When times are tough, those of us who have jobs are generally grateful for them. That said, we're often forced to work harder and smarter than when things are booming. This in turn can make some people dissatisfied and worn out, and real estate is no exception. Working in the real estate game is hard work, and it takes a certain type of person, which I've blogged about before. These people tend to be driven, passionate, and they don't tend to give up easily, and that mentality needs to apply to the business that you've won AFTER you've won it.
In competitive times like those many of us are facing, the heat is on to outdo your competition, and no doubt many of you are sick of being pestered by everyone from charities to home repair companies, all trying to continue thriving in the face of increased competition. But once you've outdone your competition and secured the business, the worst thing you can do is forget about it and move on to the next. You need to work as hard to keep the business as you did to get it in the first place.
I stress this regularly because it's true – buying and selling a home deals with what is likely to be most people's largest asset. Not only that, it's a highly personal one, which means it deserves the respect of a comprehensive sales process by the real estate professional, not just a great pitch to get them to list with you. Many salespeople make lots of promises while trying to seal a deal, and that's not unique to real estate. Similarly, most people like to buy, but resist being sold to – again not unique to real estate, but we have the added disadvantage of having some less than complimentary stereotypes working against us. For this reason, it's imperative to keep in mind while selling is that the close of the sale is not the end of the sales process, but the beginning of a relationship.
One of the fundamentals of services marketing is to promise a lot but deliver more. No one wants the alternative – over promising and under delivering is a nail in the coffin of your business. It is much better than to impress your customers when you provide them with more than you originally offered. Exceeding customer expectations is a sure fire way to make the right impression. Once you've got your customer over the line, chances are they're going to be waiting for you to come good on all those promises you made to get them there. They're going to be observing and monitoring your follow through and communication – it's their subtle test to see if you can really deliver.
The super stars of real estate know that to ensure firstly a happy customer, but also repeat business, customer loyalty, positive references and referrals, the service offered after you've signed someone up has got to be one of their major strengths.