Service over convenience

Published: 16/11/2018 By Alex Maynard

In a market that is rapidly moving over to a ‘Self-Service’ industry, the property game can certainly be tough, especially around the festive period between November and January. Not only is this a time where the stock is low, but applicants are also hard to come to by. If you are working for or possibly own a small independent agency at this time it can be very difficult. Here is why I believe that client interaction and communication can be extremely important.
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Going back to the starting line of this article, competitors who offer a ‘Self-Service’ approach certainly seem to be winning the stock race and putting the small fish to the bottom of the barrel. That being said, what can you do as an independent to stand out from the rest?

Interaction! Estate agents have a bad name across the country as we are sharp-toothed, smart-suited sharks looking for that easy prey, but how true is this? If you were to step into our agency today you would be greeted by the whole team, offered a drink and given the most honest and transparent advice we can possibly give whether you were a potential client or not. Take this quote from Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart “There is only one boss-the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman down, simply by spending his money somewhere else”. If you were to let/sell your property through us, you would receive five-star treatment as if you were our only client. My point here is that client interaction is what I believe to be our most powerful tool. When you meet a new client, you must be completely adaptive to the way they like to do business, even if this means going away from your preferred style. For example, if one landlord wants you to call them every day and give them updates or chat about the market, you must do so, if another landlord wants you to let their property and then never contact them again until the end of the tenancy then so be it. We must be adaptable to all styles of business. Take the client's body language as signs of how to do this, if the client is a bit more of an introvert, then don’t go in with a shark attitude and massive amounts of confidence, try to match their levels to make them more comfortable with you. If the client is a ball of energy and confidence and knows their stuff about the markets then don’t be afraid to go all in on your expertise and sales manor, make a few jokes and keep the energy levels of the conversation high.

Remember, everybody perceives the world in different ways and failing to recognise this can completely ruin any interaction you may have with a potential client. Most of our business is won by our personalities as after all we are a service industry and service must be your number one priority if you are to stay afloat in the tides of hybrid agents in the current market.