The consumer experience is important for your business. If it’s memorable, it will set your team apart from the competition. Here are five easy-to-implement ideas for creating a lasting experience for your clients.
1. Use your team. As agents, we start off doing it alone and quickly get overwhelmed being both a marketing and sales expert, knowing how to measure rooms, taking photos, keeping everything on track and on time, painting a bathroom, etc. Bringing in the team creates a better experience for your client. With your team working together in their specific areas of expertise, you can meet all of your clients’ needs with ease. Everyone is responsible for their own role, and your clients will see the difference between you and 99% of other agents.
Don’t have a team yet? Outsource. You’ll spend a little more of that cherished commission, but it will free you up to take on more clients and show them that you’re a pro.
2. Show up. The best agent teams make their presence known. Be present at inspections, sit with your clients at the closing table and be visible at community events that your clients are likely to attend. If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s the importance of showing up virtually as well. We all have out-of-town buyers and sellers, and scheduling a video meeting is hands down better than a phone call any day of the week. Again, part of the experience is seeing you and getting to work with you.
3. Stay in touch. While this is easy throughout the transaction, one could argue that the true customer experience begins after the closing. In my business, we take the experience to a new level after we’ve been paid. This is when it all begins—the gift that keeps on giving. Create systems for regular check-in phone calls and even pop-bys. Never lose touch, and you’ll never be forgotten.
4. Remember the anniversary. Every year, send a handwritten card to your clients during the month of their closing anniversary. If they’ve experienced several transactions with you, commemorate the first one. We call it the “anniversary of our partnership.” Recognizing this important anniversary helps create an ongoing experience.
5. Celebrate. Host at least one event a year for past and present clients. By doing something fun and being yourself, you’ll attract like-minded clients. The majority of a successful agent team’s business comes from referrals from past clients, and a good event will bring you five to 10 referrals. Do it annually and it becomes part of the experience for your customers and clients for years to come.
Sarah Bernard is a Workman Success Systems senior coach. She helps her clients build top-producing teams while sharing tactics and systems for greater success in the real estate industry. You can reach her at sarahbernard@workmansuccesssystems.com or www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-bernard-real-estate.
