Style: August 05, 2022

A Word On
Waiting
Have you ever gone past a line
of people and wondered what
exactly they were waiting for,
especially when the conditions
for waiting were uncomfortable?
It was either unbearably hot or
inclement, yet the line continued to
grow, confirming the belief that some
things are worth waiting for.
There’s a psychology to waiting and
it’s been studied as part of business
management and client services, with
some of the most significant findings
coming from Harvard Business School
professor David Maister.
I’m interested in his studies because
one of the most common statements
I’m hearing in the current market
is “we’re waiting” … for the right
home, right time, right price, the
right circumstances. Everything has
to be perfect and yet the chances of
perfection, I’ve learnt from experience,
are rare and that wait can become an
infinite one.
Waiting is one of the most dominant of
human frustrations, so it makes sense
to identify what makes the wait more
acceptable.
Here are some of his findings:
1) The more valuable the service, the
longer you’ll wait.
An easy example of this is that people
will wait longer for a doctor to attend
to them than they would a shop
assistant, perceiving the doctor’s
service to be more valuable and
deeply integral to their wellbeing.
Equally, in real estate clients will wait
for the right consultant to manage
their property needs in the knowledge
that this could give them an advantage
by reaching more buyers, having their
price expectations upheld through
superior negotiation skills and giving
their properties a better profile.
There’s literally a ‘waiting list’ of clients
for consultants of this calibre, and
it makes sense to want to work with
them.
Some factors make waiting feel even
longer and this realization gives the
service industries – and real estate is
one of these – a chance to rectify this
inconvenience.
2) Uncertain waits are longer than
quantified ones.
Someone who knows that their wish
list home is coming to the market
in approximately one month’s
time is more likely to wait knowing
this is definitely happening versus
never having an actual timeframe
communicated to them. The lesson
here is consistent communication by
an agent to keep in touch with their
clients around timeframes – and for
those clients wanting to be notified to
show loyalty and commitment to that
consultant. It’s a two-way street with
significant benefits to both parties.
Here’s a final ‘waiting’ scenario that
also gets played out regularly and
affects most of us:
3) Unfair waits are longer, much
longer than equitable ones. Here’s the
scenario. You’re waiting to be attended
to and the service you receive (or hope
to receive) is interrupted by someone’s
phone call. The sense of unfairness
this engenders can make the wait
intolerable and I wonder how much
business is lost chasing the call over
helping the actual person standing in
front of you. I personally struggle with
this the most and will usually move on
if I find myself in this situation.
So, what are you waiting for? What
lines are you physically or figuratively
standing in? I’m currently waiting
for spring; I’m waiting for a full office
without the burden of excessive
illness. I’m not waiting for the market
to change greatly for some time, but I
am working with the awareness that it
will, as they always do. So you’re aware
of the most recent market statistics, I
can tell you that 491 properties sold in
June, averaging 33 days on the market
and for an average price of $700,000.
If you’re waiting for that right time,
place or home, know that it’s out there
and the right person will guide you to
it.
Lynette McFadden
Harcourts gold Business Owner
027 432 0447
lynette.mcfadden@harcourtsgold.co.nz
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