The most important principle they forgot to teach you in real estate school was client management. We are ready to share our definition and tips for utilizing client management in your real estate business. Knowing the importance of your true function in a transaction and being prepared to show up as the leader for your clients is a non negotiable. Not only will your clients appreciate you for this but you will make the transaction smooth for yourself as well as your cooperating agent. Listen in to hear our favorite group text etiquette, the 80-10-10 rule, what is happening in a frozen market and so much more! Never heard the term client management before? This episode is a must listen for you and all the agents you know!

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The following is a rough transcript provided by Otter.ai.

Katy 0:01
I don’t even set mine like that. I let it come to me first. Oh, you just tell them that. Yeah, that’s an interesting client management tool, and it’s not micromanagement if these people have no clue what they’re supposed to be doing. And I think that it is really what sets your clients expectations, so that you’re not having to react. We’re being proactive. We are proactively managing them. And the sellers are like, you know, what if I can’t get what I want for selling it, I’ll just stay in my house with my good interest rate.

Alissa 0:36
Hi, y’all, welcome to hustle. Humbly. It’s Alyssa and Katie, and we are two top producing realtors in the Baton Rouge market. We

Katy 0:42
work for two different companies where we should be competitors, but we have chosen community over competition. The goal of our podcast is to encourage you to find your own way in business, so stop comparing yourself and start embracing your strengths. Hi, Alyssa. Hey, Katie.

Alissa 0:55
How are you today? Great. It’s

Katy 0:58
episode 255, okay, and we’re gonna talk about my very favorite topic, client, management. It’s

Alissa 1:06
a good one.

Katy 1:07
It’s an important one. And I went to find out when we first spoke of this, do you know what episode it was? No. Number 24

Alissa 1:16
Oh my gosh. Okay. We

Katy 1:18
have since done over 200 episodes, and I went and listened to the first bit of it. And even in that, on episode 24 we’re like, we can’t believe it took us this long to get to this

Alissa 1:30
top, and it’s taken us this long term to get back to it. Yeah.

Katy 1:35
I mean, I think we do talk about client management, tools, tactics, what it means all of the time it’s brought up. It’s like hand in hand with your professionalism. But I think some people don’t give it a second thought. I don’t think so either. They’re just letting the clients drive the ship and tell them what to do. Be the boss. Is the other good one, the episode that kind of will take you on this. But it’s not transaction management. It is client management correct? So different? How do you keep those people under control and doing what they need to do?

Alissa 2:07
And I think in our industry, there’s a big false message out there that, you know, the customer is always right, right. And I don’t think that it applies to real estate all the time, and it’s not really about who’s right, right? That’s not where we are with what we do every day. Because in our specific career, there’s not necessarily, like a writer, just shades of gray. Yes, everything

Katy 2:35
is very gray, so many shades of gray.

Alissa 2:37
But that being said, there are so many agents out there who don’t know how to consult their clients. Be the voice of confidence. If you don’t have confidence and you can’t speak up, it’s going to be a hard one for you,

Katy 2:52
right? If you have a client that’s always telling you, no, that’s not how it is. One, what is the job that you’re doing for them? If they just want to tell you how it is. And two, like, you can’t if you’re not coming at them and saying, No, I’m sorry. Like, sometimes you’re gonna have to contradict what your client says and say that’s actually not correct. Actually not correct. Here’s the data, here’s the way the market works, here’s the process, here’s what’s legally required. Yes, like, sometimes people want to do things that are actually illegal. I know, do you have any recent client management struggles or stories you’d like to share with us? So plethora,

Alissa 3:28
but I did make a note that I one of the reasons this resurfaced Okay, is because I would have labeled, you know, the covid years ending in 2022 as like crazy fast managing clients during that time was a little bit different, much, you know, we were having to really consult our clients on bidding wars and consult our client sellers on expectations. And then 2023 I would categorize a slow we, you know, the rates went up, yeah, everything just sort of came to a halt. It was much slower. The data shows us that real estate was down tremendously. And this is just my Alyssa Jenkins experience 2024 has been pretty dang busy, but just messy. Yeah, it’s like we’re trying to get back to working a standard, normal real estate transaction, yeah, but there is so much hesitation in the market. And you made a good point, too, what you said about buyers and sellers.

