What did I do wrong?Have you ever wondered why you have not heard from some clients in awhile?
According to several studies, the number one reason clients go away is an "attitude of neglect or indifference."
Said differently, long term client loyalty is eroded by small acts which in one way or another communicate a spirit of disregard.
Most of us are always on "duty"! We answer our cells and emails dutifully with a smile. But, have you ever had a really bad day? Did you notice that you were not yourself on some calls? They did!
As a Real Estate professional creating value and offering a competitive advantage are important ingredients in the "keeping clients for life" game, but a vast majority (over 60%) of people state someone's attitude as the reason for changing agents and companies. That's all it takes, folks!
And I can assure you, it wasn't because folks had a positive, can-do attitude! They had a bad day and conveyed it without knowing it. But, if you are like me, you wake up in the middle of the night and you say, Oh My! What did I say to them? You know that harm was done. Now, what do we do about it?
Well, I learned the hard way, by not doing the right thing. YOU CALL THEM RIGHT AWAY! You put it behind you! It worked for me and one of my clients (now friend) forgave me although she was really ticked off. It took a lot for a macho guy like me to eat dirt, but it was well worth it! And not for keeping a client, which I did, but for me!! I felt great! I resolved never to do that again. My solution? If I feel that bad, I take a voice mail and call them back when I am myself!
We cannot take anyone for granted. After having them listed for a few months, it might be easy to do that. But our clients deserve the very best from us. They are the one's worried to death about their home. We are the ones supposed to remain objective. But, we are human too! Just be human on your own time.
Any other ideas for bad times and what we should do as professionals?
David
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