As real estate agents, our clients come to us with one common goal: to buy or sell a home. Yet, too often, we lose sight of what we’re really offering in the process. The truth is, we’re not just selling homes—we’re selling our expertise, our guidance, and our ability to help clients navigate one of the most significant transactions of their lives.
To truly serve your clients, it’s important to recognize the problems you solve throughout the transaction:
- Are you the neighborhood expert who knows every local detail the buyer needs?
- Are you a master negotiator who ensures your clients get the best deal?
- Do you excel at helping sellers smoothly navigate complex contingencies?
The list is endless. Take a moment to jot down some notes about the transactional problems you solve, because knowing these will allow you to bring real value to the table.
However, we all know that clients don’t always walk in the door with a clear vision of what they want. More often than not, our clients aren’t quite sure what it is that they really want. And it’s our job to help them figure it out.
How many times have you worked with buyers who said they wanted a charming three-bedroom, two-bath home, only to end up buying a four-bedroom, new construction? Or met with sellers who claimed they’d hire the agent with the most cutting-edge marketing strategy, only to choose someone with no marketing plan and an overpriced listing?
We’ve all been there. So this is where the artistry of asking questions comes into play. Sometimes we use questions to uncover what the customer wants or needs. Other times we use questions to help our customers discover what they actually want and need.
Below, we’ll dive into the essential questions you should be using to better understand your clients and provide the highest level of service.
Throughout this article, I’ll use the example of a buyer consult to showcase the different types of questions you can ask. Of course, each of the five types of questions can be used at listing appointments as well.
#1: Permission Questions
The first type of question is called the permission question.
When sitting with a new customer, while you are still building trust and rapport, the last thing you want to do is to make them feel like they’re being interrogated. So, start off by asking for permission to ask additional questions as an easy way to break the ice.
When meeting with a new buyer for a buyer consult, simply use a question like this one:
“Is it okay if I ask you some questions about what you’re looking for in your next home?”
Reasonable person theory: They’re there to discuss buying a home, so of course you’re going to ask questions about what they’re looking for.
#2: Fact-Finding Questions
Fact-finding questions are next.
Your questions here will help uncover what they’re looking for in their home:
- How many bedrooms do they think they need?
- Is a garage important?
- How big do they think their yard needs to be?
- Are there any must-haves for the new home?
- Or how about absolute deal breakers?
#3: Feeling-Finding Questions
Once you’ve uncovered all of the facts, it’s time to focus on emotion. This is when you should move into feeling-finding questions.
These become extra powerful when they’re used in conjunction with the fact-finding questions. For example, if a buyer tells you that they need a home office or dedicated workspace, this is one of my favorite follow-up questions:
“How would you feel if this dedicated workspace was in a finished basement?”
Another question that I use quite often:
“How would you feel if we found your dream home with everything on your must-have list, but it was $25,000 more than the budget that we’ve discussed? Would you still want me to show you this home, or would you not want me to mention it?”
#4: Best vs. Least Questions
Next up are some best versus least questions.
“Thinking about your current home:
-
- What are the things you like most?
- What are your favorite features?
- What are the things that you like least about your current home—and what things would you change immediately if you could?”
Once you add a “Tell me more,” you’ll be able to go even deeper into understanding where your customer is coming from.
#5 Final Question: “Is there anything else…?”
Finally, wrap up the conversation by asking, “Is there anything else I should know?”
This is your chance to let the customer add anything you might have missed—the thing you didn’t even know you would need to ask.
Maybe there’s this one thing that has been on their mind the whole meeting, and there just wasn’t the right opportunity to slide it into the conversation from the customer’s perspective.
It’s funny because I often say pricing houses for sale is a mix of artistry and science, and I think that sales itself is very much the same. There’s a science behind it, but where the magic happens is when you can add your own sense of artistry to that same science.
So, I hope these questioning strategies will help you finish your own sales process and maybe add a little bit more magic to what’s already wonderful.
