironing out the finer details of a transaction. They might also have different priorities for their businesses. If neither party is willing to adjust, they may find themselves facing a communication impasse.
- Difference in communication style - Some professionals have a deeply entrenched communication style that may exist at odds to another’s. If one party prefers concise messages and the other is detail oriented, a middle ground will need to be located.
Analyze Current Communication Practices
Understanding the above communication issues will help brokers and agents understand where improvements could be made. However, to ensure alterations are effective, it’s important to analyze existing communication practices to highlight potential weaknesses.
This process involves a review of current communication methods. Stakeholders should consider how communications are typically approached. For example, are messages usually relayed over the phone? Are emails preferred? Are office meetings a common occurrence?
By analyzing current communication preferences, and comparing these findings to common communication issues, stakeholders can highlight gaps in their process that need to be filled.
Strategies to Enhance Broker-Agent Communication
Now that the groundwork has been done, it’s time to determine specific strategies that real estate professionals can pursue to enhance broker-agent communication. Below are some key tips to consider when optimizing communication methods for better business outcomes.
Develop a culture of collaboration
For any communication tools, technologies and methodologies to be effective, professionals must first develop a workplace culture focused on collaboration. Ensuring that all parties feel comfortable communicating with one another will help ensure a streamlined approach during complicated transactions. Encouraging brokers, agents and any other key parties to share ideas openly and with regularity will help foster an effective communication process.
This principle doesn't apply solely to brokers and agents, either. It can be adopted between agents and homebuyers and landlords and tenants. Regular, transparent communication that aims for proactivity rather than reactivity helps to ensure smooth and simple transactions.
Utilize digital communication tools
To support brokers and agents in freely communicating information promptly, it’s important to use responsive and easily-accessible communication tools. This includes software solutions like project management systems, instant messaging services and video conferencing tools.
Brokers and agents should be able to access these tools at all times, which means brokers will want to look into services and platforms that can be installed on smart devices, rather than constrained to the office or a computer. It’s also wise to discuss with agents what's reasonable when it comes to acknowledging notifications and figuring out response times. That way, everyone is on the same page, and no updates are unintentionally ignored.
Pursue continuous training initiatives
The best practices governing effective communication between brokers and agents should be frequently reaffirmed to ensure all parties continue to follow them. Continuous training helps to keep such ideas fresh in everyone’s minds to aid long-term working relationships.
All parties should be encouraged to engage with workshops, meetings and courses intended to hone their communication skills in relation to new tools and techniques. Initiatives can also be used to provide a structured environment for parties to share unique thoughts and ideas.
Implement KPIs for communication
To measure the efficacy of new and existing communication strategies, stakeholders should think about which key performance indicators they associate with effective communication. This could include metrics like response times, communication tool usage, productivity after new measures have been implemented and insightful feedback from clients and colleagues.
KPIs can be frequently assessed to highlight the efficacy of new processes and identify any areas that still need improvement. During this review process, feedback from stakeholders can also be analyzed to help all parties continuously optimize shared communication efforts.
To ensure brokers and agents are positioned to update each other with key information and changes effectively, time must be dedicated to the development and continuous improvement of communication strategies.
By understanding common industry-specific communication challenges, analyzing existing communication practices and implementing new strategies positioned to action these issues, brokers and agents can enhance communication practices to improve business outcomes.
