Agent Resources

1. Show you appreciate their business
Appreciation marketing is a whole subject in itself, but sending a handwritten card or a personal e-mail to thank your customer for choosing you is a great way to kick off the friendly relationship that you hope you’re going to have with your client. It’s also appropriate to add that you hope they'll notice the difference in the service you provide.

2. Listen
People want to feel listened to, so don't rush them, even if it's a busy time of year. Many people have a roundabout way of getting to the subject and may be giving you vital information a couple of minutes into what seems like a long rambling discourse. If you’ve switched off and stopped listening, you will later irritate them by failing to remember something they’ve already told you. If things get tough during the selling or letting process, just listening to your client can make them feel that you're definitely in their corner.

3. Find out what they really want
Dig a bit deeper to find out what is really motivating a customer. Are they starting out with a buy-to-let because they have an ambition to become a professional landlord, or do they just want a bit of extra income and a quiet life during their retirement? Their underlying motivation can make a difference to the type of property you show them.

4. Be punctual
Great customer service does not involve asking a potential tenant or buyer to be outside a property at a certain time, then keeping them waiting for 15 minutes. It's rude and gives an unprofessional impression. Manage your diary efficiently, so that you are never late for an appointment.

5. Communicate constantly
There is no such thing as over-communicating with the client. Even if you're calling or mailing simply to tell them everything appears to be progressing well, they will appreciate it.

6. Don’t run down the competition
Never criticise a competitor by name. It makes you look unprofessional and insecure and it annoys customers.


7. Tell them how good the service is
However, it's quite acceptable to compare your service favourably with others, as in: "We’re quite unusual in that, we do so-and-so for our clients."

8. Tell the client what to expect
The client is buying your expertise and one of the ways that you can turn this into a customer service is to let the client know what will happen next. So if you know that there will now be a two-week delay until the mortgage offer is out, let them know this and they will appreciate your knowledge of the business.

9. Apologise when necessary
Not everything goes to plan all the time. If you feel that you've fallen below the customer service standards that you set yourself, don't hope that the client won't notice. It's enough that you've noticed, so apologise and explain.

10. Surprise your customers
Doing what people expect and doing it well is one part of customer service. But what will really get the word-of-mouth recommendation going is surprising customers with extra service. So try and think of something that no one else does. Offer to drive them around, not just to appointments, but to look at different areas, if they don’t have a car.

People don’t make recommendations by saying a firm has excellent customer service, but they do tell friends and family that a firm is nice to deal with. So be nice to deal with!