(pictured above, Madison Square of Norman)
How important are relationships when dealing with real estate or just everyday life?
Do we take for granted the relationships we have already established in our business or do we still treat our clients as if it were the first time we gained their business?
When I started out in real estate my first thought was to cold call like crazy and meet as many people as I could in order build as many valuable relationships as possible. When I was in corporate sales, my own sales team had a goal of 20 cold calls A DAY. It did not matter what the weather was, you cold called whether it was on the phone or face to face. Whatever it took to get my foot in the door I was determined to set myself apart. I remember how awesome it felt landing a client I worked so hard to obtain. I also remember how I pursued those relationships to gain those clients. I took them candy baskets, cookie cakes, gift cards, etc.
I brought that same mindset into real estate and have been shocked by some of the feedback from certain prospects. One cold call I did was for a project in downtown Oklahoma City. I did some research on who was over the project, bought some goodies, and paid the prospective client a visit the next day.
He was on the phone when I arrived, but stopped what he was doing and met with me. His kindness was surprising, especially since I just showed up at his work. I thought “Wow this cold call thing works, even in real estate!” We had a great meeting and he said something else that really stuck with me.
He said, “Rosha, I can not tell you how many calls I get a day or weekly emails I get from brokers asking to meet with them or to gain my business for this project. I met with you because you were the first broker that has actually taken the time to visit my office and show me that you would like to gain my business, and that means a lot to me.” I had just assumed that is what you do. But I was surprised to find out, that was not always the case. It is easy to get comfortable with our clients which is great, however, they still expect the same attention and require the same amount of priority as before. If we don’t treat our clients like they’re the only clients we have, then someone else will.
Value your relationships, build on them and see what results you get for a prosperous year in 2017!
