Anand Patel
By Anand Patel
With all the methods of communication today — from e-mail, to social media, to text messaging — it almost seems like the ancient art of having a conversation on the telephone is dead.
As a broker, inevitably part of our jobs is putting out fires (or stopping them before they can start) with agents and their transactions. I find MANY of the problems that arise can be avoided in the first place if either agent involved in the transaction would just pick up the telephone and call the other party rather than texting or e-mailing.
Yes, texting is very convenient. And yes, you can send an e-mail at 3 a.m. without bothering the other person. But there is so much that can get lost in the interpretation of written text that could have been clearly explained over the phone with your vocal tone, the style of your conversation, and your word choice.
I am as much in tune with technology and the use of social media as the next guy, but there comes a point in a transaction when one must step back and think to themselves, “Would I be better serving my customer by communicating with the other party over the phone in this particular situation?” If the answer is “yes,” then pick up the telephone! I still recommend following up the conversation with an e-mail, but sometimes it’s just better to start the dialogue with a phone call.
What are your thoughts? Have you been in a transaction that could have been saved if someone just picked up the phone and called?
Anand Patel is broker and president of Pangea Realty Group based in Tampa, Fla. You can connect with Anand on Twitter: @anand_tampa; Facebook: www.facebook.com/prgtampa; LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/anandpatel1; or on the Web at www.anandsblog.com.
Jared James
By Jared James
I was thinking about our culture recently in this time of voicemails, emails, and social media, and it appears that everyone has a greater desire to communicate, but a lesser desire to actually have conversation.Believe it or not, communication and conversation are two completely different things. The actual definition of the word “communicate” is the activity of conveying information, while the definition of the word “conversation” is the spoken exchange of thoughts, opinions, and feelings; talk. The key difference between the two is the word “exchange,” which occurs during communication. Communication is a one way street, while conversation runs both ways.
We have gotten to a point where we love to communicate through emails, text messages, and social media, as long as we don’t have to actually hold a conversation with someone because that may actually require us to invest a little bit of our time in the present and not in the future at a time when we deem possible to respond. This infatuation with communication over conversation has reached such levels even on our cell phones — a device which was solely created with mobile conversation in mind— that we actually have an app called slydial that allows us to go straight to people’s voicemails…because God forbid they pick up the phone and respond to what we have to say. That would be way too inconvenient.
Now let me say that if there were a line for the guilty in this battle of communication vs. conversation, I would be at the front of the line. Shoot. I would be the spokesperson. But I also understand that almost every good thing can be a double-edged sword. Continue reading »
Anand Patel
By Anand Patel
One of the most helpful pieces of advice I received several years ago that I continually advise my agents to do today is to recap, in writing, your conversations with clients, attorneys, title companies, appraisers, fellow agents – any and all parties involved in your transactions. These details will help clarify the conversation you have, leaving no confusion about who said what. It will help cover your “assets” if things go sour in a transaction, and it will aide you in solidifying and growing your relationships.
Here’s what I recommend:
TAKE NOTES
Take detailed notes of your phone calls. I keep a notebook by me at the office at all times and also take it on the road with me. When I’m at the office, if I’m on the phone with you, I probably have you on my hands free set and am taking notes at the same time. If taking a call on the road, once I get to my destination I’ll jot down some notes in my notepad (or sometimes in Evernote on my iPad or iPhone).
Things to write down: Continue reading »
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