Clients First summary

Honesty is the best policy, but it’s not the only approach you should implement when dealing with customers. The second essential aspect of putting customers first is competence. Competence simply means showing the customer that you’re an expert at what you do.

But competence isn’t about working until you’re the best and stopping. In order to demonstrate competence, you have to embrace a process of continuous learning and development. To become a great real estate agent, you have to be ready to learn non-stop.

What do salespeople think about when trying to close a deal? Their commission, surely! Well, not if they’re good salespeople. Putting the client first means, above all else, caring for the client – and not just the commission!

Caring for clients doesn’t refer to maternal feelings or offering a shoulder to cry on. Though we usually define caring in terms of sympathy or empathy, caring in this case is more about understanding where the client’s interests lie.

The economy operates in cycles – there are good times and bad times. But this doesn’t make the bad times any easier for companies. Slumps in the market can threaten to put many once-thriving enterprises out of business. But there is one way to give your company the safety net it needs: building a strong customer base.

During the 2007-8 financial crisis, the real estate market in the United States collapsed. Buyers became reluctant to take out mortgages to buy homes, while sellers flooded the market and banks tried desperately to get repossessed homes off their books. In other words, the price of houses had plummeted, but nobody was buying. Real estate businesses across the United States were struggling to stay afloat.

Knowing how to put your clients first is one thing – enjoying putting them first is another! In order to truly build successful customer relationships, you need the right attitude. After all, there are few things more important than finding joy in your job.

The truth is that with the right mindset, any job you do can make you feel fulfilled and, yes, happy! Rather than trying to do what you love, why not start trying to just love what you do, whatever it may be. This is itself a very useful skill, particularly when we end up doing certain jobs as a last resort.