Today was NOT a good day for others trying to earn my business.
I've got a basic premise: If I can't trust you, I can't do business with you.
Example 1: We have a water line leak at our home that needs a specialized repair because of its less than ideal location to access. We located a plumbing company that per their website offered that specific skill set. Long story short, the plumber that showed up didn't know a thing about that type of repair and instead wanted to reroute the entire supply line to the house and through the basement. And when I mentioned the advertised repair method, he didn't know anything about it. And when he called his boss, got a "we don't offer that service any longer". When asked why it was so prominent on their website, I essentially got a verbal shrug of the shoulders. Any chance they had of earning my business was over.
Fortunately we have other choices for that specialty repair, so we're working on getting the repair taken care of.
Example 2: Later in the day a text asking if I was an agent in Mason.
"Yes, that's our primary service area".
You can guess what came next. Another "we've got a special system for getting you 15-20 appointments a month, can we set up an appointment to discuss?".
Again, a company led with something that wasn't true. They had to KNOW I was a Mason agent before they contacted me. If they had my number, they had my profile, they had my location. Again, any trust that could have been created was broken before we even got started.
Like it or not, as real estate agents we're in a business that is not trusted on the whole, so it's critical to establish trust early with potential clients.
How do we do that?
I think a lot of it comes down to first contact, be it in real life, or virtual.
For us, we're not working in an ideal situation with lots of sphere/referral business. With our patio home niche, most of our clients are going to be "one and done". They're buying what is most likely their last house, and if they have kids locally, well those kids already have their preferred agent.
So what we have is a situation similar to what we sought with the plumber: an offer of specialized knowledge. We present our expertise in patio homes via our blog and IDX search pages on our Wordpress site. Potential clients find us, recognize we possess the specialty knowledge they seek and they (sometimes) contact us. At first contact the trust is either cemented or smashed. If we exhibit the knowledge we published, we're good to go. If we can't walk the talk of our posts, it's game over.
No gimmicks needed, it's pure fundamentals.
Give the consumer what they seek and back it up with performance when they contact you.
Can you establish that trust, or is your competition?
Until next Tuesday, just Ask An Ambassador if you need help,
Bill & Liz aka BLiz
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