In the digital age, showing that we’re human is more important than ever. High performance real estate coach and trainer Josh Phegan highlights how great agents create a unique bond with their customers and why personalised service wins.
We live in a remarkable time.
While the industrial revolution gave birth to huge factories and complex machines manufacturing on scale, the information revolution has opened up the playing field.
Today, you don’t need to own the factory to sell the product, you don’t need to control the press to be heard and you don’t need a real estate agent to sell your house. Or do you?
I believe there will always be room for a premium service in any market and I welcome the competition.
Disruption is a term that has been bandied around over the past few years, but what it really means for real estate agents is a need to get clear about the level of personalised service they are offering to their customers.
Think of it this way. If you bought a shirt from the Reject Shop and another from Louis Vuitton, what do you think the difference in customer service would be?
At one you might have to rummage through boxes or shelves yourself to find what you’re after. If they have your size you won’t be able to try it on because there are no change rooms and the only interaction with the staff will be at the counter, where it’s likely a junior staffer will give you a plastic bag with your shirt inside.
At the other, you will be enthusiastically greeted at the door and invited to the change room by your personal salesperson with a selection of shirts just your size. The lighting is just right and the experience makes you feel special. Your new shirt is carefully packaged and you walk away feeling uplifted.
A few days later you might get a call from the store asking if everything is going okay with your new shirt.
So what level of personalised service are you providing to your clients?
As agents, we deal with complex human emotions during different and important stages of people’s lives and help them in making decisions. Whether it’s purchasing their first home, upgrading as the family grows, downsizing as they grow older or helping them with investment opportunities, the relationships agents have with buyers and sellers are a unique bond.
Digital services are changing almost every industry. The way new technology is simplifying transactions and processes has and will continue to affect the way we work.
But that doesn’t mean we need to reinvent the wheel. There is an opportunity to get back to the core of what makes real estate agents great and have a laser focus on the customer and their needs.
We can reduce the friction of process, ensure there is transparency and do what it takes to keep responses and communication nimble and agile.
Of course we need to harness new technology and ride the digital wave, but on the back of our core strength of connecting with the customer and managing human relationships.
The most successful people I know don’t spend their days sitting in an office in front of a computer; they spend it face to face with the customer and on the phone. That’s where the deals happen.
