Differing Perspectives Between Professionals And Clients

Being good at what you do is a double-edged sword. It means that you can be confident that you are providing clients and the general public with useful information and productive and proactive services. However, this confidence should be tempered with an awareness that you occupy a unique position in the fabric of your local community and the real estate landscape as a whole. You are privy to information and background that most people are not.

Not all of your expertise is inaccessible to those who do not share your career path. Much of what you know could be learned through research, especially with the availability of information on the internet. But as always must be mentioned when discussing the abundance of information, there is always an accompanying abundance of misinformation.

Even more than that, despite clients being capable of researching many of the questions that would typically be directed toward a real estate professional such as yourself, they may not know where to look or how to go about making inquiries. When information is so abundant, finding accurate and helpful information is not necessarily easier. In some cases, it is harder.

Where you came from

You have had the advantage of going through some sort of formal education or training that equipped you, through a combination of curriculum and experience, to learn the ins and outs of the real estate trade in the most efficient way possible. You had the information packaged for you not only for your absorption but for your use in a relevant career.

The members of the general population have no such luxury. If they want information, they will have to think, on their own, of the specific questions that will lead them to that information. They will have to sift through misinformation, opposing viewpoints, and inconclusive evidence. They will be inundated with sensationalized articles and thinkpieces that target the impressionable and eager consumer.

This is why you can find many articles online discussing the myths that you may have to debunk for your clients, or the common misconceptions they may have. These myths are propagated by both well-meaning entities and those who want to take advantage of people who have not had the same education you have had.

One way to identify with those who do not have your background is to think back to before you underwent your education and training, and imagine that you had to answer all the questions that clients are posing to you now, but you had to find those answers all on your own. Where would you start? What pitfalls would you be likely to fall for? What biases might you entertain?

Where you’re going

Information also serves a different function to real estate professionals than it does to their clients and the general public. You goals are to grow your business, to secure a good deal for your clients, to offer good counsel and grow your professional network. A client’s goal may be simpler, more emotional, or more short-sighted: they may simply want to find “the best house,” “their dream home,” “the best method to sell their home,” or simply to be less confused about the process as a whole.

Understand that redefining your clients’ goals may be a part of the process of shifting their perspectives more toward practical concerns that will allow you to help them get what they truly want.