The life of a real estate agent doesn’t fit the traditional 9-5 workspace most people are accustomed to – this is an environment that never sleeps. It’s the New York City of work. And with research continuing to reveal that it’s better to retain a customer rather than acquire a new one, the onus is placed squarely on how positive the customer experience is. Which means that real estate agents always have to be on.
Why a company’s customer experience tells everything
“If the company only cares about the bottom line this will be visible in the customer experience.”
Studies discovered that 47% of customers would take their business to a competitor within a day of experiencing poor customer service. And it can be easy to fall into the trap of viewing your clients as a customer count needed to hit your quota. To build an excellent reputation and encourage referral and repeat business, it’s imperative that you treat your clients as human beings. In fact, 70 percent of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated.
The idea is to focus on offering unmatched value. Here are some key areas on how you can improve your customer experience.
Don’t just deliver the bare minimum
A phenomenal way to improve the overall customer experience is to go above and beyond what is asked of you. If you want to secure that repeat and referral business you need to give them an experience they’ll want to tell everyone about.
Listen to what your clients are saying
You don’t always have to agree with your clients, but do take the time to listen to their thoughts, ideas, and opinions so they feel understood. It’s important to listen to your clients to make sure that you’re both on the same page in order for this partnership to work. Understand their needs and be sure to get a holistic sense for what stage of life they’re in and what their vision for the next few years is. Read between the lines on what they’re telling you to help bring their masterpiece to life.
Get personal
It’s important to really get to know whom you’re working with. While you’re still conducting yourself in a professional manner, real estate is a unique area that blends a great deal of personal aspects in, because when you really think about it – you need to understand your client on a personal level.
Learn the ins and outs of what they are looking for in life. What are their plans? What activities do they love to do? What are their values in life? What do they place a high importance on? Listen and take note of all of this information and store it in your database to draw from when you’re on the go.
For example: “I remember you said awhile back you were getting new irons for this golf season, care to join me for a round next weekend?” Remembering the little details makes a big difference.
Be responsive
Consider this, over 88% of buyers expect a response from their agent within an hour. Time is of the essence in the real estate game where responding quickly could mean the difference between a deal getting done or not.
This also means you better have your files in order, and organizational skills on point – because operating in under an hours’ timeframe will expose many glaring holes to how unorganized you are. Leverage your CRM and rely on it to help you with this.
Avoid jargon
First time buyers might be entering the market with wide eyes, big dreams and feelings of confusion as what to expect. They’re really looking for someone to educate them on the process, put it in layman’s terms for them and help them make an informed investment. Don’t be condescending – there’s nothing worse than the feeling of being talked down to with big industry jargon. Folks want to work with a professional who can appeal to their level, so it’s important to act like it.
Follow up
The customer experience doesn’t just drop off once the sale goes through and the keys are handed over. Some of the biggest mistakes realtors make are not following up afterwards to make sure the client is settled in and happy. Even after the dust has settled, not taking advantage of keeping in touch through your e-Newsletter or emails is a big opportunity wasted.
Hint: your CRM is there to do all of this for you.
Key Takeaway
At the end of their time with you, leave them absolutely glowing and know that you went above and beyond to help facilitate their dreams. How you treat clients should reflect in your company values that leaves them with a positive taste in their mouth so that you will be the first person that comes to mind when they know of someone in the market for a realtor.
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