You might be surprised at what the piano man shared with me.
As the 70-ish piano technician walked over to my newly inherited piano, he remarked, “So you are a realtor?”
Many people think I am- but I am not, nor have I ever held my license (although I did go through the licensing course). I explained that I help realtors with coaching and have worked with many Calgary agents. This brought on a timely and detailed story of regret and one that I felt I should share.
Even if you are an established agent and think you are performing at a high level already, I encourage you to examine your business practices; ask yourself if there is anything you might be able to do just a bit better to give your clients a stellar experience.
This piano man used to be in sales and was proud of his past career. I could tell he wanted respect for his own experience in the workplace.
He did his due diligence in hiring a real estate agent. He called around and interviewed three. The piano man chose this particular established agent because he seemed very professional, dressed well, and had good-quality handouts. However, that was about all the contact they had together.
Since the market was on a downward slide, there were emails and phone calls with poor feedback and the inevitable advice for a price reduction. However, this professional agent didn’t come across as working for the seller. Rather, the seller felt he was being beaten down and had no one on his side.
After the sale, he told me he did not even receive a “thank you” from this agent. Although shortly after the sale, he did receive a request to provide a testimony!
Please know that I am not shaking a finger at all – no! I recognize that many agents have neglected to put smooth processes in place so they can avoid this kind of negative result from their valuable past clients. I don’t want this to happen to YOU.
Everyone in the piano man’s network now knows his experience and would never hire the same real estate agent. He is sharing his story because he doesn’t want anyone else to have the same kind of disappointing experience.
It makes me sad. I don’t believe the agent set out to make his client feel like this. I am certain that he thought he was doing his best job. He just doesn’t see it from the other side.
So, I am here to tell you. From the client side, they need more personal attention sometimes—especially clients over 50 or 60. See them face to face when asking for a price reduction. Even a video explaining feedback can be helpful.
And I would highly encourage some FORMAL celebratory thanks after closing the sale. Don’t love them and leave them! This client sold a revenue property, therefore, wasn’t part of a buyer’s closing process, which may have included some kind of gift basket – because he was only selling, he slipped through the cracks.
If you want good referrals and ongoing business, these are a couple of ways you can improve right now!
Sue Styles is the VP of Real Estate and Mortgages at Relo.ca. She has nearly two decades of experience coaching real estate agents and is the CEO of Maximized Results Consulting. She guides real estate agents to maximize their potential and reach unwavering results by revealing their possibilities, challenging the status quo, and setting up their systems for success. She is the author of three books and a professional speaker; reach out for business coaching and resources!
