Buying or selling a home is an emotional experience for everyone involved. While we want those associated emotions to be positive, thats not always the case. And sometimes, less-than-positive emotions can complicate the transaction. As trusted agents, its our job to help our clients navigate the experience with tact and empathy.

For sellers, cold feet can stem from a number of placestheir father built those walls with his own hands, their children grew up at that dining room table, they put their own sweat and tears into making the house what it is today. For buyers, they may be facing the fear of taking on new debt, or the stress of moving to a new city. When stress and emotions run high, tension and argument can often be triggered and we need to be equipped to manage it. These tips can help you diffuse the tension for a successful transaction:

Remembering the Why When emotions are run high, the first step to helping your client work through them is to remind them why they started the process in the first place. Go over the factors that led them to the choice that now is the time to sell, or remind your buyer what it was that excited them about this particular home. By framing the situation within its original positive context, you can ease fear and restore momentum.

Feel, Felt, Found If there is still unease, the feel/felt/found method can help ground your clients. 1. Empathize with your clients. Tell them you understand how they feel. 2. Share a story about another client who felt the same way in a similar situation. 3. Explain how the other person found that moving forward with the transaction was the right decision.

And be proactive! Take time now to think through your past transactions. Write down examples where emotions flared and both parties were able to successfully work through them. This gives you go-to anecdotes for the future.

Finding a Win-Win At the end of the day, our goal as agents is to make it to the closing table with a win-win for all parties involved. Finding common ground, showing empathy, and establishing respect are the key to transforming a stressful situation into a successful transaction.

At Benchmark, we want all clients to be satisfied when they walk away from the transaction. If our philosophy appeals to you, you may be a fit for our team. Take our agent assessment to find out.