Ways to Create a Great Relationship with Your Real Estate Client
Real estate can be a tough business. Statistics show that 87 percent of realtors don’t last five years in the business. That’s a big percentage when compared with other professions. One way to beat the odds and succeed as a real estate agent is to focus on building better relationships with your clients. This will lead to long term clients and referral sources. How do I cultivate better relationships? These tips should help.
Before the Sale
Building relationships starts before you’ve even formed the relationship. Wearing a nametag around town and sharing with people what you do without a sale pitch makes a great first impression. Mentioning your real estate business on social media profiles is always a low pressure way to let people know you sell real estate. Hosting an open house in your neighborhood is useful in meeting prospective home buyers or sellers. It’s important to remember; however, when using these tactics the goal is simply meeting people, not starting a sales conversation.
You can also build relationships with prospective clients by providing useful real estate tips by writing a blog or using YouTube. Doing this, positions yourself as being a trusted real estate advisor and resource for your followers and those to whom they refer you.
Once you make contact with prospects, it’s important to take steps to keep in touch with them. For your social media followers, send out regular real estate tips to keep your name on their radar. For people you meet face to face, use methods such as sending out postcards, making an appearance at their business, or making a phone call. These are all low pressure ways to make sure your name is the first potential clients think of when they think of real estate.
During the Sale
Customer service you provide during the process will have an impact on the quality of your client relationships. Implementing these customer service best practices will help build lasting relationships with your clients.
- Come to appointments dressed professionally.
- Express genuine concern for your clients by showing up for appointments on time, staying focused without multitasking, and keeping in regular communication.
- Respond to clients’ expressed and unexpressed needs. Take the initiative to walk them through the steps of the real estate process and paying close attention to their verbal communication and feedback.
- Create memorable personalized experiences (bring a water bottle on a hot day).
- Take proactive steps to solve client concerns. Keep clients informed.
After the Sale
How you follow up after a sale will determine how many of your clients become repeat customers and how often they refer you to new clients. Sending a thank you note and housewarming gift to follow up a sale is an easy way to be memorable in your clients’ eyes as being thoughtful and kind. Be available to your clients even after the home closes. They may be new to the area and want to pick your brain for places to eat and best service providers. Send holiday and birthday cards. It’s unexpected but also memorable. Making periodic follow up calls to let your clients know you care even after the sale can be an important part in getting return clients and referrals.
These steps can help you to become successful and build better relationships with your clients.