Building Relationships & Databases Copy
As we all know, every business relies on its customers and clients to provide revenue and ultimately, pay our wages and salaries. It does not matter whether you are selling to businesses – you still need them to buy your product or service. Even manufacturing businesses rely on sales – they need someone to buy their product, or they will go out of business.
Many businesses that sell their services direct to consumers sell small value items to a large number of clients – think about the retail industry for example.
In real estate, we sell our high value services to a small number of clients.
Each client in real estate sales (vendor) is worth several thousand dollars to us in revenue and personal income.
Every property management client (landlord) has entrusted us to manage one of their most valuable assets for them for a percentage of their income (sometimes as much as 10% of revenue).
We often hear our clients talk about ‘their solicitor’ or ‘their accountant’. Rarely do you ever hear anyone talk about ‘their real estate agent’. The reason for this is two fold:
- Real estate agents are often here one day, gone the next. The fall out rate is considerable (up to 70% of all new agents leave the industry in their first year in some areas). This leaves many potential clients feeling frustrated with the apparent lack of consistency in the business.
- Many of those that are in their first year in real estate have not developed the skills, knowledge and abilities to be seen as true professionals in the industry. As a result, corners may be cut, and some clients are exposed to unnecessary risk or potential loss. The media is full of such stories, which devalues the role of the real estate agent in potential client’s minds.
On the other hand, the most successful agents are those that have several years experience under their belts. They have an expert knowledge of their local area, are involved in the local community and consistently demonstrate a sound working knowledge of the legislative requirements that surround the business.
More than that, they also demonstrate a commitment to building relationships with the potential clients and customers in their area and put themselves in the position of being the first choice of agent for many of those on their client base.
As a result, they are more likely to obtain repeat and referral business, and their longevity in the industry is likely to be more assured.