When you meet a prospective client face-to-face, you expect your verbal communication skills and real estate knowledge to help you win the listing.
While excellent verbal skills are essential in sales, non-verbal communication, through body language, can significantly impact your real estate success. For example, any information or guidance you give clients is considerably more credible when you pair it with confident body language.
Over the last year or so, several real estate professionals moved their business practices over to virtual. With virtual open houses, listing appointments over zoom, and exclusively online closings, it’s no surprise that body language techniques may be a bit rusty.
Here are some tips to help you brush up on body language best practices in real estate sales – for both online and in-person appointments:
Mirror Your Client
Empathy is an important attribute to have as a real estate professional. Regardless of whether your client is a seller or buyer, they will experience emotional ups and downs. When you mirror their body language, you show your client that you understand them and care about them.
Mirroring another’s body language is typically unconscious, natural behavior. Sometimes, it just takes time to connect with your client before you start mirroring their gestures or facial expressions. If mirroring is unnatural for you, however, there are some strategies to help build this skill.
To mirror your client’s body language:
- Start by facing them squarely and maintain natural eye contact.
- Listen to what they say and try to pick up on their tone and posture.
- Begin to subtly mirror their gestures to show solidarity.
Mirroring is a fantastic way to form a connection with someone. When you put this body language skill into practice, make sure to keep it natural and subtle.
Make Eye Contact
Another simple way to establish a trusting relationship is through eye contact. When done correctly, eye contact shows confidence, comfort, and connection. Sometimes, though, too much eye contact can be intimidating or uncomfortable. Likewise, too little eye contact can convey nervousness or disinterest.
Depending on your personality or confidence level, your eye contact technique may take some time. Try practicing eye contact in the mirror or while out with friends.
Offer a Smile
Did you know that smiling releases all the feel-good chemicals in your brain? Did you also know that smiles are contagious? It’s scientifically proven! When you smile, not only will you feel happier in more confident, but your clients will as well.
You may even get a smile back – that’s because when a person sees another person smile, their brain interprets that message in the same area that controls facial movements. Better yet, make eye contact with your client as you smile. Eye contact helps increase the chances that your action is reciprocated.
Master Brevity and the Thoughtful Pause
Some things need very little explanation. In those circumstances, you seem more influential by keeping the conversation brief while you let your body language do the talking. If you tend to ramble, practice scaling back your dialogue. When you master the art of brevity, you radiate confidence and professionalism.
Alongside your skill of brevity, try adding thoughtful pauses. Instead of filling any silence with your words, take time to reflect and provide knowledgeable feedback to your client. Pausing between questions allows you time to think while showing your client that you are not simply spitting our real estate jargon.
Negotiation and Persuasion
Nailing body language techniques help enhance your negotiation and persuasion skills. As a real estate agent, you’re in constant contact with other agents. Body language skills are not strictly reserved for your clients. It can help to use the same body language techniques when negotiating with the agent on the other side of your client’s transaction.
Body language can affect real estate sales. If used correctly, body language reflects confidence and professionalism. Body language can also foster a trusting relationship and reassure your client throughout the home buying or home selling process. Practice good body language techniques whenever you meet potential and repeat clients to help grow your business and generate more referrals.
