Your expectations are your beliefs of what will happen in the future. They determine what you perceive as your reality and impact how you behave among those around you.
In our session titled ‘All About Expectations’ at Bayut Academy, we delve into everything about real estate expectations in the UAE.
How Do Expectations Affect Us?
Expectations can act as powerful motivators. If managed well, our expectations allow us to fulfil our goals, strive for improvement and continuously stay motivated.
Everyone joins real estate for various reasons; to make money, to be your own boss, to have flexible working hours, or even to meet more people and look at incredible properties. Whatever your reason for joining real estate is, you likely have a set of unique expectations to go along with the start of your career.
Before we dive into managing your clients’ expectations, let’s establish what you should expect from a real estate career.
Firstly, the UAE real estate industry is a highly competitive, high-pressure work environment. The number of real estate agencies and agents is at an all-time high, and this number only increases daily.
As you join this industry, you should expect to become an expert in your specialisation. Whether you are in this field for the short or long term, clients are looking for knowledgeable and competent agents. Real estate agents are also expected to have essential working skills such as attention to detail, problem-solving, listening, good communication and time management.
Finally, real estate agents in the UAE are expected to work weekends. This is your prime opportunity to arrange meetings and viewings with current and potential clients who work weekdays.
Three Dimensions Of Agent Expectations
As an agent, you have three main dimensions of expectations.
These are expectations from your Employer, Portals and Clients.
Spend the next five minutes thinking about what you expect from each of these dimensions and write them down. We have outlined a few points below to help you get started!
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Employer
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Bayut & dubizzle (Portals)
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Clients
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Employer
Visa And RERA License
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Bayut & dubizzle (Portals)
Wide exposure
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Clients
Politeness
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Employer
Administration Support
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Bayut & dubizzle (Portals)
Leads
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Clients
Fair Practices
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Employer
Marketing Tools
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Bayut & dubizzle (Portals)
User Friendly Navigation
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Clients
Responsive
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Employer
Healthy Work Environment
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Bayut & dubizzle (Portals)
CRM To Manage Leads
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Clients
Clear Communication
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Employer
Training And Development
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Bayut & dubizzle (Portals)
Tools To Attract Motivated Clients
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Clients
Market Knowledge
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Now that we have covered what you should expect from these dimensions, let’s look into what you should not expect.
- Do not expect your employer to hand over clients who will buy instantly or a hand-holding attitude
- From your portals, do not expect high-quality leads on poor-quality listings or listings which are not correctly priced. These listings show a lack of professionalism and effort as property seekers scroll through various sites
- From the clients’ dimension, don’t expect clients to always know exactly what they want or to have an in-depth understanding of the real estate market.
What Are Clients Expecting From You?
Clients expect a knowledgeable agent who will provide accurate information and guide them through the sales and purchase process.
They expect to work with someone who has market expertise, is responsive and will negotiate the best price for their needs.
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On the other hand, clients do not want their brokers to ask questions like, “Is this cash or mortgage?”, “can you come with your chequebook?” or “call me back when you are ready to buy.”
Buyer vs Seller Expectations
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Buyer/Tenant Expectations
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Seller/Landlord Expectations
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Buyer/Tenant Expectations
Understand needs and requirements
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Seller/Landlord Expectations
Price their home competitively
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Buyer/Tenant Expectations
Arrange property viewings
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Seller/Landlord Expectations
Find a buyer for their home
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Buyer/Tenant Expectations
Conduct thorough market research and have market knowledge
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Seller/Landlord Expectations
Sell their home within a specified period
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Buyer/Tenant Expectations
Negotiate the best price
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Seller/Landlord Expectations
Negotiate and deal with potential buyers
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Buyer/Tenant Expectations
Help throughout the entire purchase process
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Seller/Landlord Expectations
Help throughout the entire sales process
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Buyer/Tenant Expectations
Post purchase care and evaluation
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Seller/Landlord Expectations
Help with inspections
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Managing Expectations
If managed well, expectations can be a strong tool to help you grow and succeed in your real estate career. To stay focused, productive, and motivated in this career, we recommend managing your expectations through goal setting and others’ expectations using effective communication.
Managing Your Own Expectations: Setting SMART Goals
Smart Goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timebound.
For example, “I want to make more money” is not a smart goal, whereas “I want to sell 20 houses in my first year” would be considered a smart goal.
Goal setting is vital as it gives you a clear idea of what you’re trying to achieve. You will never reach your destination if you don’t know where you are trying to go. SMART Goals are set by top performers in every industry, they help you gain clarity and focus on your priorities.
Goal setting also allows you to set yourself up for smaller achievements along the way.
3 Golden Rules For Goal Setting
- Set your goals in writing
- Develop an action plan
- Stay committed through the course
Managing Others’ Expectations – Effective Communication
Effective communication goes beyond simply exchanging information, it involves understanding the intent behind the communicated information and ensuring accurate interpretation between the sender and receiver.
Albert Mehrabian’s 7-38-55 Communication Model
When communicating, your actual words only account for a fraction of what people understand. A speaker’s pitch, tone, speed, pauses, body language, etc express much more than the words spoken. These non-verbal elements present essential clues relating to the speaker’s thoughts and feelings.
The 7-38-55 Communication Model was put forward by Professor Albert Mehrabian in the 1970s, which states that 7% of communication comes from our spoken words, 38% from our tone of voice and 55% from our body language.
3 Golden Rules on Communicating Effectively
- Use active listening
- Pay attention to your body language
- Use simple and straightforward language
- Be specific and direct
In conclusion, set clear and defined goals to manage your own expectations. Outline a plan of action to help you stay committed. Remember to communicate clearly with those around you and offer valuable advice based on your market expertise to your clients.
Continue your learning journey by registering for one of our interactive workshops at Bayut Academy. You can also check out a wide range of real estate articles on our Content Corner.