Katy 4:32
Sellers still think it’s a seller’s market. And if we just go on face value of what a seller’s market is, it means there’s a certain number of months right of inventory. Think of it’s under six months of inventory. That is technically a seller’s market. They’re in the power what does that even mean? That means they’re in the power of position. They’re in the position of power, right? So we have houses. You need to buy houses. There aren’t a lot of houses give us what we want, right? Then, I think the buyers now. Suddenly in 2024 like, I think it’s a buyer’s market. I want the closing cost. I want you to do my two one buy downs. I want you to come off the price. And I want everything on my checklist of the house that I want to buy. I think both of these people are maybe living in a bit of fantasy, yeah, and it’s not either, because I have listings that are taking longer to sell, so you feel like you’re shifting towards the buyers market, but then you have buyers who are in like, a competitive area or type of house or a price range, and all of a sudden you’re like, Well, this is definitely a seller’s market. I mean, we’re still talking about multiple offers, or the sellers, you know, being kind of firm with repairs or, you know, price, and they they get what they want. But ultimately, I think we’re still dealing with what I’ve heard people refer to as the frozen market. They’re just people stuck like, the buyers are like, you know, what, if I can’t have everything I want, I’ll just stay in my house with my good interest rate, yeah. And the sellers are like, you know, what, if I can’t get what I want for selling and I’ll just stay in my house with my good interest rate, I’m

Alissa 6:03
getting a lot of that. And so I do believe that there are some unmotivated buyers and sellers out there, in the market, in the market, that they’re holding out for what they want, right? And

Katy 6:16
it makes it a lot harder for the motivated buyers and sellers. There’s

Alissa 6:22
not like that sense of urgency that we had when interest rates were super low and everyone was trying to lock in, quit, get something. Nope, that’s

Katy 6:29
gone. They’re like me. I mean, I want to move. The only people that this doesn’t apply to are the D’s, right? Remember, the episode of all have to move. All of that have to motivated people, and even then, having sellers that don’t really have to sell makes it difficult when you’re a buyer that has to buy, I know, and vice versa. Like having it like all these people that are sort of in the market are causing a problem. They’re like me.

Alissa 6:56
They are certainly making a mess of things. I would say, I would say, speaking just from experience, yeah,

Katy 7:04
I right. I’m trying. I tried yesterday. Didn’t work out to negotiate a for sale by owner who was just like, well, you know, I threw it in Zillow and did no marketing, and I have three interested buyers. I’m like, at the overpriced price it was at, I’m like, are any of these people going to consult comps, I couldn’t say. And so my buyer’s looking at me with these eyes, like, I want the house, but it is overpriced. And I’m he’s a very logical buyer. He’s like, I’m already paying this really high interest rate that I don’t want to pay. I don’t also want to pay more than market value for this house. But what should I do? And are are they going to get that? And I’m like, maybe I know. I mean, I’m sorry. So

Alissa 7:43
what did he decide? Your buyer still stewing over that house? He’s

Katy 7:47
still stewing over this house, yes, and I, I mean, he made a real offer. The seller was like, that’s not even close. I’m like, well, make me a counter, right? And then they were like, Okay, we’re gonna think about it tonight and get you a counter. I’m like, let’s just keep the line of communication open. Let’s just negotiate. And

Alissa 8:02
I think that’s a really great point. The negotiations lately have been pretty messy. Yeah, tons of countering going on, but not making a lot of progress. And, you know, I there, and then I have sellers who I’m having to tell them we are going to counter? Yeah, I understand the offer is low, but we need to counter, keep it going, let them know, or the buyer could just walk Yeah. Like, do we want to come down 10,000 off our list price, or 5000 but the counter tells them where we’re at?

Katy 8:34
Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. And no one is not. No one I believe, and especially in my case, there was no agent involved to do the client management. Do you see I’m saying I’m dealing with directly to the seller? I’m like, Man, I said in my head, many times should have Sure, would have been easier if another agent was involved. That was like, Hey, this is actually what the comps are. This is actually how you figure out your value. This is actually a good offer or a bad offer, or how we should counter, or why we should counter, no one was doing client management on that side, and I can’t do it because I’m talking directly to the seller, and I, one, don’t represent them, and two, they don’t want to hear it from me, right? So it’s like having a transaction with no client management. But there are a bunch of agents out there where there’s one on either side and there’s still no client management. And those are the deals that fall apart the most often, not a lot of guidance and direction, no. And those are the buyers and sellers at the end who are mad and had an unpleasant experience, and then you’re not going to get the repeat and referral business. Client Management is key.

