This applies to anyone that serves clients, Agent, Inspector, Home stager, mortgage lender, contractor or lawyer. If you do something for someone and then get paid for it...here's something to ponder.
It occurred to me the other day, during an inspection that what truly makes the experience of buying a home "memorable" or just "an experience", is how it is handled. I watched how the selling agent talked to and connected with the clients and somehow, it was different. It was genuine! He really did care that they were getting the best they could afford and that the home was sound and safe. That they would not just pay him and me and the other people attached to a sale and purchase of a home and then get left alone to deal with their distress and unhappiness of a high mortgage payment, problems with the house and eventual loathing of the industry as a whole, WHAT MISERY!
The difference is the way the client is treated, are they having an Interaction or a Transaction? The difference is this:
A transaction is what you get at the grocery store or gas station. Un-emotional, get your product, pay and leave. The closest thing to conversation is "Have a nice day" by the cashier, that could be a recording by a machine for all the emotion and sincerity is holds. You go in, fill up your car or grocery cart, pay and leave, forgotten in 5 minutes. However, when something goes wrong, you remember don't you? If Tim Horton's forgets to add the sugar or stir it, that pees you off and you feel emotion, therefore you have now had an interaction, because you turn around and go back to the cashier, or at least you wish you had the time and guts to and tell them they messed up and you want what you paid for... a double-double, dammit! How hard can that be?
An Interaction is the opposite, it is the warm and fuzzy feelings that you get when you are talked to by family, loved ones and people that are trying to help you. It is the way you are treated by the server at your favorite restaurant that makes you feel that nobody but you matters to them. It is the feeling you get when you go to your local Starbuck's and suddenly the coffee you have ordered every day, is just handed to you without you having to ask for it again for the hundredth time, because the person behind the counter remembered you and what you like to drink.
An interaction is when you CONNECT with a client. It is making them feel that you, (pay attention ‘cos here it is) genuinely CARE for them. Is the real estate experience for somebody all numbers and business, or do you make the difference? Sure you are nice and polite and yes you talk about the weather, the sports teams, the price of gas and taxes, but do you really interact?
What do you do differently that makes your clients feel warm and comforted by your involvement? Are you just another piece of the puzzle? Or are you the best professional they have dealt with? Don't you want the client to tell all their family and friends how amazing you were? (This is what leads to referrals, so I'm told)
Thanks for reading!
Darren St.Jacques
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