When it’s time to get my hair cut…who do I call?
In my case, I call or text MY hairdresser, Glenn.
When it’s time to go to the doctor, or do my taxes or even have my car serviced, I call…
MY doctor…MY accountant and MY dealership.
The point is that I don’t go looking for new service providers each time I need a particular service.
Why is that?
It could be for a number of reasons like, Glenn knows how I like my hair cut and styled. My doctor and my accountant have all my records so of course I go back to them each time. That makes sense, right? But what about my car dealership? I could get my oil changed anywhere, probably even for less but I keep going back to where I bought my car. Why?
It’s because I consider all of these service providers as “mine”. I feel no need to look for replacements.
But why? In every case it’s because of the Customer Experience that they consistently provide to me.
My hairdresser has a private room within a larger salon so that we can chat without being overheard. He has the trashy magazines that I won’t buy but love to read while he’s cutting my hair. Sometimes there’s even wine! All of these things come together to make him MY hairdresser.
Yes, my doctor has all of my medical records so it makes sense to return to her but I could easily have them transferred if I chose. I don’t because I genuinely enjoy going to her office where her staff is really friendly, the waiting and even the exam rooms are comfortable. She remembers what we’ve discussed in previous visits so our time is very personal and helpful to my life in general. My accountant is ‘mine’ for similar reasons. He knows my financial and family goals and works with me to reach those goals – even outside of tax time. We meet quarterly to discuss progress, new ideas and plans, etc.
As for my car dealership, I’m sure that they are not the cheapest but they do have the cleanest waiting room with great wifi and comfortable chairs, free coffee and water so I’m not looking elsewhere. Additionally, I never remember when I’m supposed to get my oil changed, tires rotated, warranty work completed, etc. but they keep track of that and remind me.
No, I’m not trying to drum up business for my hairdresser, doctor, accountant and car dealership, so why am I telling you this?!?!
It’s because I want to encourage you to focus on the power of that Possessive Pronoun “MY” and work to have it attached to you so that you are known as MY REALTOR by everyone that you know.
It’s much more powerful for your neighbor, your past clients, your friends, even your family to think of and refer to you as MY REALTOR vs. yeah, Jane is a real estate agent.
There are more than 2 million REALTORS in this country and so most people personally know more than one. Your goal is to become their personal REALTOR.
But how? Sure you provide excellent service to your clients through every transaction but you only conduct a sale with people once every few years, right? How do you create the ongoing and consistent customer experience in between or even before and after a transaction?
Here are three ways to start creating the ongoing Customer Experience that will make people think of you as MY REALTOR:
- Provide real estate information relevant to the person on a regular basis. This could be an annual CMA on their property, a monthly Market Update for their area, or even real time access to property information via an app or portal provided by your MLS.
- Set a schedule to make personal contact with them monthly or quarterly (depending on the relationship). This could be a phone call, personal text, meet for coffee, lunch, etc. The point is making sure that you never go too long without a personal conversation of some type.
- Truly engage with them online AND take it offline at every possible opportunity. It goes without saying that you should be (and likely are) connected to all of your contacts on social media. But you have to make the extra effort to ‘slow your scroll’ and really engage with them online and when the opportunity presents itself, offline as well. For example, be sure you’re taking the time to Like, Comment, Share or otherwise engage with their post about their new puppy/baby/car, etc. And in the case of a big event (birthday, new baby, even a loss) send a physical card, make the phone call or at minimum send a text.
Want even more tips and tools to brand yourself as MY REALTOR with everyone that you know? Even before they ever actually use your professional services? Join me for the Virtual Lunch & Learn on Tuesday, 4/9 at 12pm EDT for a live one-hour class: Remarkable Customer Experience for the Win!
You’ll discover the power of creating a Remarkable Customer Experience, how to easily do so for everyone you know (even BEFORE they ever use you as a REALTOR) and 15 specific steps to get you started. Click here to save your seat now!