Since you became a real estate agent, have you had to deal with clients with unrealistic expectations when it comes to selling their homes? Have you dedicated hours to showing clients houses only for them to decide they’re not ready to buy?

Whether you’ve been an agent for five months or five years, chances are you’ve come across situations like these and more. These types of scenarios aren’t just time-consuming and discouraging, but they also throw you off. You put a lot of work into getting your clients what they want, but their pushback and unrealistic expectations take a toll.

The good news is you can learn from these experiences so you’re prepared to handle them again in the future. Here are ten real estate memes highlighting lessons that speak to the experience of being a real estate agent today. All of these memes poke fun at real estate, but under the surface there are real insights for you to use to do your job better, sell more homes, and onboard more leads.

Let’s take a look.

1. Mitigate customer expectations so that they’re realistic

According to the U.S Census Bureau, as of May 2019, the average cost of a home was $315,000. This is a new high, but according to the same census, house prices have experienced the slowest growth rate since 2015. First-time millennial buyers are the most affected by the rising cost of buying a home. As a result, they want to save where they can.

One way buyers try to cut costs is by looking for issues with properties they’re interested in. But as you know, a squeaky floor or odd paint colors don’t mean a price cut is necessary. Instead, put your clients’ expectations in check. If there isn’t a serious issue with the home, point out the benefits the property offers and how closely it fits your clients’ needs.

Real estate meme takeaway: Keep expectations in check by showing the value of homes for sale.

2. Up the ante with your advertising strategy

Lead generation fuels your real estate business. The more leads you have, the more chances you have to close new deals. To increase the number of people who contact you and to engage more of your target audience, test different ad types on different platforms.

If you cater to young, first-time buyers, consider running ads on Facebook, where there are 58.3 million millennial users between 25-34 years old. Another option is to run Google ads, since 78% of real estate searches start on Google. Use pay-per-click (PPC) ads to attract people who are in the early stages of their real estate journey and searching for information.

Regardless of the platforms you advertise on, use ads to stress the importance of having an agent vs. going it alone. Real estate is more than just listing a house and finding a buyer. You know the industry and the processes within real estate better than the average home seller, so make sure your ads explain your value.

Real estate meme takeaway: Use ads to show the unique value you offer and to make selling less stressful.

3. Follow up with leads after offering a free service

One way to use your website to attract leads is with lead magnets. Lead magnets are incentives that offer new site visitors something of value in exchange for their email address. You’ll notice that to help people figure out a pricing strategy, many sites offer a service like free quotes as a lead magnet.

If you offer the same service, it isn’t enough to send the quote and a handful of sales emails afterwards. Instead, send a drip email campaign to create a more robust follow-up strategy. Use your drip email campaign to educate leads about pricing trends in their neighborhood, the market, your success rate, and testimonials from past clients. Leads that are ready to buy or sell will find this type of information helpful.

Real estate meme takeaway: Take the blindfold off your audience and use consistent communication to highlight your pricing strategy and guide them to convert.

4. Get to the root of what clients want

When a new client signs on, it might be tempting to get their list of requirements and start showing them homes. A better approach is to create a list of questions that make it clear what your clients’ needs really are. They might say they want a guesthouse on the property but by probing, you find that all they really need is a finished, walkout basement.

When you’re ready to start showing homes, the properties you find are within budget, in the right location, and have the features your clients need. Instead of showing a family 60 properties in six months, you can show fewer in less time but relevant to the needs you uncovered.

Real estate meme takeaway: Probe leads to find out what they really need, not just their ‘nice to have’ wish list.

5. Don’t be afraid to cold call in your preferred neighborhoods

Cold calling can feel intimidating, especially if you’re a new agent. However, cold calling offers a goldmine of information that helps you grow your client list quickly. You don’t have to knock on every single door; instead, look for telltale signs of a potential warm lead.

Signs to look for include:

• ‘For sale by owner’ signs on the front lawn
• Homes that are near other homes that recently sold
• Homes that have been on the market in the past, but didn’t sell

A short five-to-ten-minute chat will tell you what pain points people in the neighborhood face, what they’d look for in a new home, and more. Use the information you gather to adjust your sales pitch so you talk about services you offer that match these needs.

