A real estate agent client of mine (let’s call him Paul) came to me recently with an interesting and not uncommon dilemma.
He has a great salesperson in his business who looks after the majority of his clients. However, Paul feels as though he is losing personal contact with the clients due to his stellar salesman. He is worried that if the salesman leaves, he could very easily take some of the clients with him. So how does Paul reconnect with clients without overstepping what his salesperson is doing?
My answer to Paul went along the following lines:
It would seem that the current client loyalty is with the salesperson rather than the business. Therefore, the task is twofold: build customer loyalty to the business (rather than you personally – because that will inhibit your growth) and get everything that happens in the sales area onto paper in the form of a system. It’s not so much that you need to reconnect with the clients, more that you need to connect the clients with the business so that they associate the service they are receiving with the business name, not just the salesperson.
There are several ways in which you can reconnect and also value-add service:
- When you have great systems, you have a great business.
- Set up a regular form of communication with clients, such as an electronic newsletter.
- Institute a biannual or annual review of their portfolios at which you can be involved together with the salesperson.
- Develop a status report on the property market, both locally and interstate, for the previous and coming six months and discuss their ramifications for market trends.
- Offer seminars on the property market and/or similar topics.
- Make a point of making personal contact from time to time.
In this way, you are letting them know who you are and affirming your credibility and that of your company, and giving them more reasons to stay with the business, not just the salesperson.
These actions can all be very easily systemised.
You may have a great sales person, but what happens when they leave?
When you have great systems, you have a great business.