I wrote a post on my experience at a realtor.com seminar last week. I did not realize I would elicit such a reaction from the readers on AR. What a shock when I woke up the next morning and had 100's of comments in my email and the comments continue to pour in.
[This post is not meant to focus on realtor.com, but to point out the value of great customer service. ]
I have read all 280 comments and the overwhelming majority, at least 95%, believe that realtor.com enhancements are not worth the exorbitant rates, but it doesn't stop there. Many responses told of horror stories of trying to get automatic credit card charges to stop when the contract had expired and other such examples of really bad customer service.
A small minority of agents had nothing but wonderful comments regarding realtor.com, it's customer service, and their products.
I contemplated the passion of so many of the responses and asked myself why so many agents took the time to read and respond to my post. 20-30 agents took the time to contact me directly through email, all saying how vociferously they agreed with my opinion that realtor.com enhancements are not worth the money.
I know what annoyed me about the realtor.com seminar and I think it is what has elicited passionate responses from so many agents. Realtor.com is not giving the value one expects for the amount of the investment.
A pastor once said that less than 10% of the members of his church do all the work that is required to keep it running smoothly. I don't know how consistent that may be in most professions, but in real estate, in my market anyway, less than 10% of the agents do most of the business.
Why? Top producers take customer service seriously. They are honest, ethical, return phone calls promptly, don't make excuses for their mistakes, aren't afraid to say, "I don't know, but I'll find out," generally work full time and have their clients as their top priority. It is a way of life that isn't for everyone and not every agent has the will to do what it takes to rise to the top.
People who give great customer service are repelled when they see bad customer service. We wonder why someone who is taking my money would be rude, not say hello, where's the smile, how about a thank you, doing what you say you will do would be nice, and so it goes.
I work with a great group of people in my market. The professionals who give great customer service have my trust, my confidence that they will follow through on what they say, and my loyalty. The vendors I work with who give great customer service, Top Producer, my website provider is a good example, have my loyalty and I don't mind paying them one bit.
I would like to think that my clients feel this way about me because it is what I work toward each and every day. Our clients should believe that we bring value to each transaction and that the commission they pay, was money well spent because we brought value to their transaction.
My website brings me leads, my internet presence brings me leads, my signs brings me leads, some say realtor.com brings them leads as well, but what converts those leads to clients is the value you bring to that clients life.
Matthew Dollinger wrote an excellent post on "Client Love." If you haven't read it you really need to and subscribe to Matthew's blog while you're at it. He is awesome.
If you want to be a top performing agent in your market, then be someone other people talk about in a positive light. Bring value to the lives of the people you touch and the word will spread. If I were to write a post about you and it received 280 comments, would 95% be positive or negative. Think about that.
Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009, 2010 and 2011--*in units sold and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!
 |
Brought to you by Fran Gatti at |
*PER DNAOR-MLS
Bravo Fran!
Customer service is everything. It has got to be the centerpoint. I remember mnissing an immediate call back once because I had just gotten back from the dentist and I was hurting. I remember saying that I hadn't called right away because of the dentist ya-da-ya-da. It felt SO wrong.
Now, I know what you are thinking out there. Realtors have a life, blah, blah, blah. Yes, of course we do. But that's not and never is the point. Our clients trust us to make them feel as though they are the only people who ever bought or sold a property. It's HUGE to them. They deserve our focus. Try not to be the one who protests too much. That takes far more time and energy than just helping our clients get what they want and just have the best of our lives without having to talk about it and defend why we should have it.
Top producers take customer service seriously. They are honest, ethical, return phone calls promptly, don't make excuses for their mistakes, aren't afraid to say, "I don't know, but I'll find out," generally work full time and have their clients as their top priority. It is a way of life that isn't for everyone and not every agent has the will to do what it takes to rise to the top.
Hi Fran,
Your realtor.com post definitely struck a nerve! An instant classic.
Now to this post. In addition to the excellent qualities you've listed, I've noticed that many of my top producing clients also make the home buying process fun. They tend to become friends with their buyers and sellers.
It is like that with every thing you have your movers and your shakers. If you want something done ask a busy person.
