George - enjoyed your tips for raving fans - I'm curious? No RESPA issues with putting in the new door. This is an area that is so confusing - I appreciate hearing your experience.

Good post, George.

Outrageously good service will be rewarded.  Completely in opposition to so many agents who draw tight boundaries on service.

These are all great tips.  I especially love the problem solving one.  Too many people trying to shove responsibility on someone else instead of taking action themselves.

Excellent Post George!!  I'd like to add that calling your past clients quarterly is also a great way to create raving fans.  Recently, I bought tickets for a show that I ended up not using and I called thru my database to give them away.  I'd love to hear other ideas too!!

I "go overboard" for my clients. Some seem to appreciate it. Some just expect it. Even if they are ungrateful, I still earned a commission, so I should show appreciate anyway.

5 great tips that make lasting impressions. problem solving is so important- especially when they are relocating to the area and dont have a clue even where to get a good haircut!

George, Your clients are so fortunate to have you!

 One of my clients just purchased a home on Thistlewood. In our conversation, they said they did not know what the name meant. A few days after they moved in, I brought them a Thistlewood bird feeder, hanger and a bag of thistle. This is something that you would do. Thanks for the reminder.

We all strive for Raving Fans!!

Jack - Thank you my friend.  Give my best to your lovely wife.

Mike - Thanks for your input my friend

Carol - Very true my friend...thanks

Melissa - Thank yo so very much

Lori - "You go girl"!

Michele - Thanks dear and "get them a good haircut"....LOL

Margaret - Good for you my friend. Keep up the great work.

We always try to Underpromise and Overdeliver. You didn't say it, but you practice it every day.

Sharon - Thank you and keep up the great work. I do practice it every day my friend. 

Five stars for a great post. Thanks for the tips.....it is the little things that people remember.

Thanks Brad!

George - nice job!  I feel like I have to do this everyday, but I enjoy having sincere, honest, and trust-worthy fans!  It does all come from hard work and using your 5 tips each and every day! ALL 5!!  Thanks..

Brad....thanks for stopping by this evening and sharing your comments.  Have a great evening!

Hi George - I have that book, "Raving Fans", and it is one of the best books I've read on doing just that, creating raving fans.  It's so simple and easy and just good basic common sense, but so easily not done by so many for some reason.  I LOVE my raving fans!!

Ann

George I just got a listing (raving fan) from the buyer of an old listing I had two years ago!  This person realized that I did all the work and their agent was a putz.  When it came time to list and upsize they called ME instead of their agent! 

George, great post full of wonderful ideas! Your clients are fotunate to have you!

George, you must be highly successful with the service you are providing your clients!

George,

it really doesn't take much for us to stand above and beyond with our clients. I really think that returning email and phone calls ASAP, is one of the little things that can separate us from the competition. So, many agents are slack in that area...I see it when I call for feedback or property information.

And when the client sees us use our imagination and think a little outside the box with our super service, they are raving fans!

Good stuff,

Thanks~

These are great tips, thanks for the reminders of proactive ways to service our customers.

Great post. I have heard of the book Raving Fans. I will look up Amazon.com to see who wrote it.

George,

I'm always looking to go the extra mile with all of my clients. I spent half the day yesterday doing various things for 4 of them. But sometimes I wonder if they all appreciate it.

Great tips for success.

Great Post George....really liked your garage door opener purchase. That was a terrific gift/thought.

Hello George,
Another great post with marvelous ideas.  I gave it a 5.  Giving clients more than they expect will always multiply in returns.  Thank you.

A thoughtful gift does go a long way. It seems that (as someone pointed out) some clients expect it and some really appreciate it.

I always thing that a nice closing gift promotes future business.

regards, Charles

George - If you ever decide to "retire" from Real Estate...you should become a LIFE COACH and help others achieve their goals.  You have great ideas, excellent work ethics, and share your enthusiasm without prejudice!!  Gotta love it!!

George,

Thanks for the post. I read the book "Raving Fans" and your tips are so on point. Great tools for our business.

George- I think doing the little extras and keeping in contact with customers is well worth it.    

George you continue to show this community and I am sure your clients what an asset you are to the Realtor community. Thank you for sharing these powerful tools with us and reminding of us all of what we should be doing within our own business.

Geroge, I especially like #2 and #4.  Great post & ideas. 

Good post George,

You seem to have a very organized approach to our business and I'm betting your clients appreciate it.  Keep up the good example for the rest of us to follow.

