In our last article we discussed the need to conduct a strategic review of your business if you are not a top performing agent in your market.  We called it FEES – Feedback, Evidence, Education and Self-Belief.

 

In this article we’re going to dive into collecting and using Feedback in greater detail.

 

Understanding what’s important to your clients and how they feel you are meeting those service expectations is the first step to serving them effectively.  Remember real estate sales are a largely intangible service that cannot be trialed before purchase. The best way to help future vendors overcome this challenge is to provide evidence from previous client experiences.

 

There are 5 key areas you want to get feedback on from your clients:

Presentation:

Does the quality of everything you do align with the quality of the homes you want to sell?

Professionalism:

Do you conduct yourself in a professional manner and are your clients happy in how you represent them with potential buyers?

Capability:

Do your clients feel you are capable of achieving a successful sale, for the most money, in the shortest possible time frame and with the least amount of stress?

Drive:

Do your clients believe you will keep working hard for them and will not stop until you get the right result?

Empathy:

Do your customers feel you understand their unique needs and will work with them towards their goals?

 

What do you do once you have the results?

Once you have the results you can move to the prioritisation stage.  You won’t be able to focus on everything at once, you need to focus your efforts on those components of your service that are going to have the most impact on your business.

 

#1 Focus area

These components are likely to require investment of time and/or money:

• Attire
• Car
• Office or meeting location
• Presentation of homes currently listed or recently sold (including staging, photography, copywriting, brochures, open houses)
• Social media presence

The above are tangible components that are considered a ticket to play.  Your rating in these components must match or exceed your clients expectations. Getting this right will attract leads from potential vendors when your presentation quality aligns with how they perceive their home.

 

#2 Focus area

These components simply require focus of effort:

• Punctuality
• Proactiveness and Responsiveness
• Good communication skills
• Work ethic
• Determination to get the best result
• Ability to understand your clients’ needs and work in their best interests
• Level of care and attention

The above are intangible components but are also considered a ticket to play. Your rating in these components must match or exceed your vendors expectations. Getting this right will not win you new business, but if you get it wrong it can cost you business through poor reviews.

 

#3 Focus area

These components are your major source of competitive advantage:

• Valuation accuracy
• Effective advertising campaigns
• Effective sales campaigns
• Negotiation skills

The above are intangible components for most real estate agents because they don’t measure them. You need to tick off focus areas #1 and #2 first but once they are in place this is where you should be putting your attention.

 

Summary:

• Feedback from clients is important because understanding your clients service expectations helps you improve the quality for your service
• You need to have the data to prove how good your service quality is or find the gaps. Once it’s good you can use it to win new business
• Once you’ve collected the feedback you need to prioritise what you’re going to work on first
• Most service quality components are considered “tickets to play” by your clients
• True and long-lasting differentiation from competitors can be created in valuation accuracy, effective advertising campaigns, effective sales campaigns, and improving negotiation skills