digest
Short Summary
Main recommendation: When delivering bad news, call promptly, state the problem plainly, and immediately pivot to a concrete plan to fix it, while balancing confident knowledge with empathy in your tone. Mauricio Umansky illustrates this with a $23 million property sale where a buyer's inspection found unusually high electric and magnetic field (EMF) readings, and he frames the goal as keeping the client's trust that you are on top of their situation (noting it could affect escrow or the deal).
Key Points
- Bad news is only bad news until it can't be fixed; after delivering it, ask whether you can change the outcome, and if so, start building a new scenario, and if not, accept it and move to the next step.
- Tone matters as much as words: express confidence in your knowledge while also showing empathy for the client's emotional stake, since selling or buying a home is a highly emotional experience.
- Confidence must be backed by real knowledge of your trade, because faking expertise works only briefly.
- Trust depends on whether you genuinely act as the client's advocate rather than only while it serves your own interest.
- Clients often choose agents based on whether they want service and guidance or just paperwork at the lowest cost, so agents should be clear about which kind of service they offer.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions: Deliver the bad news quickly by phoning the client directly if possible, state what was found, explain the next step you are taking to resolve it, and reassure them you are managing the issue.
- Concrete instructions: Immediately after the bad news, form an opinion on the fix, ask "is there anything I can do to change this?", and if yes, start building a new scenario; if no, accept it and move to the next process.
- Concrete instructions: Prepare your opinion before the call or be open about your reasoning, and stay well educated on what you are delivering so you can discuss it back and forth.
- In the example, the inspector's EMF readings were flagged as high, Umansky described the first inspector as somewhat of an alarmist, and the team hired a second inspector to locate the source and analyze possible solutions.
- The sale is a $23 million deal, and the client was still interested in the house and wanted a solution, which Umansky cited as a reason the call went well.
- Umansky frames the core objective as maintaining client confidence that you are on top of the situation, even if it could affect escrow or the deal.
Bottom Line
Deliver bad news fast, pair it with a credible fix, and let your tone show both competence and genuine care, because clients judge agents on whether they truly have their back.