Alissa 9:36
I just had one recently where it was a house I listed for sale. And they actually had listed it for sale in 2021 and took it off the market because they decided like it, it didn’t fly off the shelf. And then they decided that they were just gonna stay. They were moving for work. Well, now they’re actually moving. I. Did not have it listed for sale in 21 they had it listed with someone else. Okay, so I come along 2024 to get it on the market, and gave them a good bit of homework, since I knew it had been on the market in 21 looked at the old photos. Yeah, just to be like, what do we need to do? Because that was a good market, and it didn’t sell, and it didn’t sell, I know so we need to anyway. That being said, I just had that conversation. Gave them homework. But what was so interesting is at our listing consultation, I went over a net sheet, like a seller, net cheap, where we just talked about what I thought we could list it for commissions. What is your payoff? I had estimated Buyer Closing costs and and thank goodness. We went over it at the table, and then it’s in the email template, the net sheet and everything. And on the net sheet, in the email template, it says, you know, Buyer Closing costs, maybe 4000 maybe 6000 who knows? But it’s estimated. You know, we have to see what they ask for. So very early on, we got an offer. When I first listed it great. So we listed it for 389

Katy 11:10
Okay. What was it listed for? Do you in 2021?

Alissa 11:13
Do you remember it was like 399 Okay, so we listed it at 389 comps were good. Pretty quickly, like, day two, got an offer of 380 okay. She’s like, Oh my gosh, I feel so good about this. I’m like, great, great, me too. I mean, they didn’t ask for closing costs. It was, it was just clean, you know, all of that, um, and so we were going to accept it, but it didn’t work out. It didn’t work out, I can’t remember the pre approval or some, something wasn’t right. Okay, we never actually went pending. Okay? Like, I went to go send the accepted contract to the agent, and the agent called me before I could and was like, Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. This has happened. Well, then a week later, we get a new offer, and I’m very happy, because it’s 389 Okay, with 9000 in closing costs, okay, same as the other offer. Hooray. Pretty much, she is not happy. She’s like, What on earth? $9,000 and I’m like, Well, hold on. The same thing, I am a little confused that you’re surprised, right? Help me understand. You know, she’s like, that just seems so entitled to me that buyers are just gonna ask us to pay their costs. And I’m like, thinking, Oh my gosh. And I said, Well, do you remember when we sat down at the table and I said, expect and I said, expect this. And then I pull it up on my phone. I said, remember this email where it says to prepare for buyers to ask, yeah, it’s normal. And it’s almost like, you know, you can teach something so many times, but until you have practical application, it’s just too hard to fully understand. But, but me having that email and reminding her of the comment,

Katy 13:07
did she say? Oh, or no,

Alissa 13:09
she was like, I mean, I guess that makes sense. But geez,

Katy 13:14
like she was just very when the other person took 9000 off the price. You were not offended. She was and I told her that says same. I said, If we

Alissa 13:22
plug in our calculator here, our net sheet, your check at closing same, you know, so I’m just trying to understand why you’re upset. And it was just, but I was so thankful, because it was like, as I was reminding her, it was all coming back to her, yeah, and I said I wouldn’t have told you those things if that wasn’t an industry norm, right? But because I’m seeing that all the time, you’re

Katy 13:49
setting the expectation, yeah, if you hadn’t have told her that, then she would have had a right to be maybe angry. In fact,

Alissa 13:56
I think on our email templates, it’s like, you know, estimated by our closing costs, 4000 6000 I’ve even started telling people I put that there, but with rates and insurance being so high, I’m seeing people ask for 1012, yeah, people are wanting rate buy downs. They’re asking for more, right? So I’m trying to help you understand, like, what we can do here, right? Showing her that net sheet again, it’s like, it all came back to her and totally calmed her down. Okay, good. Like, okay, yes, we did talk about this, and it’s all coming back. And she ended up texting me, like, two hours later, be like, I’m sorry. I’m just this is very stressful. I was like, I know it is, it is stressful. It’s very stressful, right?

Katy 14:38
But managing your client is helping them diffuse the emotions. Yeah, so she’s feeling stressed. Doesn’t mean you have to be stressed, and you have to just keep your cool and remind her, this is what we talked about before. Or this is very normal. Or, honestly, if the buyer’s financing in this amount of money, instead of taking it off the price. It’s It’s neither here nor there. It doesn’t matter to you, if they don’t have those costs to come up with upfront, maybe they just want to finance them in and keep the money in their pocket and go on vacation. Not our business, none of our business. Who cares? The bottom line is, all that matters, but, and I think we do have to do a better job of redirecting our clients to think about the contract that we have and not the people that wrote it. Right? So many times they’re like, Well, are they asking for closing costs because they have no money? Were they even approved to buy this house? Right? It’s like, yes, but they’re making

Alissa 15:34
nobody else is asking us to the dance right now, so we’re doing our best to like, I would,

Katy 15:39
I would argue that the sellers have gotten a little bit entitled.

