Responding With Urgency: Why Time Matters to You and Your Clients

Urgency is the drive to get things done in a timely, yet thoughtful, manner. It motivates us to ensure we communicate news promptly, especially to clients.

“The longer a client waits to get a call returned or email response, the more frustrated they can get with the process, causing them to lose faith in you as a business owner, and lose faith in the process,” says Perry Keydel, senior leadership development specialist at Quicken Loans. “Responding with a sense of urgency, in an educated and prepared manner, builds trust and respect with our clients.”

With that, we outline four tips to help you better manage your time as a real estate professional.

Know the urgency of a situation.
“Once you have a client, you need to imagine the transaction from their perspective,” says New York licensed real estate professional James McGrath. He says that this is especially true for first-time homebuyers.

“They don’t necessarily know what’s next, if they are holding up the transaction, if there’s something they should be doing. By always responding quickly, you’ll minimize your client’s anxiety, and tee yourself up for referral business.”

Set expectations upfront.
“Expectation-setting is the greatest gift you can give to your clients and to yourself,” says North Carolina REALTOR® Monica Weddle.

“If you can give them a clear timeline—written and in plain language is best—they’ll have something they can refer to before filling your inbox with panicked questions,” she adds. “Everyone’s sanity is saved!”

Schedule time to respond.
Time-blocking, or carving out time on your calendar, is critical to providing your clients with exceptional service.

“With no time blocks, it becomes very easy to play ‘phone tag’ with your client, and deadlines can be missed, or you can catch them at inopportune times,” Keydel says.

“To stay on track with time-blocking, a simple alarm clock on your phone can really help,” says Kim Howard, co-founder of Howard Homes Chicago. “For us, we simply schedule alarms to remind us, OK, this time is coming to an end for responding to emails, and now it’s time to jump on the phone, and it keeps us on track with a deadline.”

Make time for yourself.
If you’re constantly putting your needs on the back burner, your work may suffer. Ohio real estate agent and REALTOR® Eric Sztanyo takes one day off a week to be at home with his wife and four young children.

“I tell all my clients this upfront, along with letting them know that I will always get back to them within 24 hours,” he says. “The details are not necessarily as important as letting your clients know what the expectation is like when working with you.”

If you have any questions or would like more information on how the Quicken Loans Agent Relations team can help you grow your business, call (888) 980-4601 or email AgentRelations@QuickenLoans.com. You can also visit RealEstate.QuickenLoans.com.

Krystal Miller lives, works, and plays in the Detroit area and loves covering a variety of topics. She started her writing career in broadcast news and made the move to marketing copywriter in 2012. When she’s not writing, you can find her cruising around town on the back of a Harley or enjoying some quality time with her family in Northern Michigan.