Liz
Liz hit the nail on the head. "If you want something done ask a busy person." Fran, your post yesterday was wonderful. Those of us that work hard want the money we spend to work hard for us too. That's why it's so appauling that Realtor.com costs so much and gives so little.
The 10% of Realtors that do a good job do it because we know it's the right thing to do. We take what we do seriously.
I believe that Realtor.com has awaken the passion on all of us. . .It takes a lot of money for marketing and PR for me to get a listing on the market. .they take my listing and put it in their website and instead of charging a fair fee. . . they multiply it by 100 and have the audacity to call me back and sell me the fruits of my own listing for hundreds of dollars.
Their system does not work and Trulia and Zillow have gone miles away from them already.
Good post. .
Customer service is the foundation of every business. Once this is given top priority and values the rest just seems to fall in place.
Fran, this is good follow up to your very popular post. Customer service is something you either have or don't have and people either say yea or no. Customer service is delighting in your sellers and buyers and going above and beyond their expectations.
It is future business or the one time deal.
Realtor.com likes to promote the NAR label with all of their marketing, but when all is said and done, it is a private enterprise and the name of their game is profit. And if it wasn't so profitable they would be doing so many local presentations all over the country. NR would be foolish not to lend them their name, after all they still own a piece of the business and they are getting paid for offering up OUR brand.
Fran,
True...SERVICE separates the men from the boys...you must GIVE service not merely offer it...SERVICE, not SERVE ICE...!!! Thanks, Fran
Fran, you are so right....Service is the name of the game.
Bettina
Fran, I believe in customer service and satisfaction. However, I would like to touch on something that I have noticed since I started in Real Estate 2 years ago. In our small community, we have a lot of retirees that decide to get into Real Estate just to have something to do once or twice a month. Due to the glut of agents per capita, we also have many agents that work part-time and full-time jobs besides real estate. What bothers me is that these agents are just taking up space, not giving their sellers 100 percent and getting floor calls when they make it into the office. If I were Queen for a day, I would make it mandatory that an agent is full-time, give 100 percent customer service and has nothing but positive things to say!
Anyway, just thought I'd add my .2 cents...hope you don't mind! Queen Peggy...haha!
Fran -- I like all your Blogs -- you have something to say. I didn't comment on the Realtor.Com issue but I read most of the posts - it definitely touched a nerve. Why do 10% of the Agents do 99% of the business? Why do 10% of the Agents do 80% of the Blogs? Just life!
The thing about it, not only does one have to have a good reputation to get recommended by others, one continually has to work at it. That's something that I'm doing every day. Even admitting to failure and working on it is a sign of commitment to being excellent at what we do.
Hi Fran...great post!! I would absolutely agree that customer service should be the #1 priority for ALL real estate professionals. I am thrilled to say that both my customers and my 'team' - lenders, escrow officer, home inspectors, etc. - get just that 100% + on each and every property transaction!!
Best from Sunny Western Colorado...
Shari Neuroth, Broker / Owner ~ Neuroth Properties, Rifle, CO
Its true Fran, those who treat it like a business and follow the golden rule get most of the business. Customer service will always be #1.
Good customer service, active listening, and consistent follow up and through are important qualities to run our business by. If we do our part, the universe usually does its part too.
Why is it true that 10% of agents possess such huge percentage of the market? Here is my view.
Firstly, financial constraint on most agents. We agree that "to make money, you have to spend money, and to spend money, you have to have money." Most agents do not have that money to espend so they can make money. So, the rich keep getting richer.
Then, there is the problem of investing wrongly. Most agents spend there money on every product, because everyone wants the real estate agents' money.
I thought this summed it up PERFECTLY:
People who give great customer service are repelled when they see bad customer service. We wonder why someone who is taking my money would be rude, not say hello, where's the smile, how about a thank you, doing what you say you will do would be nice, and so it goes.
Fran - Service is what good real estate is all about. It is our fiduciary duty, and if you are not all about customer service, you probably shouldn't be in real estate. It's too bad that not everyone in this profession feels the same way.