Alissa 15:43
Yeah, I think I’m seeing it on both, both sides, both sides. So I’m sellers

Katy 15:47
like, I’m entitled to my full price, and the buyer’s like, I’m entitled to some concessions. And who cares? Like, in and of itself, it doesn’t matter, because your goal is to sell the house. These people’s goal is to buy the house. And if you don’t come to terms with someone, neither of you will reach that goal, but you as the agent are supposed to be inserting yourself into that situation and figuring out how to diffuse and move it forward.

Alissa 16:12
And I do think that’s where a lot of agents are lacking right now.

Katy 16:16
How did you learn this as an agent practice,

Alissa 16:21
and also just in the beginning as a newer agent, everything seemed like such a big deal. Yeah, everything was devastating, or everything was so exciting. And it was like, the ups and downs were very high in those early days, early year or two, yeah. And then I do think I’m being like the oldest sister. I have that in me to guide and direct, and I think it’s in me too. That’s

Katy 16:48
why I’m asking if there was some way you learned. I just feel like it’s my nature. I do

Alissa 16:53
feel like it’s in my nature to teach God like I enjoy it. I enjoy handling the process right? Something as simple as, you know, agents who ask their client, well, go schedule the home inspection. I’m like, I know my schedule, so I really have to be the one to make that appointment, so you can be there. So I can be there, you know, it’s just things that just came so naturally for me, do seem that many agents struggle with and maybe it’s just because they’ve never truly thought about it,

Katy 17:29
but I think it is a confidence issue too, like if I insert myself in this situation and say, No, that’s not correct, or this is how it is, or here’s the data, or let me get That done for you, or let me schedule this thing. It requires a level of confidence to not be steamrolled by your client, and some clients are harder to do that with than others, but they all need it. They all need you to be confident in in knowing all the steps. Yeah, and I think that’s probably to why email templates are so great, because you’re setting your clients expectations about how exactly the process goes. You know, we don’t want anyone to feel like they don’t know what’s going on. They’re confused. They don’t know what their next move is. They don’t know what you’re doing. Harrison mentioned it in the Fair Housing episode, that really explaining the actual process is so important, and I think that it is really what sets your client’s expectations, so that you’re not having to react. We’re being proactive. We are proactively managing them,

Alissa 18:30
which is a much better way to operate from and it’s gonna be less stress for them.

Katy 18:36
I mean, we can’t have them calling every five minutes to be like, how did the showing go? You know, when’s the appraisal coming back? Like we’ve already told you, what to expect, as far as time frames and what? Sometimes agents don’t give feedback, and the ultimate feedback is they didn’t send an offer. So we can get their whole story, their whole life story, if we want, but it doesn’t change the fact that they didn’t write an offer. And just getting feedback isn’t going to change that, right? But know them also, knowing well, the system sends two requests, then I’m going to do this. Then they know they don’t need to prompt you to get feedback. You’re doing it. I

Alissa 19:12
reminded my seller, because it was like, after every showing, how did it go? How did it go? I said, the feedback comes to me and you at the same time. So when you know, I’ll know, yeah,

Katy 19:23
and I don’t know. I don’t know yet. I don’t even set mine like that. I let it come to me first. Oh, you just tell them that. Yeah, that’s an interesting client management tool. You’re like, we’ll get it at the same

Alissa 19:34
time, same time, which is basically true when I see it, I’ll send it right. But we’re

Katy 19:39
not. I’m like, I don’t let it go straight, because sometimes they say crazy stuff in there. That’s why I don’t I need a filter. Must filter. Okay, that’s hilarious. Oh my gosh. Okay. What about I had in my notes to ask your clients questions? Yeah. So for instance. Yes, managing your clients is also literally being like, hey, a showing shouldn’t last more than an hour. If you want to talk about Aunt Susie and her new recipe, you’re welcome to do that in the driveway or in your car or at your home, but we can’t just hang out in this house like it’s ours. Your children can’t pull on the curtains or go play on the play set. And while you you know tour that, like, that’s just actually not appropriate behavior in someone else’s home. But I think sometimes we don’t even ask our like, Hey, do I need to be I have gotten so much better at asking my clients, hey, do I need to be here for this? Like, not in a rude way, but if we’re all on the driveway, we’ve this happened recently. We finished our final walkthrough. We’re all on the driveway. They’re about to go buy a refrigerator, and they’re talking about different types of refrigerators to the in laws. And I’m like, Hey, so if y’all are all good, I’m gonna go ahead

