www.nar.realtor

It’s not an uplifting thought, but it’s a fact of working in the real estate business: Many of your clients will be in the midst of a sorrowful life transition. Maybe they’re leaving the home where decades of family memories were created, splitting up after an ended relationship, or selling because they no longer have the financial means to pay the mortgage.

Because you’ll inevitably work with a grieving client at some point in your career, it’s important that you understand the five stages of grief, as identified by American psychologist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. By knowing what your clients are going through, you can better understand what is motivating their decisions and help them keep the deal on track.

In some instances, people act difficult because they are placed in a difficult situation. In many others, they behave in a difficult fashion for the same reason that a 3-year-old child cries: Last time it got the results they wanted, so they are going to do it again.

When it comes to convincing buyers and sellers that you're their best choice, you really have only two options. You can sell your accomplishments or you can sell the benefits that your prospective clients will receive from working with you.

Buyers today are more informed than ever, thanks in large part to the abundance of real estate information on the Web. 

But even when you're working with buyers who really know what they want, your job will likely require to you show several properties in person.

Ideally, at one of these showings, your client will fall in love with the property and start thinking hard about making an offer. What can you do to help them reach that stage? Here are 10 tips for making sure that the home-showing process moves along smoothly and efficiently (and safely, of course) as possible: