While good, old-fashioned customer service certainly goes a long way in impressing your real estate clients, the best agents in the business use several strategies to “wow” clients that set them apart from the rest of the competition.
If you start off your relationship with clients by communicating effectively and building trust and confidence, you can take it to the next level with these simple tips. They will help you develop real estate clients who will become advocates for your brand:
1. Connect them to businesses you trust. “I’ve come to believe that connecting is one of the most important business—and life—skill sets you’ll ever learn,” says author and master networker Keith Ferrazi in his best-selling book “Never Eat Alone.” “Why? Because, flat out, people do business with people they know and like. Careers—in every imaginable field—work the same.” You know the community and the people in it, and you have likely built a database of local service providers, handymen, contractors and more. Hook them up with the best professional contacts you have.
2. Help them network. Particularly for people who are new to the area, you can be a lifeline and assist them with getting established in the community. Use your knowledge to make yourself the go-to expert. Tell your real estate clients about social groups, gyms, country clubs, Facebook groups they should be a part of and more. Even better: Introduce them to people you know in the community.
3. Send dinner on moving day. The last thing people want to think about is dinner when they are trying to make their new home livable. Have pizza, Chinese food or some other meal delivered. To ensure you send them something they’ll enjoy, casually ask them what their favorite food is, without giving away your plans. This kind of service is what leads to more customer referrals.
4. Welcome them home. Leave a welcome basket with a bottle of champagne and a gift card to a local restaurant, with the message, “When you have finished all the unpacking, it is time to celebrate!”
5. Offer them a tour of the community. If they are new to the area, spend an afternoon chauffeuring them around, making sure to show them all the hot spots and attractions.
6. Provide them with a “best of…” bag. Include gift cards, pamphlets and coupons for the best restaurants, salons, attractions and so on in the community.
7. Remember significant events. Send a birthday or anniversary card, a gift for a new baby, school supplies for children starting a new school, or find some other way to recognize a big day for clients.
8. Hire a cleaning or moving crew. Talk about taking a load off clients’ shoulders! Send somebody over to clean the home from top to bottom or offer them some extra hands to move in all their belongings.
9. Bring in a professional organizer. In a house full of boxes, an organizer can help unpack everything strategically so that the house is as tidy as possible when clients first move in.
10. Offer them a basket of essentials. Load up a laundry basket with toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies, sponges, hand soap, toiletries, paper plates, plastic cups and other items that clients will need in those early days of moving in.
The key to picking the perfect option? Getting to know your real estate clients. Ask questions and listen to what they have to say. A personal gift from the heart can be the perfect way to forge a long-lasting relationship—and that can lead to business now and well into the future.
McKissock Learning is the nation’s premier online real estate school, providing continuing education courses and professional development to hundreds of thousands of real estate agents across the country. As part of the Colibri Real Estate family of premier education brands, McKissock Learning, along with its sister schools Colibri Real Estate, Superior School of Real Estate, Allied Schools, The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, Gold Coast Schools, The Rockwell Institute and Hondros Education Group, helps real estate professionals achieve sustainable success throughout each stage of their real estate career. Learn more at mckissock.com/real-estate.
Nicely done! As a real estate broker for over 40 years, it is nice to see your suggestions of in-person gifts and tours of the town… that’s how it used to be before we abandoned those things for digital convenience.
These are all great ideas and thanks for refreshing us with them. I do still use a few of these myself and my buyers are usually quite happy when I stop by with a gift card or basket of goodies!