Communication Strategy During COVID-10
Communication Strategy During COVID-19
We have been managing our lives and businesses under challenging circumstances for a month now. If you think you are anxious, put yourself in your clients’ shoes.
Most people are getting anxious. We are not used to being locked indoors, home schooling the kids, or arguing with our partner over sharing a home office. These are trying times, but let’s remember this is NOT a new normal. It will pass. We just have to get to the other side.
If you don’t continue working during this downtime, your business will come to a grinding halt. It is impossible to move your business from a FULL STOP to a FAST START once the market opens up. A business at rest tends to stay at rest. A business in motion tends to stay in motion. You must keep your business moving every day. Let’s make the most of our time at home, so you can hit the ground running when we are back to work.
There are THREE distinct groups of people you need to communicate with during this crisis.
CURRENT CLIENTS
They need immediate answers to their critical questions about how to navigate their pending deal. Anticipate their needs and deliver solutions before they ask.
Develop a checklist of protocols for both buyers and sellers outlining some of the struggles they could face around showings, financing, appraisals, inspections, closings, etc. and for each potential challenge offer a solid solution.
Talk to your clients EVERY day. When people are anxious, it is better to over communicate to reassure them everything is fine.
CURRENT PROSPECTS
They are counting on you to advise them about whether it is a good time to buy or sell. What advice are you giving them? Do you intimately understand your local market stats, so you can help them make evidence-based decisions?
Care about your clients more than your commission. Safety comes first. Unless there is an urgent reason for them to move, perhaps they should wait. Encourage online showings only. If they find something they like, set up a live virtual walk through. They can negotiate an offer sight unseen with a condition that they get a final walk through after all other conditions are waived. Ask your brokerage manager about specific COVID-19 clauses to include in the agreement.
COMMUNITY AT LARGE
How can you bring goodwill to as many people as possible in your local community?
We are hearing so many stories of agents doing amazing things in their communities. Some are sending flyers around their geo farms offering assistance if residents can’t leave the house. They are buying gift cards for local restaurants and sending them to clients with a handwritten note asking people to help local businesses survive. Share these stories on social media to let the world know how you are helping.
How you communicate during the shutdown will not only keep you engaged in your business, it will keep conversations flowing, so when the market opens up again, you will have strengthened your relationships and improved your reputation in your community.
Your #1 marketing tool in real estate is your reputation.
Helping strangers in your community during a time when everyone is struggling will endear people to you. What are you doing to enhance your reputation during this time?
Chris Leader
President
Leader’s Edge Training