Communicating through emotion: key to real estate success

We want to stretch the relationship like a long-lasting, tasty chewing gum, so that our customer will have a good taste in his mouth for a long time and will not stop recommending us.

In the real estate sector, communicating emotionally is essential to effectively connect with our clients and establish lasting bonds with them.

The importance of emotions in communication

The word "emotion" comes from the Latin emovere, which means to take action. This etymological origin highlights the capacity of emotions to motivate action: joy, anger, love and excitement are feelings that move us to make decisions.

In an age where we are exposed to more than 5,000 messages a day, capturing attention becomes a challenge. Only 12% of these messages manage to be remembered and provoke an action. So, to stand out and mobilise, communication must be emotionally resonant.

"People will forget what you said, they will forget what you did, but they will not forget how you made them feel" - Maya Angelou

How emotions influence interpretation and response

Emotions play a crucial role in interpersonal communication by significantly influencing how we interpret and respond to messages. On the one hand, positive emotions, such as joy, gratitude or excitement, can create an atmosphere of openness and receptivity, facilitating effective communication. On the other hand, negative emotions, such as anger, sadness or frustration, can create barriers and hinder understanding and collaboration.

It is essential for professionals who deal with clients on a daily basis to be aware of the emotions they are experiencing and how these emotions influence their behaviour. This emotional awareness allows the professional to tailor the message and tone of communication to create a better connection with their clients and meet their needs more effectively.

In addition, Emotions are the basis for building strong connections and relationships. Showing empathy and sharing emotions with our interlocutor helps to build trust and mutual understanding. When customers feel that they are listened to and understood, they are more likely to be satisfied with the care they receive and to develop a lasting relationship with us.

Finally, emotions can also mobilise people and generate memorable experiences. Positive emotions associated with a brand or product can drive customers to make purchases or recommend the company to others. Conversely, negative emotions can lead to dissatisfaction and abandonment.

Data and emotions: a powerful combination

On a professional level, it has taken us a long time to introduce communication methodologies that give robustness to the emotional part, such as storytelling, for example. However, the data shows why these techniques are so important. What do we know today?

• A person only remembers 5% of the data we give them.
• But if we speak to him from emotion and benefit, we get him to remember a 60% of our message.
• Data is used but not mobilised as it only activates two areas of the brain: language and language processing. Areas that deactivate very quickly.
• Data is necessary, but we need to go a step further if we want to be memorable and effective. Combining data with emotions is a powerful strategy.

The importance of emotional communication in the real estate sector

For estate agents, communicating emotionally is not just a strategy, but a key success factor. for the following reasons:

1. A general context of information saturation.
2. A highly competitive sector context with undifferentiated value propositions.
3. New ways of appealing to the consumer based on intangibles (experience) rather than tangibles (product or service features). 

Understanding and utilising emotions for the real estate agent can make the difference between a simple real estate transaction or a lasting and meaningful relationship with the client beyond the signing at the notary's office. This ability to connect emotionally with our clients can (and should!) "detransactionalise". the relationship and help to close sales more effectively and memorably, work on a relationship based on mutual trust and encourage future business through referrals. 

Managing the emotional burden in the selling or renting process

Housing is a sensitive issue and along with employment, money, health and family, it affects people deeply. When a homeowner decides to put their property up for sale or rent, they are completely out of their comfort zone, with nerves and emotions running high; they need to take decisions calmly and often do not know how to verbalise their fears and the reasons they give are not always the real ones. Moreover, when you sell your home, it is often not for a happy reason (divorce, financial problems, death of parents, etc.); these reasons are deeply emotional and can sometimes be embarrassing to expose. 

What skills and techniques can an estate agent apply to communicate from emotion, "de-transactionalise" the relationship and stretch the relationship with his client like a long-lasting chewing gum that will leave a good taste in his mouth for a long time? 

Skills and techniques for communicating emotionally during real estate marketing 

Real estate agents must understand the importance of managing their clients' emotions during the sale or rental process because if they do not communicate from emotion, they are a long way from effective and mobilising communication. To do this, it is crucial to anticipate, understand and manage the emotional charges that accompany these moments. 

Can we learn to communicate better? Yes, but it is important to understand that it is a learning process and we must be alert because the use of language must go from operating in "autopilot" mode to being a more thoughtful and conscious process so that later, once learned, it becomes a simple and automatic process again, in the same way as we learn to play an instrument or to drive. Learning effective communication skills requires us to be responsible, proactive and growth-minded. Some key competences are:

Active listening

The real estate agent must pay attention not only to the words, but also to the underlying emotions. It is essential to understand not only what is said, but also, and above all, what is not said. This will enable you to better understand the real needs and concerns of your customers, thus strengthening your ability to offer more tailored and personalised solutions.

"Communication is not what I say, it is what the other perceives".

Empathy and use of emotional language

Showing empathy and understanding is essential. Acknowledging and validating customers' feelings can help create an atmosphere of trust and confidence, which is essential for a successful relationship.

Use phrases such as "I am happy to help you find the perfect home for you and your family. o "I understand that selling your house is a stressful time". can make a big difference. Allow them space for slow reflection, without overwhelming them. Using a warm tone of voice, a friendly facial expression and body language and eye contact at all times helps to create a climate of complicity for the client who is totally out of their comfort zone when faced with the sale or purchase of their home.

It is essential to understand from which "brain" our interlocutor is communicating with us in order to be able to adapt our communication and language to his or her emotional state. Does he speak to us from rationality, emotionality or from his most basic needs? In other words, we must consider whether their approach comes from the head, the heart or the stomach. For example, if the customer is excited about buying a house, speaking from the heart and with enthusiasm will make them more receptive to the information. In contrast, a stressed or anxious customer, communicating from the gut, will require a calmer and clearer interaction to reassure their concerns and meet their basic needs. Managing these different axes of communication appropriately is not an innate skill for everyone, and we often fail to recognise and adapt to them when communicating. This issue, though seemingly simple, is one of the most critical and challenging aspects of effective communication.

And then what? After-sales, the great forgotten one

OK. We have already signed in front of the notary. Everything went great; laughter, tears, emotions... The wonderful feeling of a clean sheet. And now what? As estate agents we feel a sense of triumph, of mission accomplished. The hardest part is done... But watch out! Now a new chapter opens and we have to put on the high beams: after-sales. It is common to underestimate it and fail in after-sales, like that "maria" subject at school that you didn't study because it was "easy" and that you ended up failing in September because you were a dunce. 

Having a good after-sales protocol (and applying it) is one of the best ways to generate future business. and allows us to stretch the relationship with our customer well beyond the transaction, like a long-lasting chewing gum that leaves a good taste in the customer's mouth for a long time. 

"An agent with 5 years of experience and 4 sales/year on average has 80 former clients, 80 prescribers and 80 families that he can access".

And how is this done? There are several tactics... a regular newsletter calendar, a-g-e-n-d-d-a-d-o-s reminders to email / phone / whatsapp and ask how it's going, etc. We can also use social media as an umbilical cord with our customers because if we use it intelligently and share valuable content on a daily basis, we keep the conversation with them alive.

And not only with them. Little by little we will cultivate a community made up of former clients, future clients, neighbours in our area of action, simple followers... and if we are consistent, do not impose and do not underestimate our audience (another day we will talk about the "Truman Show" brands) it is an excellent way to have a mother mass of present and future business with several collateral benefits as well: notoriety, reputation, etc.

One goal: to create positive emotions and to be memorable.

What's the point of all this? Simple. In a sector such as real estate where the customer journey is one-way because they repeat very rarely (people sell a property once in their lifetime), the main source of incoming business for most real estate professionals is referrals, which for an exclient is like repeating with us but not selling. 

"If we are memorable they will recommend us and the referral lead is gold because it is the most convertible, committed and economic lead." 

Indeed, recommendations are gold for a real estate agent because the referral lead is the most convertible, committed and economical. And with this premise, we can quickly understand the importance of leaving a positive impact on our clients and being memorable as a way to remain in their memory in a positive way. Greater presence in our customers' lives generates greater ownership, and greater ownership leads to greater relevance. Therefore, if we want our customers to remember and recommend us, it is important that we apply ourselves to making a positive impact on them every time they interact with us.

In conclusion, communication is an essential part of a real estate agent's day-to-day life and they must be able to communicate effectively with their clients. Communicating from emotion not only mobilises, but also cultivates your bond with the client, facilitates negotiation, encourages future business through referrals, and much more.