Alissa 20:53
and go. Is that okay? Yeah,

Katy 20:55
go, yes. I

Alissa 20:57
actually have one of my home inspectors. Tell me I appreciate Home Inspections with you so much because you’re like time to because when you see that I’m finished, you say, Okay, guys, let’s

Speaker 1 21:07
take a break and meet with the home inspector so he can go after he finishes, like, rapid you have to know what’s going on until long your clients don’t know. They don’t know. They’re just wandering around. It’s like herding cats. Sometimes

Alissa 21:19
I’m polite always, they’re always like, Oh, great. He’s done. And then he’s like, Oh, great, because he doesn’t want to interrupt them measuring for all their dream furniture. But it’s like, he’s done, he’s gotta

Katy 21:30
go one after he’s got to go, yeah? So you, you got to know, like, what is the process? What do your clients not know? Like, reign them in, yeah. Reign them in time to do this. Or also, I’ve had different lenders be like, well, they won’t send blah, blah, blah. And I’m like, Please always tell me if a buyer is not getting you what you need, I have no problem calling me like, Hey, listen, if you don’t get this document to the lender by this time, you can’t buy this house, but some lenders are so sweet, and they’re just like, they’re busy, and they’re like, I’ll work with a client that’s compliant, right? Like, I’ll just move on to whoever did send the document. Meanwhile, I’m going to be the one who gets yelled at if we have to extend the closing, and I’ll be like, you didn’t get the lender what they needed, right? So you have to, I think sometimes maybe people also get client management confused with micromanagement? Oh, for sure, yes, and it’s not micromanagement. If these people have no clue what they’re supposed to be doing, it’s not like I stood over them while they sent the document, but I’m like, Hey, listen, here’s what’s gonna happen if you don’t send the document, I get it. You’re busy, but if you don’t send it today, then the closing can’t happen in three days. That’s the end of the story.

Alissa 22:43
I have a buyer right now who used to be an underwriter, like back in the 90s, and then she just didn’t care for it. She did it for a few years and then got into another career. But she hasn’t bought a house in a long time, and she’s now buying a house for one of her children coming to LSU, and she was, I was explaining to her, you know, the pre approval letter and this and that. And she’s like, Oh, I know I used to be in underwriting, and so I know it’s, you know, a lot. I said, Well, when’s the last time you had to get a mortgage? She said, Well, it’s probably been, like, 17 years ago when we bought our house. I said, okay, just be prepared. It is a lot right now, and sellers are really checking those pre approval letters. She had a list of houses she wanted to go so you were like, you gotta actually do this? And I said, we really need to make sure I know you know you’re good, but I need to know you’re good. And it’s not that I need to have to prove you. I It’s not that I don’t trust you. I just need to be able to tell the listing agent in good faith that you’re pre approved. She called me back. She goes, Alyssa, I feel so embarrassed. I said, why? She said, Well, because that was it too. We we had started looking early last year and then took a break, okay? And she had her letter, but it took her a minute to get it that time too. Okay, that’s kind of why I was like, hmm, what? What’s you’re like, I remember I said, let’s get an updated one, because rates are a lot different than last year. Yeah. She said, You’re not gonna believe this, but, you know, we own a few smaller businesses. I’m like, yeah. She’s like, well, there’s one that’s just, you know, a nothing, an LLC, nothing like it. It’s not, she said, but I didn’t file the 2023, tax return on it, and the lender is saying that I have to have all of the businesses filed, even though it made nothing, because it’s sort of just like a holding company. They won’t lend to me because I didn’t file my 20 to 23 tax return on that one business. Oh, no, I said, So what do we need to do? She said, Well, it’s gonna take me, like two to three weeks to to make it happen, to make it happen, before I can even file it and have the proof. Like the receipt back, right? I do think that at the beginning of the year 20, you know, as you go into a new year, making sure if your client was pre approved before, and it’s 2024, and you still haven’t found something, you might need to recheck some things. Yeah.