Great post, and of course  this is the way to go and we all do it to one extend or another

but think about this

isn't it strange

someone hires a realtor, the realtor is doing a great job, he gets paid for it.

In other professions this is the end of the story

I never received a present from my doctor or my hairdresser or my lawn company !?

George,

I'm a raving fan of yours! This post was awesome.

Terrific post, George. There are some great suggestions here to keep in mind. Personalizing the relationship with the client is always a good thing, IMO, especially when they don't expect it.  It's not JUST about buying or selling the house.

Jeff

Ann - I now you are a wonderful Realtdor

Chris - You could write the book on customer service!

Linda - You are making me blush!

Brian - I have been blessed my friend

Tom - Always think outside the box

Linda - Your are welcome for the reminders

Gita - It's a great book...have a wonderful day

It is so easy to give something extra to our clients and it certainly does pay off. 

Neal - I have no doubt you always go the extra mile

Laura - Thank you

Bill - My clients were shocked with the garage door opener gift

Cynthia - Thanks for the 5!

Charles - Yes, a thoughtful gift does go a long way

Susie - If I become a coach all my info is FREE to you! 

William - Thank you very much

Sally & David - You are all awesome to me!

Robert - Connection and communication is everthing

Jacob - Thanks my friend!

Steve - Glad you like them

Bill - Many thanks

Ann - Never expect...always give my friend!

Anthea - Thanks for being my raving fan!

Jeff - Thanks and have a great day

Jennifer - Your hairdresser is awesome and I am sure you are too!

George - this is definitely a recipe for success.  It is good to be reminded periodically.

Maureen - Thank you my friend...I hope all is well for you

 Hi George, a very practical but effective list you've put together. Isn't it true how sometimes the simplest things work best. Being a problem solver is a sure fire way to build a strong bond with anyone!

Thank you Marti - Yes, the simplest things work best

George, you inspired me today. I had just received a call from a former client while I was reading your post. He hadn't received his deed form his Mar.30th closing. Numerous calls to the attorney were not returned. Mine wasn't either. After I read "be a problem solver" in your post, I decided to call the deed room of the court house. This took about 3 calls to get the right person. Long story short... I got the problem solved and a new copy is on the way to him. Thanks George for reminding me to take the time to listen to my clients and go the extra mile today. You can be my coach too!  

George, great advice, however I do have one suggestion to the "Be a Problem Solver" suggestion.  I think it's a good idea to give people the resources to solve their own problems, particularly if miscommunication can happen.

An example that I ran into recently was with a property that had a drain easement in the back yard.  I spoke with the listing agent and she told me that it wouldn't be a big deal if my clients wanted to re-landscape, they would just need to get permission from the town.  Additionally, if they wanted to build a larger deck, they would need to get a hardship variance.  My clients did have interest in the property, but I wanted to make sure they heard it directly from the mouth of town hall.  I suggested that they call the zoning and building departments and provided them the contact phone numbers.  That way they could have a direct conversation with the people in charge at town hall and get all of their questions answered.  Turns out the town said that they would not be able to re-landscape, the yard had to remain as it was and that the hardship variance for the deck would never be approved, as the neighbors had just been rejected for a similar request.  These types of matters that could eventually lead to legal fiascos should always be carried out by the client.  I don't ever want them coming back to me saying that I lead them down the wrong path.

They passed on this property after their conversation with town officials and were thankful that I had suggested that they call.

Lizette - You are awesome and you did an awesome job!

Amy - Thank you and keep doing a great job

I agree with Amy. The buyer is responsible for and needs to do their own due diligence. However, I will often phone first to get the information, and then sit down with the client and make the call again from my office on speaker phone. This ensures that we are all on the same page.

Thank you Jeff...I can assure you that by me taking control of issues for buyers and sellers it has rewarded me ten fold!

Good informaton!

Thank you David...have a great day.

This is a great post. In the end, we are selling our service, and those of us that remember that will continue to be successful in ANY market!

Thanks Sean - Very true...have a good one

Great comments as usual George. most of the time it's the little things that make the biggest impact on the client. 

George, these are great tips. We often forget about that sometimes the smallest things we do result in the biggest payoffs. Thanks for the post.

Keith - Very true and thank you for taking the time to comment

Wayne - You are very welcome...I hope all is well

Hello

Your thoughtfulness came through through your stories and your blog! No wonder your clients love you!

Cheers,

Cindy 

George, you've got raving fans here at AR too.

Thanks for the post, it is good to reinforce and add to things I am already doing.

Cindy Lin - Thank you so very much

Sue - Thank you....so many have just been so wonderful to me.  I hope you are well.

