Why Empathy is an Essential Skill for Estate Agents

Unless you've ever thought about becoming one yourself, you've probably never put much thought into what kind of skills and estate agent needs to do a good job.

Obviously there are certain basic ones such as literacy, being able to handle facts and figures and having a strong work ethic. Add to this being willing to put in long hours and go the extra mile for clients to make sure their move is as stress free as possible and you're nearly there...

However, a really big part of the skill set for all good estates agents is being a 'people person'. It really is a profession where you need to be able to 'get on' with people from all walks of life and help them through what can sometimes be a stressful and emotional experience.

It's not just enough to be able to have a chat and provide a caring, yet professional perspective - you have to be able to look at things from the position of everyone involved in a sale and that means having a well developed sense of empathy.

Shoes

The old saying of 'walking in someone else's shoes' is what empathy is all about. Being able to understand the feelings of another person in a certain situation means you can see things from their point of view, rather than from your own.

Whether it's for starting a new family or downsizing in later life, selling and buying a home can both be emotional things to do and that’s especially true when it comes to dealing with probate properties. These are things that an estate deals with on a day to day basis but for many people they are often quite literally life changing episodes that occur only a few times.

The ability to look at everyone as a distinct and different person is vital for an estate agent and something that should come naturally. Even though the practicalities, legalities and processes will usually be very similar and something that the agent has dealt with many times before, for each individual involved it can be challenging and sometimes worrying.

By looking at things from each person's perspective we can remind ourselves of this and hopefully then do exactly what's need to get the best results.

How we do it

You might be thinking that it's easy to say "we're good at empathy!" but be wondering what that really means in practical terms? How can one estate agent possibly differ from another when it comes to thinking about what you are actually thinking and feeling?

Well, it's really quite straightforward - at LL Estates we listen. When you tell us about your property needs and dreams, we take it all in. We learn about you and what you want to do. Only then can we really get to work and make sure that we do our very best to help you achieve your aims.

That might mean finding a home that fits a detailed set of criteria you've given us, or for some people it could involve going through a list of factors that might help them find the best location or type of property.

Everyone is different and that's what having a well developed sense of empathy tells us. It also allows us to apply ourselves in an adaptive way to all of our clients, making it all about them and not about us - and that's not something you'll find with every estate agent you might contact.

Get in touch, talk to us and we'll listen, and then if you want to we can take it from there - email rhuddlan@llestates.co.uk, call 01745 591811 or pop in and see us on the High Street, Rhuddlan, LL18 2UA.