Katy 25:16
Well, if there’s any amount of large amount of time that’s gone by more than three months. You probably have to check regardless of the time of year. But then

Alissa 25:24
she so she ended up getting it done. She got the tax return done. We get under contract on a house, and she calls me again. You were not lying. They are asking for so much. She goes. Her exact words were like, I’m so glad you prepared me for this, because I was about to, like, fire my lender, not them. I said, it’s not your lender. And I had spoken to her lender, and they were delightful. So I’m like, no matter where you go, these are the requirements to get a mortgage these days. Yeah. And she was like, Well, I’m just really glad that I was prepared for this. Thanks. What great client management. Way to go. Alyssa, right. Way to go. All right, let’s

Katy 26:00
talk about just a random example of client management, group text etiquette, my word in specific situations, like an inheritance with four siblings who all have different opinions, the having communication with all of them, I think is fine, but not all at the same time. No, that’s like stepping into a hornet’s nest. Yes, like, figure out who is legally required to sign. If it’s all for, it’s all for, but you still need to talk to them separately, because you’ve now got to be the filter to try and make everyone get to the same to the agreement, right? If we let them all yell at each other, someone eventually will be like, I’m just not going to comply, right? I’m just not going to do this. I don’t want to do it, that one and then divorce. I am shocked when someone says they’ve been group texting two people that are divorced now, that are trying to sell a property. They don’t want

Alissa 26:59
to talk to talk to each other. They hired you just they don’t have to communicate. Just

Katy 27:03
because they both own the property, same as an inheritance, doesn’t mean they want to talk to each other, and they already have possibly some bad feelings, animosity, distrust, whatever. And who knows who brought in you, right? Maybe it was one party. Maybe it was the other. It’s really tough to get it where it’s just complete neutral, right? Yeah, it is. You’ve got to figure out your relationship with each one. You have to tell them each the same things. You have to give them each the opportunity to respond. You have to figure out how to get everyone to the finish line, even if one gets the final say, but they both have to sign. Some people do crazy things. They’ll just not show up. Yeah, they’ll just, they’ll just do something to disrail, like the whatever the transaction is. So I think it’s important to be thoughtful about if you’re texting in a group or emailing, maybe everyone is not needing to be on the exact same email thread. We’ve got to be able to filter and help out and make it to where it’s pleasant for everybody. That

Alissa 28:03
means I’m gonna have to work a little bit more. Yeah, you have to actually work in

Katy 28:06
this job. Yeah, it’s really difficult to do any type of management without working.

Alissa 28:11
I i have had a several negotiations here lately that just got way out of hand, out of control. We’re not making progress through the negotiations. One side is creating a narrative about the other. Oh, they’re so mean, or they’re so the and I’m like, No, we can’t even think like that, because you’re gonna meet this person at the closing table, right? And you’re gonna be like, you’re not mean at all, but it’s gonna ruin your entire transaction if you are creating this narrative, and mine as the agent, yes, and so it’s just trying to figure what I have had some success with lately. I do have a married couple on a group text, but even then things get lost in translation, the husband is sort of like spearheading the tree. Yeah, there’s got to be a point person, yes, and he is, but I always make sure to copy both, just so she’s in the loop right now. She’s not very responsive, but I know she reads them. The other day, I felt like we just had a very, very low offer. It created some tension within our communication. And so they were, they live out of state now, and I just felt like our phone call didn’t go great, and I was so heavy, like I was like, I usually after a phone call, you feel better. I feel better. But I wasn’t feeling better, and I couldn’t figure out how to relay to my seller that I want to sell the house as bad as he does. Yeah, so I just really quickly in my car, made a four minute video saying, Hey, I usually would prefer to sit down at a table and talk things out. I think it is so much easier you are. Year I am there. We can’t do that right now, but I wanted to make this video and explain to you why the buyer thinks this, and where they’re coming from, and how I think we can make this work. I know you’re disappointed in this, but I promise they are quality. You know. Just said everything I needed to say, four minutes, sent it to the group text, and the wife messaged me on the side and was like, I haven’t talked to her in a long time. Like, I’ve had this house on the market a very long time. And she’ll say, like, okay, or like, right, you know, but she texted me on the side and was like, thank you so much. Like, that was so helpful to see you, hear you, and even he was like, thank you. Like that video was very helpful to get it all on the same page. So I wanted to make a note to be sure that sometimes people just need to hear your voice, ah yes, or see your face, to connect and to drop their guard. So if you find yourself in a transaction or a negotiation where things are getting sticky heated tents, you need to either get together, find a way to get face to face. I have also been doing a lot of Voice Memos lately. Oh, that’s good, yeah, just while I’m driving, like, if it’s a longer response to a text message, I can just and then they can they hear you. They can hear you what you’re explaining. Yeah, I