Michael - You are very welcome

I am all about the raving fans.... they are my bread and butter and i don't and wont forget that.   Thanks for the list of reminder so more agents will raise the bar of expectations.

A few years ago, I did a "By Referral Only" 3-day workshop.  We spent two of the days with top agents in the program shared what they did to knock the socks off clients.  Your garage door opener story sounds like the kind of thing they were talking about.  Lots of raving fans mean you never have to pay money to see your face on a grocery cart.

Desiree - You are welcome my friend

Patricia - Thank you so much...keep up the great work!

All great ideas. And yes Nordstrom leads the way with great service.

Great post. I loved those tips. So simple and so effective!

I know you didn't SAY that you actually bought the garage door opener but, if you did, wouldn't that violate some realtor "gifting" laws?  I'm not a realtor, I'm a mortgage person and I'm just asking because it seems to be a gray area in "our world" as well.  My understanding for us is that there is a $50 limit and anything else is considered an illegal "kickback" which violates our RESPA laws.

I know there are some very knowledgeable people on here, hence the reason I am asking.  Now, we all know it is done everyday as a part of business, I'm just wondering what the rule is for the realtors-if it's different  than it is for us?

By the way, Great post!

Would you ever send a "thank you" to the sellers of your buying transaction? Whether a simple thank you note? Or, helpful 'moving out' resources? Anything?

I suppose it would likely be construed by the seller's agent as trying to take away their client. Might hurt realtor to realtor relations between you.

But, what if it turned out the sellers didn't like their agent? And, they searched for a different buyer's agent. And, your 'thank you' note, or resource, or whatever, reminded them of your stellar service during the sale of their home to your buyer client?

Or, I wonder if it could be done carefully to suggest that they AND their Realtor work with you in the future?

What are your thoughts on this?

Bob & Carolin - Thank you very much

Christy - Thanks and have a great day

Michael - I did purchase the garage door opener and paid for installation.  My clients are on cloud 9!

A Wandering Observer - Don't quite follow you.  I try to thank everyone to a transaction

A wandering observer, I add the sellers to my mailing list as I do with buyers that buy a house I have listed. Most agents "forget" about the client after the deal so I might as well stay intouch. If your deal went smooth or if you helped save the deal they are happy to do business with you in the future if you stay in touch 

Tim,

I definitely lack two of these items: Make a note of that and Surprise! Surprise!

You are so right in regards to having your clients have an everlasting remembrance of you. Thanks.

George,

Sorry....

I started the above comment out with TIM and meant GEORGE. Mental lapse...I just got off the phone with my friend Tim.

Hi George,

 Great Post George,.. it so true I hope everyone in Active Rain Reads this Post, it's really all about building life long relationships and Friends. Most of my Clients are friends and I like it that way, they know me, my wife and of course my Dog and best Friend "Winston" I take him with me during the week and many clients ask me where's Winston if I come without him, several have a dog brisket or dog bone ready for him.

 Like zig Ziglar says ..if you help enough people get what they want you'll get what you want,

Thanks George

Keith - Keep up the good work

Chuck - You are very welcome

Fred - I appreciate the compliment and it's up to everyone to read it my friend

George,

These are absolutely fantastic tips.  I try myself to go above and beoynd my clients expectations but you have given me information on how to do it better.  There are many agents who do the minimum and I am sure you will stand out from the crowd.

Thank you Patrick, I'm glad you enjoyed the tips and have a great day.

George, I like that you pointed out Nordstroms. Their store down here in New Orleans set such a great impression on the general manager of my company that he actually tells stories about their customer service to each new class of agents.

He also told us about the concept of Compelling Experiences, or "Wow" Experiences. It's very related to Nordstrom-type of service. The Doblin Group from Chicago did some research on how people have such a great experience that they feel compelled to tell others about it. Ever heard of this??

Hi Joshua...thank you for the comment.  Being from the West I have not heard about the Doblin Group.  Thanks for sharing and I hope you are having a great weekend.

Good post George,

My goal in my business is to make good habits like these second nature. It's a work in progress.

Chris - Thank you very much and have a great day

Great tips George for taking customer service to the next level.  I love the idea of helping with the school transfers.

Great post George.  Thank you for sharing these awesome tips with us.

Ginger - Thanks for the comment and have a great day

Monika - You are very welcome.  Have a great day!

Great post....keep them coming.

Charles

Charles - Thank you very much

Thanks for the inspiring ideas.

Rolando - You are very welcome