Growth, profitability, and success start with repeat business. Customer retention is the key to last in real estate, most realtors are not achieving it though.
Acquiring a new business is ten times harder than keeping your past clients. Clients’ trust is the most valuable asset to realtors. While a remarkable percentage of home sellers or buyers use the realtor that they had hired in the previous transaction, many end up hiring other realtors for their next sale or purchase. Here are some mistakes that stop you from having a profitable relationship with your past and current clients.
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Reasons Your Past Clients Hire Other Realtors
You Don’t Follow up
The primary reason your past clients go to other realtors is that they simply forget you exist. No surprise they immediately replace you with other realtors if they never receive any emails from you or see your real estate postcards in their mailers on a regular basis. People will easily forget you when they heard nothing from you for a long time.
Even those who still remember you may deduce that you are no longer in the real estate industry if they see your last blog post has been published months ago. Regular communication is a fundamental component of a successful repeat business model. That is why you need to come up with a good customer retention strategy to stay in touch with your clients and constantly remind them of your presence in the market.
You Turn down Their Requests
Miscommunication is one of the biggest obstacles to repeat business. Sometimes clients get frustrated simply because their requests are an unnecessary task from your perspective. It would be no harm if you could find a way to make them happier. If you keep declining their simple requests, it is very likely that they choose other realtors for the next transaction. Beware that different clients have different ways of reaching out. While some clients expect you to keep them informed of every detail, others completely leave it to you to get on with it.
Real estate clients will surely remember you show consideration. However, to be a good realtor doesn’t mean that you have to say yes to whatever they want to please them. It’s all about learning how to tactfully say “no”. If they ask you something that seems a tall order, remain composed and explain why you are unable to fulfill their request.
You Overpromise
How do you ask people to believe in you while you don’t believe in yourself? For realtors, self-confidence is a must-have quality. Being confident in yourself gives you a charming and reliable personality. It is good to show plenty of self-confidence but making bold claims can set unrealistic expectations for clients. Never make a promise unless you intend and can keep it no matter what. Your clients take whatever you tell them for granted. So make it clear that, for various reasons, it may take more time than expected to sell a property or find an ideal home.
You Act Dishonestly
People are never dishonest to their family members, friends, or anyone they care about. The same must be applied to work relationships. Most people intend to trust the first impression when meeting their realtors for the first time. Never try to mislead a buyer about a property to entice them into buying it, or persuade them to accept an unfair price. Treat your clients as you expect them to treat you. If you are caught in a lie, you can’t avoid the consequences. Not only will you lose the chance of earning repeat business but things will get more complicated if people start telling others how untrustworthy you are.
You Are Unfamiliar with the Desired Neighborhoods
For realtors focusing on a specific real estate farm, perfect familiarity with the neighbourhood is a must. Both buyers and sellers expect their realtors to be quite familiar with the part of the town they desire to live in or want to sell a house. To stop your past clients from hiring realtors other than you, study up on the area you have already focused on or would like to farm. If you don’t know much about the neighbourhood in which your client wants to buy or sell a house, you’d better be honest with them.
In such cases, it would be a good idea to refer your clients to other realtors in your network who may better fit your clients’ needs. Beware that the less satisfactory your service, the more the competition with you. If you want your clients to trust you and keep doing business with you, get beyond the average services many realtors offer, nurture your past relationships, and improve your selling skills.
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