Katy 31:27
actually had in my notes that you have to learn your clients communication style, right? So just because you are a texter or an emailer, maybe they do need to hear your voice. I love the voice message idea because it’s the best of both worlds, they can hear you, but it’s a text or what, like, you know, you’re not having to call, like, talk on the phone forever and ever, and it put out there when they’re ready. Yeah, you put out what you need to say, and they can listen to it more than once, even if they want. Yeah, it’s actually better than a phone call. I think it is, because they can go back and they could rewatch that video if they need to, or they could watch it together. Well,

Alissa 32:00
what’s so funny is so whenever I send, like, a longer video and there, I’m sure there’s a million ways to do it, no need to email us a

Katy 32:06
bajillion. Get yourself some bomb. Bomb, yeah, yeah, but not sponsored some,

Alissa 32:10
right? Sometimes what like if I have to do a walkthrough video for a client and it’s like, a 12 minute video, yeah, I just upload my videos to my personal YouTube, but keep it unlisted. So, yeah, I’ve done this. Nobody else can see it except the people I send it to, yeah, but it shows you how many times they view it. And you’re like, wow, sometimes they view it a lot. And what’s so funny is, like, the side note, the walkthrough videos, whenever I have my I had an out of town client and did the video, and we ended up going under contract from the video. Okay? Then they came in for the home inspection. Everything was good. By the time we closed, the video had been watched like 57 times because, yes, you know, they’re trying to figure out where every little detail, where things are gonna go,

Katy 32:57
because your memory is only so good, right? Whenever I was when we bought our first home, and we were, like, under contract. We went back for just like another it was new construction. She could kind of pop in whenever. But we went, I remember with my sister y’all, I mean, it was 2005 we didn’t have smartphones. She took a bunch of pictures, like with a digital camera and then send them to me in like, an email or whatever. I must have looked at the photos 57 times, you know, like, you can’t remember everything, or you’re just like, so excited. You’re like, let’s look again. And that is nice that you give them that option to, like, revisit it.

Alissa 33:36
I don’t know when I’d have time to do this, as I’m in a busier season right now. But you know, what I’ve been thinking about doing, are you, Stella, making short videos to accompany with the email template. I think that the email template itself could be a video script, like you just, you know, just take it as a script and then you like, and then it could end with, you know, or start with, hey, look, all the information is below. If you’re not a reader and would rather listen click here,

Katy 34:02
yeah, we have that actually in the email templates. Course, it says that, Oh, it does Yes, because it’s such a great idea, yeah, especially if you’re comfortable on video, right? I’m getting there, yeah. And I think that’s a it’s better for them to see your face and hear your voice and be able to rewatch it in that way, because a lot of people don’t want to read my other tip on that is I, while we’re on email templates, and I think that making them too fancy visually is not a good idea, I would agree. It has to look like you typed it out. If

Alissa 34:34
it looks too automated, they will ignore it will go over. It is just automated. Yeah, if it looks like a flyer, if it right like but if it looks like you wrote it to them, they’re like, I

Katy 34:45
better pay attention. Yes, because someone wrote you wrote me all these instructions, I gotta read this. I’ve had plenty of people respond and be like, thank you so much for all of this information. It must have taken a long time you know you. Yeah, but if you start making them really pretty, it’s the same way I feel about my buyer seller folders, like they’re, they’re different documents and papers and things, and they’re mixed in and they’re put in there. And I’ve seen beautiful buyer seller packets that are bound, bound books. It’s like, it’s like, you’re going to, I don’t know what, like a hotel or something like, it’s really fancy, so fancy, beautiful, beautiful marketing. I’m like, I don’t know if they pay as much attention, because it’s just like, you can so easily gloss over pretty things, right? Oh, this just looks like standard, yeah, whatever. But when you hand them one sheet of paper that says, This is your to do list. They’re like, Oh, I better do this. But if I, if I have to dig through 25 pages of fluff to get to the to do list, I might never get it right. So like, how can we make this a streamline for your clients as possible? Do you want to hear something interesting that I heard from one of our listeners recently? Yeah, this is a client management tip for buyers. She’s personally buying a home right now. Okay, so she is a buyer. She’s the she’s like, you know, your own you’re your own worst client. And she said, My husband has even had to remind me of the thing that I say. And she said, you know the 8010 10 role? Do you know the 8010 10 role in regards to what, buying a house, picking a house, choosing a house, no, okay. She says you have to like or love 80% of the house be able to change 10% of the house and live with 10% so basically, 10% of anything you buy is not going to be perfect. You can get it. You can get 80% perfect. There should be maybe 10% you could change, like a paint color, something that’s easily changeable. And then 10% is like, well, you’re just gonna have to live with that small pantry. Sure. It’s just, is what it is. I’m like, I have never heard that. That’s great. Shout out to Bobby. And I was like, That’s so smart, because you need to set, that’s an expectation to set for your buyers. Hey, if you’re following the 8010 10 rule, we’re gonna find something you love, 80% 10% of it, hopefully you can change, and the other 10% we’re just gonna have to live with it. Yeah, is what it is. Not all gonna be perfect. Even if you built the house, and I use that line all the time, even if you built the house, it wouldn’t be 100%