Real estate meme takeaway: Research neighborhoods to find new leads to nurture.

6. Showcase your strengths to stand out

As a real estate agent, you know that selling homes is more than just telling your leads you’re the best at what you do. To get more attention and grow their client list, every agent says this. You have to go further and highlight what makes you different.

Some options are to:

• List the unique services you offer
• Highlight the relationships you have with other agents
• Share testimonials and reviews
• Show your knowledge of the industry by adding a blog to your website

Share this information on your social media channels, through email marketing, and through your website.

Real estate meme takeaway: Seeing is believing, so back up your claims with examples or data.

7. Stress the importance of home staging

One of the reasons to host open houses is to give people a chance to imagine themselves living in these homes. The majority of people are visual learners, so a clean, clutter-free home makes it easy for people to get comfortable and think about what it would be like to live there.

Your clients don’t have to hire a professional stager, but to attract buyers with offers, sellers have to declutter, clean, and organize their homes. Buyers look everywhere, so do a walk-through before an open house starts.

When it’s time to take photos for promotional material, hire a professional photographer to take these pictures. It’s a turnoff for buyers when sellers don’t put any effort into making their homes look presentable.

Real estate meme takeaway: People don’t want to see houses that look lived in, they want the staged model home they see in hi-def photos online.

8. Use customer experience to grow your network

From start to finish, regardless of your experience, be professional, helpful, and well-informed. Yes, clients won’t always like the properties you show them or the list price you suggest, but once a house sells and customers get what they want, ask for referrals.

For clients that realize they had unrealistic expectations or know they were difficult to work with, when you get the home or price they want, they’ll remember the patience and support you offered throughout the process. To end their experience on a positive note, after a home closes, send a small gift to your clients to congratulate them. At this point, ask if they have any referrals to share. The majority of customers who had a good experience are most likely to refer their friends and family.

Real estate meme takeaway: Keep your cool because it just might send more business your way later.

9. Maximize your time while leads consider their options

After showing clients a few homes or hosting a few open houses, they’ll need time to consider their options before making their final decision. Instead of leaving leads or clients alone to make these decisions, engage with them:

• For leads, remind them about your experience and why you’re the best agent to work with. When they’re ready to start their real estate journey, they’re more likely to come to you.
• For clients who want to buy, remind them of the properties they viewed and their thoughts about them.
• For clients who want to sell, remind them of the interest people showed in their homes. An app like Spacio makes it easier for you to pull open house stats and share other important information with your clients. Also, if there are offers on the table, share comparable properties to help sellers consider the best offers.

Use social media, text messages, phone calls, and email to engage with your clients. Don’t bombard them with messages, consider timing and space out your messages to avoid frustrating your clients.

Real estate meme takeaway: Use your downtime to help guide clients through their real estate decisions.

10. Remind clients you were hired to meet their needs

Sellers want you to sell their homes quickly so they can start their own search for a new home. However, when houses sell quicker than expected, sellers don’t often see the work you put in behind the scenes to facilitate this. It wasn’t luck, it was a combination of timing, the market, and advertising that got the property in front of the right people so it would sell.

For clients who question your commission structure after a sale, remind them of all the extra value you provided and your commitment to getting them what they needed quickly — this is why you’re the best at what you do. Part of your pitch as a sellers’ agent might have included your ability to close sales and get the price your clients want, so it’s worth reminding clients about this.

Real estate meme takeaway: Remind clients about the promises you kept and their goals.

Real estate memes tell it like it is

There’s no shortage of hilarious memes online. While they’re fun to browse through and share, they’re also a good reminder that being a real estate agent isn’t always easy. You’re not alone in feeling this way; there are many other agents going through the same thing.

Real estate memes are also a great source for new lessons. Almost all of them relate to an action or process that’s an inherent part of real estate that gets skewed. You just have to look a little deeper than the joke at the surface to get to the heart of how you can do things differently as an agent.

What are some lessons you’ve learned from memes you’ve encountered recently?