How to broaden a client’s horizons
What you’ll learn
- When to talk about sustainability.
- How to inspire and motivate your clients.
- How to make sustainability feel relevant.
Many of your clients will be new to the process of building a home. As you’ve probably seen first hand, there are a lot of uncertainties running through their minds. Even the most confident and well researched client will have gaps in their knowledge. You can help them discover those gaps, then fill them in by sharing your knowledge and expertise.
Sustainability can be inspiring, especially when it’s grounded with relevance, simplicity, and credibility. This guide will help you make sustainability a consistent part of the conversation. It's all about helping clients see sustainable and climate-conscious decisions as worthwhile.
When to introduce sustainability
Introduce sustainability into the conversation once you’ve understood your client’s priorities. You can read up on this in our What home buyers want from sustainability guide. Once you’ve established rapport with your client they’ll be open to learning from you. That’s when you can start injecting interesting and useful information into the conversation. Let’s take a look at how you can inspire them to consider options beyond what they’ve already thought about.
How to inspire your clients
From small tweaks to big innovations, inspiring your clients to consider sustainability can take many forms. Ask questions to learn what they already know and believe. Then start broadening their horizons little by little with a few standard pieces of information.
| Your goal | What to say |
|---|---|
| Introduce ideas to inspire and grab attention. | “The positioning of your house and windows can have a huge effect on how comfortable your house is to live in. More than that, it decreases how much energy you use, saving you money on your bills.” |
| Link new ideas to something you know they’re already interested in. | Drop their context into your questions: “Knowing how important cost savings are to you, have you ever heard of passive cooling and heating?” |
| Guide the conversation towards sustainability. | “Have you considered looking into adding sustainable features into your home? They can have a really positive effect on your comfort once you move in.” |
How to make sustainability relevant
Inspiration only translates into motivation when the idea is meaningful for your client. You can help them recognise the connection between their goals and how sustainable choices can help reach them. They may not be able to join the dots themselves. Be patient and try not to explain everything at once. Make sure you’re continuously connecting what you’re talking about to things they’ve already said are important to them.
| Your goal | What to say |
|---|---|
| Present sustainability features as the default and a core part of the value and quality of the home. | “We include sustainable features in our homes as a default. That’s because we know they make a big difference to how comfortable the homes are to live in, as well as being good for the environment.” |
| Relate sustainability to common issues we experience in daily life. | “How does your current home perform in very hot and very cold weather? Have you lived in a house that’s not well insulated?” |
| Help them identify that other people have made similar decisions. | Share anecdotes that demonstrate social proof: “We’ve found that people who are budget conscious tend to prioritise features that help them to save money on their future bills.” |
| Empower them to make the changes they can. | Validate their good intentions: “Several of our customers have concerns about the environment but don’t feel like they can do much about them. Including sustainable features is a great way to help minimise your impact on the environment.” |
Make sustainability feel relevant
When you work sustainability into the conversation, remember to help your clients feel clear and happy about the value you’re selling them. They should never feel like you’re trying to push things they don’t want or need. Instead, you’re providing relevant reasons something may be of value to them. The fact it also benefits the environment is simply a win-win. Read our full conversation guide.
Share these resources with your clients
Build trust with your clients by sharing information from unbiased bodies like Sustainability Victoria. This will help them validate that you’re taking their best interests into account, not trying to upsell them on sustainable features.
