Pietro Belmonte is a broker associate with The Belmonte Team and executive vice president for Douglas Elliman working in Miami Beach.

Every week, we ask a real estate professional for their Short List, a collection of tips and recommendations on an essential topic in real estate. This week, we talked with Pietro Belmonte, a broker associate with The Belmonte Team and executive vice president for Douglas Elliman, who shared his strategies for managing challenging personalities. 

5. Understand what your client wants from you. If a client contacts you, try to extract exactly what they need, and trim the fluff from around the real subject.

4. Once you understand what your client wants or needs or is looking for. Give them an answer, regardless of how it may affect them. Being forthright with bad news will always be better than allowing it to fester and become even more of an issue.

3. Don’t take it personally. Understand that buying a home, more than likely, is a very important transactions, which makes it incredibly emotional – one of the most emotional things they’re likely to go through.

2. Always contact your client first. If you learn something new about a property or get an update, give your buyer or seller a call or an email and keep them in the loop. If your client has to call you for an update, you’re not doing your job well enough. The more information you give your clients, the better.

1. Be a good listener, and ask good questions. Getting to know your clients helps to break down the walls hindering honest interaction. Clients, understandably, may be hesitant entering into the process, but getting everyone on the same page cultivates a team mentality, which will make the process much smoother.

Pietro Belmonte has generated over a half a billion dollars marketing and selling the most prestigious properties in Miami Beach and New York City. He is sought out for his real estate expertise and guidance from top developers and investors from around the world. Pietro draws on his 20-plus years of diverse real estate experience to effectively guide his clients through the transaction process no matter the market conditions. Whether it is buying, selling or leasing – he understands the real estate market and optimizes every transaction.