Real estate is a highly competitive arena. Every agent knows this. You are competing for each piece of business you get, whether it’s with buyer or sellers. There are a lot of other agents out there, and the challenge is to figure out a way to make you and your business stand out from all the rest. When it comes to working with buyers specifically, conducting a buyer consultation can make all the difference between converting that prospect and building a relationship, and loosing out to another agent in your market.

In this article, we’re going to look at what a real estate buyer consultation is, why agents should conduct them, and the most important things that you should discuss during them.

What Is a Real Estate Buyer Consultation?

A buyer consultation is a preliminary conversation between the agent and the buyer. Its main purpose is for the agent to discuss all the critical aspects of the home buying process, understand the client’s needs, wants, and requirements, talk about their budget, and outline the steps involved in finding them their ideal property.

More than that, though, a buyer consultation is an opportunity for the real estate agent to highlight their value. They can use this meeting to establish themselves as an expert with the client and build the trust and rapport required for a strong foundation of the agent-buyer relationship. It’s how you really invest the client in you early in the process.

The Top Reasons to Conduct a Real Estate Buyer Consultation

We covered some of them already, but here are the primary reasons why agents should have a buyer consultation with their clients:

• Understand client needs: A buyer consultation allows the agent to gain a clear understanding of the buyer’s specific requirements, preferences, budget, and timeline. This understanding helps in finding properties that closely match the client’s needs.
• Build rapport: The consultation provides an opportunity for the agent to establish a personal connection with the clients, building the rapport that is crucial for a successful working relationship.
• Set expectations: The agent can explain the buying process, current market conditions, and what clients can realistically expect. This helps prevent misunderstandings and frustrations later on.
• Prequalification: Discussing financial aspects helps ensure the clients are looking in an appropriate price range and are prepared for the financial commitments of homeownership.
• Time management: By understanding the client’s needs upfront, the agent can focus their efforts more efficiently, saving time for both parties.
• Demonstrate expertise: A buyer consultation allows the agent to showcase their knowledge and experience, reinforcing their value to the client.
• Commitment: It helps gauge the client’s seriousness about buying, allowing the agent to prioritize their time and resources.
• Legal and ethical considerations: The agent can discuss agency relationships, disclosures, and other legal aspects of the process. This may also be the right time to present an exclusive buyer’s brokerage agreement, and to set expectations, ensuring that clients will not waste your time by jumping ship mid-transaction.

Changes in Buyer Compensation

As you probably already know, there have been recent changes in how buyer agents are compensated. It used to be that agent fees came out of the seller’s proceeds at closing, and the fees were more or less baked into the home’s sale price. The buyer ultimately paid, but it just wasn’t directly to the agents. There was also no requirement to have a written agreement between buyers and buyer agents.

Under the new system, listing agents no longer can make compensation offers to buyer agents on any MLS that’s affiliated with the Nation Association of Realtors (NAR). Plus, the buyer agent must now have a written contract with the home buyer that clearly specifies their fee. In other words, buyers and agents now have to directly negotiate together to determine the fee and what services will be provided.

These changes in compensation structure underscore the importance of conducting a buyer consultation. Because you are negotiating with buyers, you have to step up your game and really put in the extra effort for them and your commission. These consultations will help invest the buyer in working with you, allow you to demonstrate your value, and assist you with negotiating the best price for your services.

If you have any questions about what a buyer consultation is or how to do them right, please don’t hesitate to contact our team! Plus, if you want to see where you stand with the Core 4 Sales Skills for real estate—the skills that will help you get a buyer to sit down with you for a consultation—then click here to take our free skills assessment.