Alissa 37:16
perfect. My hardest one lately has been the new construction. And here’s the thing, the house wasn’t bad, but the buyers thought, because it’s new construction, it should be perfect. It’s like, what is your budget, right?

Katy 37:37
Is it $3 million yeah. And even then, it’s really hard, because really in true in that’s when you have to step in and manage those expectations. Hey, I know that we’re getting new construction. This really is great. And these are the things that are within reason for us to expect. And these are the things that, no matter new construction or not, we’re not, it’s not nothing’s perfect. But like, if you don’t do that on the front end, and they’re deep into the process, it’s kind of hard. So

Alissa 38:06
I made a note specifically for this as edge episode. Is

Katy 38:10
that what you’re trying to say specifically

Alissa 38:12
for this episode? Okay, why was that so hard? I’m

Katy 38:17
not really sure episode is a normal word.

Alissa 38:20
Please tell us your doubt consults will be the key. Yeah, consults are the key. If you are not having a conversation with your buyer or your seller up front at not in house, not on the fly, not in a rush, your business is going to be so much better.

Katy 38:39
Yeah, yeah, so much better. 100% right. And the email templates are good for you to have all that information. Just build that into your console like these are the things we need to talk about before we get out there. Go through those first few emails and be able to answer the questions. I mean, have an FAQ document that answers questions for your clients, what to expect when you’re purchasing your home. I’ve seen I feel like Chelsea had some What to Expect When You’re home inspecting. I’ve seen this a couple of times. Really cute. What to expect they don’t know. No, they don’t. Any other stories you want to share with us about client management these days, I probably should hold off. Okay, fine. Wait till that. Wait till the stories are done. When we recorded this previously, it was pre covid, yeah, episode 24 I don’t remember what air date was, but listening to it kind of made me smile. Like, yeah, that was a pretty normal market, and this is a really important behavior that you have to figure out in your business if you want to survive and not be miserable, because when your clients are maintained and managed, they won’t behave in a way that upsets you and stresses you out.

Alissa 39:52
I think that’s a good reminder too, that you know every time a client is being needy or has all these questions, I always try to look at myself. And say, Why do they not know? Where do I need to put this in? How can I do a better job next time of answering these questions before?

Katy 40:08
We need to pretend like every buyer and seller we meet with has never done this before, because it is changing so much all the time. So you can’t, oh, well, I know you own this house, so you’ve obviously bought before. It’s been a long time. Even your lady that was 17 years since she had gotten a mortgage, she didn’t remember anything totally

Alissa 40:27
different. Now it’s totally different. Totally different.

Katy 40:32
Are you all good? Okay, great. Are you ready for a toast? Yeah, all right, super today’s toast is from Katherine catches. Okay. She’s toasting to her broker, who is her father.

Alissa 40:45
Oh, that’s so sweet, so sweet her dad, her dad.

Katy 40:49
So cheers to her father. I don’t know his name, but y’all go out there and please manage your clients. Yeah, you got this, I beg of you, yeah, as the agent on the other side, you could do it. You could do this. Goodbye.

Speaker 2 41:03
Hey, this is Katherine catches and I’m from meadow Vista, California, and I am toasting my father, who’s also my broker, who has taught me everything I need to know and have learned in real estate. Love you, Dad. Thank

Alissa 41:15
you so much for tuning in to the hustle humbly podcast. If

Katy 41:18
you enjoyed this episode, please go to rate this podcast.com/hustle humbly and leave us a review or drop a comment if you’re listening on Spotify,

Alissa 41:26
if you have an episode topic or someone you’d like to toast on the show, please email us at team at hustle humbly. Podcast.com,

Katy 41:32
find us on social media at hustle humbly. Podcast, don’t forget to find all of the free resources at hustle humbly podcast.com/resources,

Alissa 41:42
see you next week. This is the good life you.