Ten Tips for Top-Notch Service

TIP #1: ASK CLIENTS HOW THEY LIKE TO COMMUNICATE

Everyone has a mode of communication that they like the best. Some people prefer texting, others prefer email, others prefer social media messaging, and others prefer phone calls. How you prefer to communicate doesn’t matter, communication is about making your clients comfortable. Whenever you start working with a new client, one of the first questions you should ask is how they prefer to communicate with you, then honor them by communicating that way whenever possible. My only caveat to this is that when you start working with a new prospect, you need to get face-to-face as quickly as possible. The fastest way to build a relationship is when you are nose to nose and toes to toes with someone. Texting may be efficient, but it is too easy to ghost you on text. If you want repeat and referral business, you need to foster a relationship.

TIP #2 – HAVE A SOLID COMMUNICATION PLAN

As the market softens and houses take longer to sell, you need to be able to manage your relationship with buyers and sellers over a longer period of time. This hasn’t been something we’ve had to worry about in the last two years because as quickly as we listed a house, it sold, and we moved on to the next client. In a changing market, you cannot let any daylight get between you and your clients. The best way to do that is to have a solid communication plan so they know when they can expect to hear from you every week.

My communication plan with sellers would include phone calls after every showing to give them feedback, phone calls after every open house to let them know what visitors thought, a Monday night phone call to discuss what marketing I’ve done in the past week and what marketing will be done in the upcoming week, how many views their property has had online and how many inquiries you’ve received. Even if no-one has viewed the house, this is a reason to have a call. I would also let them know about competing listings (new listings/sales in their area) and how those listings affect the positioning of their property.

My communication with buyers would include sending them all new listings that meet their criteria as soon as they come on the market. I would follow up with a phone call the following day if they haven’t responded to see if they would like to see the property. I would keep them up to date on all mortgage rate changes, and I would let them know I will use their buyer profile to prospect for listings in their preferred area that are not on the market yet.

TIP #3: HAVE A PREARRANGED SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

Sellers often don’t know all the things you are working on and they don’t understand the sequence of events leading up to a successful sale. When you sign a new listing, before you leave the house that day, you should provide sellers with a calendar of events for the next 30 days. When will the stager come through, when will minor repairs be done, when will the house be decluttered, when will the landscaping be manicured, when will the photographer and videographer be on site, when will the listing be uploaded to the MLS, when will the first open house take place, etc. Everything you can do to prepare your sellers will decrease their anxiety. The other great thing about having a prepared schedule of events is that it forces you to stay organized and deliver on your promises on specific dates.

TIP #4: USE CHECKLISTS FOR EVERYTHING

If you want to deliver exceptional service, you can’t wing it. Every real estate transaction has 100 little details that can easily fall through the cracks if we are not careful. The best way to never miss anything is to use checklists for everything. You should have checklists for when you take a new listing or start working with a new buyer, for every closing, to prepare for open houses, for all your monthly marketing activities, etc. Whenever you follow a checklist, it frees your mind to be more creative in other areas. I have been teaching Leader’s Edge courses for 25 years and I still use checklists for every class I teach to ensure the client experience is the best it can be. The little details matter and your clients deserve this level of attention.

TIP #5: TEXT YOUR CONTACT CARD AFTER CALLING

How often do you phone a prospect, leave a voicemail, and you don’t hear back? It happens to all of us. Most of the time agents don’t call again and just figure the person wasn’t that interested. I suggest you do one little thing that will increase your callbacks. Most of the time when people get a phone call from an unknown number, they don’t answer it. Leaving a nice voice message is the first step, but you need to go one step further to make it easier for them to contact you. As soon as you hang up, text them a little note and attach your contact card. That way they have all your contact details, your picture, company, email, office address, and phone numbers all in one place that they can easily save to their phone.

TIP #6: STAY CONNECTED MORE THAN EVER

As the market slows down, you need to stay more connected than ever with your sphere. If you call them every week asking if they want to sell their house they will start avoiding you, so you need to thoughtfully stay top of mind without annoying people. The best way to do this is to add everyone in your CRM system to a monthly market report. Not a generic newsletter, but a report about recent listings and sales in their neighborhood. Even if they aren’t selling, everyone wants to know what the neighbors got for their house. Providing this free service will constantly reinforce that you are a local expert. The next thing you can do is scan your social media networks each morning and comment on other people’s posts. People love when others comment on their pictures and posts. It makes them feel connected to you, even if they haven’t seen you in years.

TIP #7: MAKE YOUR EMAIL SIGNATURES INTERACTIVE

I can’t tell you the number of times I receive an email from agents and their signature is just their name with no contact details. When you do that it makes it harder for people to call, text or message you. People should not have to look you up online to get your phone number. Never make clients have to work to connect with you. Make it easy by including your name, office, office address, and live links to your email, phone number, website and social networks in every email signature.

TIP #8: CHECK YOUR VOICEMAIL OFTEN

When it comes to the speed of our communication, we tend to respond to text messages immediately, we return emails within a few hours, but for some reason voicemails are the last thing we get too. Often, I phone students who have questions, and not only do they not answer, but their mailboxes are full, so I can’t leave a message. How can you possibly operate at peak performance if your mailbox is full, and people can’t reach you?  Promise yourself that you will return all emails and voicemails by lunch time if you received them in the morning, or by end of day if you received them in the afternoon. If it is a complicated issue that requires more time, just letting someone know that you received their email or voicemail and you are working on it is often enough.

TIP #9: RUN INTO PROBLEMS, NOT AWAY FROM THEM

Real estate transactions always have problems. Big problems are usually small problems that we ignore. Clients may be frustrated with a particular issue, but they will become irate if you don’t address it. Let’s pretend your clients move in and a few weeks later their air conditioner blows up. They are upset because it will cost thousands to replace. Most agents wouldn’t even know about this problem because they don’t follow up after the sale. But as a real estate professional who stays in contact with clients after the sale, you find out about the issue. Most agents would ignore it because they don’t know what to do to fix it, but a great agent would recommend a local air conditioning specialist who could fix the problem, and then follow up a few weeks later to make sure they were happy with the service. This type of ongoing service after the sale is what creates raving fans who help build your business.

TIP #10: FUNERALS, WEDDINGS AND BABIES

Having a referral-based business depends on how closely you nurture relationships. When I was selling real estate, my clients became my friends. I constantly kept a pulse on what was happening in their lives (which is much easier to do these days with social media). You need to recognize and celebrate happy moments in their lives, and you need to recognize and be supportive during sad moments. I made it a point to always send wedding/baby shower gifts whenever I heard one of my past clients or a family member was getting married or having a baby. I also made a point of attending every funeral for their families. When you care about others and you are thoughtful, it is very powerful in cementing your relationship. Sharing these moments with people, whether happy or sad, is what creates strong bonds.