Many brokerages claim to be “customer-centric.” But if you want to differentiate your brokerage from the competition, the truth is that being customer-centric is not enough.
Adopting a broader mindset that embraces not only your external customers, but also your internal customers—agents, teams and support staff—can elevate your brokerage to a new level of success.
We call this being a “people-first” business, and this approach has worked for us at Delta Media for nearly three decades—so well that we have adopted “people-first” as our business theme for 2022.
What does a “people-first” company look like? It’s all about recognizing that any firm is only as good as its people. It means creating a foundation that will give everyone opportunities for growth and personal success.
As a brokerage leader, you know that your people are your greatest asset. By cultivating a purposeful, company-wide culture of caring, you can position your brokerage for long-lasting growth and success.
Caring About Your Internal and External Customers
Too often in the real estate industry, we choose between two masters: do we make our clients our priority, or should our priority be our agents and employees? The correct answer, we have found, is that you need—and can—do both.
Just as your agents establish and maintain relationships with their clients, as a leader, you need to provide your employees with exemplary tools and support.
For your internal customer, this can include:
- Refined processes to remove stress from schedules
- More and improved tools, maximizing efficiency
- Robust training for everyone
- Career path development
- A clear understanding of every position and how it impacts the success of your external customers
- Opportunities, benefits and perks that make you stand out among other companies in your area
For your external customer, this can include:
- Refining processes to make the transaction easier for your clients
- Creating feedback loops to assess client satisfaction and identify issues, quickly acting on feedback
- Providing automated support to ensure regular engagement and check-ins with clients
- Finding unique ways to show clients you genuinely care about them
- Happier agents and staff are a pleasure to work with, and they excel at solving problems and finding solutions
Simply put, “people-first” means demonstrating in concrete and measurable ways that you care about your clients, your agents, your teams and your support staff through the consistent, exceptional service you provide to both your internal and external audiences.
The business adage that if you take care of your people, they will take care of your customers, rings true not just in 2022, but also in years to come.
Michael Minard is CEO and owner of Delta Media Group, a leading and trusted technology partner for many of real estate’s top brands and 100% family-owned and operated. Learn more at deltamediagroup.com.
