It’s summertime and it’s hot out there. Soon, when the monsoons arrive, it’ll be hot and sticky. And no. You are not the only person feeling tired and grumpy from the heat. It turns out everyone is and it actually affects your ability to be of service to clients, and they to be cooperative in return! Seriously? Here’s what you need to know…
Researchers Liuba Belkin and Maryam Kovchaki at Oxford University recently published a study in the European Journal of Social Psychology titled “Too Hot to Help.” In studying the effects of ambient heal on salespeople, Belkin and Kovachaki found that when the heat goes up, fatigue increases and “helping” decreases. In fact, 59% of the salespeople indicated that they were less likely to help their customers or clients when it’s hot. They also admitted to being significantly “crabbier.”
Helping or prosocial behavior is considered to be fundamental to human nature. Not helping, then, is considered to be antithetical to human nature. When temperatures rise above 80 degrees Fahrenheit, a collectively agreed upon temperature around the world, researchers know that patience, alertness, generosity, concentration, and helpfulness run out. Why? We become fatigued and distracted by the need to stay cool. Our processes and resources to repair our mental and physical attributes become stressed and impaired/depleted by the heat. We are no longer at “our best.” And when it gets too hot for too long over repeated days at say 110 degrees and above, we are no longer at “our just okay.”
Since you and your clients are likely feeling “just okay” in the heat, prepare in advance for those hot showings. Here are a few tips that may help everyone feel better while viewing/showing properties when it’s hot:
- Suggest that your sellers keep their air conditioning units on at a comfortable level in their homes. Potential buyers will more than appreciate the coolness and will likely remain longer in the home to actually “see” the home if they feel welcomed and relieved by its interior temperature.
- Make sure that the air conditioning in your car is working.
- If possible, start your car and its air conditioning prior to your clients getting into your car.
- Have sun hats available in your car for clients to wear while they’re viewing properties.
- Have ice/coolers for drinks and snacks available for clients while you’re all driving to and fro.
- Just in case, have cheap, disposable flip flops in your car for clients to wear while they’re viewing properties.
- Make sure that you as the agent are as well hydrated as possible.
