The power of remarkable service
I read a wonderful post the other day by Morgan Brown at the Bloodhound Blog titled Surprise and Delight Us and it was just the sort of inspirational post I needed as as I sit down to write my 100th blog post. I have always been appreciative of great customer service, and Morgan, a mortgage banker, tells the story of a little flower shop in Laguna Beach California known for their artistry in creating floral arrangements and their remarkable customer service.
Morgan says, "It’s important to define remarkable service as service that is so extraordinary it makes your customer share the experience with people they know. And not just share, advocate on your behalf because of it". He is now an enthusiastic advocate for that little flower shop!
So for my surprise and to the delight of my past, present and future clients, all transactions will now be free!
Oops, yesterday was April Fools Day, I guess I can't do that one to surprise and delight you, I'll have to think of something else. And that something else I can do every day of the year is to provide remarkable service.
When I started in real estate, or sales many years ago for that matter, my goal was to provide the best possible service for my clients. When I think in real estate terms, my objective is to treat my clients the way I want to be treated, after all, I was a real estate consumer before I became a real estate professional and I met some very good and some not so good real estate agents. When I decided on real estate as my second career, I wanted to be regarded as a very good real estate agent.
I answer my phone and if I can't answer my phone because I'm sleeping, somewhat busy at the moment or on the other line, I return phone calls promptly. I always return emails quickly. In some cases, it is almost like instant messaging with emails going back and forth for a half hour or so with some clients. Finally, I give straight answers and if I don't know the answer to something, I'll find out and let my clients know the answer to their concerns. You may not think some of these little things are all that remarkable but in my opinion, if you don't do the little things, there is no way you should be hired as the real estate agent to perform the big tasks demanded by your clients in any real estate transaction.
The very best real estate skill I have is to understand what clients are looking for and then find it. One client I worked with was surprised that I was actually showing him houses in the price range he asked for. He said that a previous agent in another city only showed him houses that he wanted to show, not what houses he was looking for and at a much higher price than he could afford. I believe it is important to listen, know and understand the market and then show your client available homes that are exactly what they are looking for. Once I go into a few homes with a client and see how they react to homes in person, I know that I am absolutely on target in understanding their wants and needs.
I generally don't sell in my blog and this post seems a little "salesey" to me (I'm not so sure that is a real word so I'll have to check with Charleston native Stephen Colbert and see if salesey could be the word of the day someday). So please pardon me this one time, after all, this is my 100th post and I should be able to do a little selling once in a while.
And let me conclude by this promise to you, I will do everything I can to provide you with remarkable service in handling your Charleston real estate needs. Finally, a big thank you to all my very happy clients who I have hopefully surprised and delighted and I look forward to surprising and delighting you and your friends, neighbors, relatives and co-workers in the future.