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This is the
age of customer service, and the focus of most advertising is on
promising to deliver the best service. Certainly that is a key
consideration when the public considers which real estate person and
company will
represent them. Throughout
the years, the industry line was: pick a good solid producer - they
have the time to give personal attention. However, as Robert has
collected information from his Real Estate sales experience since 1986,
our views have certainly changed! We now believe that the Best
Performers give the Best Service! Now we hate to generalize,
and we know there are exceptions, but we think there is sufficient proof
to make this claim!
But
first, let us qualify what we mean by a top performer. Once you reach a
certain level, it does not matter whether a sales representative does an
extra two or three deals a year. For example, if you appear in
Canada's Best Real Estate Performers,
it does not matter whether you are 51st or 151st! It does however
matter whether you average a
transaction* every business day as does Future
Homes or one transaction* every sixty (60)
days (the
average according to 2005/06 WECREB
statistics).
But before
we begin the debate, what do we mean by good service?
At the first level, it means being available to answer questions and to
provide feedback on progress made to sell a property or to find a new one.
But in the end, what we are really talking about is completing the deal on
time with the least amount of hassles.
The classic
argument advanced by average producers is that top performers are just too
busy to respond to individual clients or customers. However, the
real truth is top performers invest more heavily in cellular
phones, computers, websites, e-mail use,
pagers and especially in
personal assistants. It is really the latter that has allowed top
performers to provide superb service and
separate themselves above and beyond an average producer.
Assistants tend to be office-bound and are easier to reach. They usually
can supply most answers and can do a lot of the follow-up. (We aren't
even going to get into the arguments about top performers working longer
hours and working more efficiently with superior
time management skills.)
Top
performers earn more and that too is important. In the past, the Brokerage
(company) paid for most expenses. Today it is the reverse! Most Brokers
are reducing their administration
staff and hence sales representatives must hire on
their own personal assistants. Most sales representatives
buy their own computers for desk top publishing, client correspondence and
so on. They also pay for most if not all of their advertising. So who is
in the best position to take on all
these expenses? Of course it is clearly
the top performers. By spending in these areas, top
performers are more productive, generate more leads and communicate more
frequently with their clients, and isn't
that exactly what you want?
Another valid
point is top performers are in the market much
more frequently. By default they have considerably
more market information at
their disposal and is much
more current than the average producer. And,
we all know that reputable market information and experience is two
of the most important factors and
services a sales representative
can offer any
customer or client.
By Robert
Tatomir, Broker of Record
ABR,
MVA,
RECS,
SRES
CREA Canadian
Commercial Council
Future Homes & Real Estate Ltd. Brokerage
* "TRANSACTION"
includes any agency to represent, purchase, list, sell,
exchange, option, lease, mortgage, rent or otherwise.
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