When you're looking for the right Real Estate Agent to market your home for sale or to help you through a confusing maze of important homebuying decisions, do you want to pull into a Motel 6 or would you prefer to arrive in style at the Ritz-Carlton?
As a winner of the coveted Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, countless Mobil 5-Star and AAA 5-Diamond awards and long recognized as the gold standard in the hotel industry, the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain (now part of Marriott Hotels) has a motto that should resonate with everyone working in the real estate industry and with our customers:
"WE ARE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN SERVING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN."
Wow! What a simple-yet-great concept. Treat each other with courtesy, dignity and respect and you will receive courtesy, dignity and respect in return. Anticipate each other's needs and fulfill those needs to the best of your ability.
Here are a few ideas on how to make this Ritz-Carlton concept work in the client/Realtor relationship:
Realtors -- Counsel your clients to make sure they understand the process of buying or selling a house and what your role will be in helping them. Listen to what your buyer clients want in a new home and do everything you can to find good matches. Give your buyers a clear sense of the pros and cons of the houses they're considering. Tell the truth about home prices in the current market even when sellers don't want to hear it. When you promise to follow up with additional information, do so as quickly as possible.
Clients -- Treat your Realtor the same way you treat your doctor, your dentist, your accountant, your lawyer and other professionals with whom you want a good working relationship. Get to know each other and develop a relationship of trust. Keep your appointments. Don't hop from one professional to the next and then expect them to drop everything to serve you. Don't disregard your Realtor's professional advice and wonder why your home won't sell or your target house gets bought out from under you. Tell your Realtor the truth about your financial situation so they can give your their best possible professional advice.
It's essentially the Golden Rule, isn't it? Treat others as you would like to be treated and watch the great professional relationships bloom. The result will be happy clients, happy real estate professionals and wonderful buying and selling experiences on both sides.
The Ritz-Carlton refers to it as "mystique" -- that undeniable feeling they've created that makes you return as a customer to their properties again and again. Maybe these rules can help you create your own real estate mystique that keeps clients coming back and referring their friends and family members to your gold standard real estate business.
About the Author: Kristina Pratt is a REALTOR® with Goshen Realty Group at RE/MAX Preferred Partners in Edwardsville, Illinois. She and Nancy Milton help their customers buy and sell homes and investment properties in St. Louis' Illinois suburbs of Madison and St. Clair counties with special emphasis on the communities of Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville, Collinsville and Troy. For more information, visit their web site at http://www.GoshenRealtyGroup.com or e-mail Kristina@GoshenRealtyGroup.com
