One of the things that sets the Rawson Property Group’s training apart from that of many other training programmes, says Bill Rawson, Chairman of the Rawson Property Group, is that it includes a whole section on improving the agent’s people relationships skills.
“Property marketing training,” said Rawson, “often focuses on the knowledge and facts that an agent must have at his fingertips if he is to perform satisfactorily. These, as the NQF4 and NQF5 training has shown only too well, are an essential part of any property induction programme and they have to be updated regularly. However, in our experience people skills are just as important and relevant to the agent’s success. Furthermore, there is no one, myself included, no matter how experienced or successful they may already have been, who does not benefit from such training.”
“Often,” said Rawson, “an agent or franchisee who is highly educated or who has achieved good sales over a long period will feel that he or she has little to learn about personal relationships.”
Almost always, however, on investigation, it will be found that they are neglecting to be as friendly and caring as they could and should be.
“It has to be remembered that clients are not dominoes or cards to be pushed around or shuffled – they are people who want to be understood and who are looking for someone to trust. Such simple actions as smiling, caring, keeping up regular contact and above all listening and showing concern are skills that every agent should learn and practice. Those who do these things are, without exception, more successful than those who treat a home sale or home purchase simply as another business deal which has to be worked through without mistakes.”
The long term reward of forming good client relations, added Rawson, is that clients with whom such relationships are formed not only come back to the agent on their own account but will often introduce him to their friends and children. In some cases, too, they become property investors. Having had the advantage of this type of investment explained to them by a good agent, they then move on to invest in residential and commercial property, often working through the same agent.
The biggest challenges facing an agent, said Rawson, are when the client he is dealing with comes from a different culture or background. This, he said, is not, as South Africans might think, caused only by religious or racial differences. It can be equally difficult to understand the mind set of Europeans, Americans and Asians and this difficulty has to be accepted upfront.
“I have found that the best tactic is to be totally open at the start and to make it clear that, although I may come from a different background to my client, I am anxious to avoid giving offence and will appreciate being told at once if I do so in any way. Once this has been made clear at the outset, difficulties tend to be eliminated all along the line.”
