Building Great Relationships with Realtors

For brokers, creating and maintaining successful relationships with realtors can be critical to success. This is especially the case in the purchase market. These partnerships need to be able to withstand the inevitable ups and downs that are part of the industry. The stronger the connection when things are going well, the better those relationships will be able to withstand times of stress.

With that in mind, here are some key points to help you build great working relationships with realtors.

Get to Know Them: This might seem like an obvious one, but one that can be overlooked. Don't just research what market the realtor operates in and their sales numbers. No, try to find out who they are, what their goals are, and what makes them get out of bed in the morning. Put in the time and effort to learn about their pets, their families, their hobbies, and aspirations. All those things will help you know the best ways you can help them, so they can, in turn, help you.

Adopt a Cooperative Mindset: You're both in it to win it. Both of you want to succeed and grow your business, so approaching your interactions with realtors as though you're part of the same team can go a long way. Be sure that your goals are aligned in what you're trying to accomplish, and what you need to do to get there. In an industry with such strong, sometimes clashing, personalities, you can move ahead by treating your business associates as partners in the endeavor.

Practice Transparency: Trust is a crucial factor in any relationship, business or otherwise. One thing you can do to build trust is simply to be accountable and transparent for your part of the business. Invariably, mistakes will happen and issues will arise. Don't try to bury them or, worse, try to shift the blame. Work with your realtors on pushing past these points and take steps to minimize them in the future. In return, expect your realtors to be open with any problems that crop up on their end.

Be Present: Have you ever worked with a realtor who doesn't return your calls or reply to your emails when the timing is important? Well, the reverse is also true. Realtors want to work with a broker that's accessible when they need them, one who can act promptly so that they can deliver the best service to their customers. Strive to be available and move with a purpose when your realtors are waiting. Simply put: If you're there for them, they will be there for you.

Communication is Key: This dovetails directly off of the previous entry: Keep the lines of communication open. It's not just about being responsive as stated above but fostering an environment where your realtors know that they can communicate with you openly and honestly, and vice versa. One of the worst things for any business is a communications bottleneck, and this holds triply so for mortgage and broker services. So, keep the channels open and your ears peeled. Your realtors will appreciate it.

That's it for this time. Our goal is to bring you helpful content like this regularly, so stay tuned, and we'll see you next time.

Disclaimer: FOR BROKER-DEALER OR AGENT USE ONLY —May not be distributed, reprinted or shown to the public in oral, written or electronic form as sales material to the general public.