NO. 4 Building Trust Building trust is a critical factor in fostering quality relationships. Follow through after that first con - nection lets people know that you do what you say. People prefer to do business with those they can trust to act in their best interests. If you have set up a meeting or a next call, it is critical to show up on time and be prepared. If that trust breaks down in the early stages, it can be difficult to salvage the relationship. The treasured tradition of a thank- you note goes a long way to further trust and confidence, whether it is a hand-written note, simple thank you email outlining next steps, or a creative video clip. This is the stage where you will “win” the business. NO. 5 Regular Communication When North County Property Group was a new and fledgling company, one of our property owners called me and started the conversation with “we have not heard from you in a while.” I knew right away it would be a difficult conversation! An ongoing and open line of communication is critical to relationship management because it fuels customer retention. Particularly during times of crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic or Cali- fornia wildfires, your customers want to hear from you! Most of us have technology at our fingertips to email and text owners and tenants directly from our property management soft- ware. We email monthly “updates” to owners and tenants, covering what is going on in the company, introduc- ing new staff members, explaining market shifts, etc. This is a great way to keep communication open and typ- ically results in an open rate between 50-75 percent. This is also a good way to demonstrate your knowledge of Property Management without being pretentious and to let them know you have got their back.
not respond it will be impossible to form a relationship. Nothing makes a prospective customer happier and more satisfied than a fast response. According to SuperOffice (October 15, 2020) 88 percent of customers expect a response from your business within 60 minutes. Further telling is that 30-50 percent of new business goes to the company that responds first. Email autoresponders and drip cam - paigns may help keep the lead warm in the meantime, but there is no replacement for the personal voice connection. On the other hand, being hard to contact creates doubt and will bring the reliability of a relationship with your company into question. Responsiveness is key, but speed alone is not good enough. You need to be quick while providing a QUAL - ITY response. The person or team responding to leads should be con- sidered the “Director of First Impres- sions.” Being purposeful, succinct, and equipped with solid baseline knowledge will allow your response team to move things to the next stage in the customer relationship.
NO. 2 CRMSoftware If you do not yet have a software for Customer Relationship Man- agement (CRM), you are already behind in your best practices. In the early days of starting North County Property Group, I kept track of all our contacts informally, mostly in a virtual rolodex I had in my head. Then one day, the owner of one of our listings asked me how many people had inquired about their rent- al property. I am embarrassed to say that I did not know the answer. That day, I subscribed to cloud-based CRM software for tracking all client and tenant leads and the specifics of their inquiry. What an immediate impact that made on our business. It is now hard to imagine a world without it. Everything related to rela - tionship management can be found in one place – names, addresses, numbers, data, notes, and metrics. NO. 3 Responsiveness Maybe you have made it easy for people to find your business and you have captured the lead, but if you do
thinkrealty . com | 29
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter