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Due to human nature, people tend to trust reviews more than their own common sense. Our society has become paralyzed by an insane desire to read reviews before purchasing.
Let’s consider this logic for a moment. You read other people’s comments with pleasure. That means people you don’t know, people you don’t have a meaningful connection with, and people who likely have different perspectives and preferences than you. Still, you consider what they say. Ignore common sense and act on the gospel.
Everyone seems to be ridiculously review-seeking these days due to their innate desire to read reviews. A good example is when I recently went to a hardware store to buy some drill bits.
As soon as I left the store, I received a review request on my phone. I understand that stores ask for reviews to improve customer service, monitor employee efficiency, and provide incentives to shop at other stores, but in my opinion, a $5.00 drill bit It’s a little out of the ordinary to ask for reviews about the shopping experience you had when you purchased . top. My thoughts:
They should be at the hardware store and carry drill bits. I went over and sure enough, there was a drill bit. When I came in, the person who was lounging behind the register called out to me and said, “Welcome. Can I help you find something?” I said, “No, thank you,” because I frequent that store and knew exactly where the drill bits were. She relaxed again, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed. I went to the drill bit exhibit, and of course they had all the types and sizes you’d expect to find in a hardware store. By the way, they had what I was looking for, exactly as expected. I took the bits to the register. I gave them my phone number to access my account and it showed up as expected. There were no discounts applied, so I was told the total, swiped my card at the credit card machine, and of course they took the money. The clerk naturally said, “Have a nice day,” and began to relax at the counter. When I got home, I put one of the bits in the drill and to my surprise, to my surprise, it drilled a hole. As planned.
What part of my visit deserves a review? My comment would be that everything was as it should be. Yet they want me to give them 5 stars simply for doing their job.
Ironically, I also keep receiving emails from big box stores telling me that an item I purchased was returned because it didn’t fit, but emails keep popping up in my inbox asking for reviews.
Let me complain a little. We live in a ridiculous society where everything is rated in terms of reviews and everyone expects 5 stars every time. It’s stupid, but unfortunately this is the world we’re in now.
As a professional real estate agent, you cannot expect a great reputation unless you can demonstrate exceptional value and customer service to your clients. If everything is normal and as it should be, you shouldn’t expect 5 stars. 3 stars is normal. 4 stars is extra effort.
5 Star is that we show up in the midst of hardship and move mountains to take care of things so our clients can sleep peacefully at night. He handles every errant pitch that comes at us and knocks them out of bounds. We earn 5 stars when our clients look back after the closing and say, “That was amazing!”
Consider for a moment how difficult it is for a restaurant to earn three Michelin stars, much less a Michelin star. It takes a lot of effort every day. Week after week, year after year, steady incremental improvements are needed until one day the inspector shows up and the hard work finally pays off.
Ironically, if something happens on the day of the inspection, all bets for the year may be off. And not only is it difficult to earn a Michelin star, it’s just as difficult to maintain it.
So why expect anything less?Here are my three steps to getting great reviews.
1. Be amazing!
So you would think this would be obvious. Let’s think again. While there are some really great real estate agents who are setting the bar extremely high, keep in mind that a significant portion of the industry (almost 50%) will have made one transaction or less in 2023.
Let’s think about that for a moment. As an industry, we can’t assume that someone who does one transaction a year can create a great customer experience that earns them 5-star reviews. More importantly, we need to consider the overall impact that this level of capability (or lack thereof) actually has on the industry.
It takes a lot of practice to become truly great. Requires training. experience. Enough at-bats to know how to handle a knuckleball.
We also need to work towards continually improving the level of service we provide so that it is truly superior compared to other agents on the market. This also means you need to know what kind of services your competitors are offering.
2. Always communicate
Historically, many agents have taken the approach of handling things without the client’s knowledge. They simply did whatever was necessary to address the situation that arose to ensure that escrow closed on time.
I was reminded of this just last week while having dinner with a past client with whom I had 5 deals and numerous referrals. As I was discussing their last deal with our team, I casually mentioned that an issue arose that we quickly addressed.
My husband looked at me and said, surprised. “I didn’t know you’d do that.” Our exceptional service keeps our customers repeat business, but it’s hard to believe how much we actually do behind the scenes. It didn’t help much in understanding what was going on.
As we move into this new era of expected fee compression, we as a team are committed to not only continuing to address issues as they arise, but also to demonstrating how we go the extra mile for our clients. We have also worked to ensure that our clients understand exactly what we are doing.
Additionally, we maintain communication throughout every step of the process. Clients don’t have to contact you to ask how things are going.
3. Set the stage
The quest for reviews begins the first time you make contact with a potential customer. Not only does your first contact need to be memorable, but if you’re truly providing great service, you want to receive a review that tells others your value. need to be told.
We incorporate benchmarking into our client experience and continually check in with our clients to ensure things are on track and, hopefully, exceeding expectations. Your problem will be resolved immediately.
The assumption here is also that whenever a client contacts you for any reason, you respond immediately, whether it’s by answering the phone, replying to a text or email, or confirming the communication. You may not be able to solve their problem right away, but they should know that you are working on it.
4. Request a review
There is a verse in the Bible that says, “If you don’t ask, you don’t get.” The number of clients who research on their own how to leave a review and actually post one is very small. Instead, you should not only be able to request reviews, but you should be able to do so very easily, no matter what device you’re using.
In an unusual Inman post dated March 31, 2023, titled “How to make your clients love writing reviews (and you’ll win),” Darryl Davis says:
“The key to getting customers to leave positive reviews is to make it as easy and accessible as possible. If you’re asking them to take time out of their day, make sure the process is quick, straightforward, and simple. Please make sure.
“Make sure all review platforms are mobile-friendly. Today’s tech-savvy consumers don’t want the hassle of logging into their laptop or desktop computer just to leave a review. This means providing a direct link from your website or email campaign so that your customers can quickly and easily access your review platform from any device, leaving your clients with too many fields or questions. Please keep it short and sweet as you may abandon your review.
In our case, we will send you an email which makes posting a review very easy. The email includes a link to a simple web page that takes you directly to the Google review. Leave a review with just one click. To explain,
“It was a pleasure working with you! Thank you so much for trusting us with your real estate transaction.As we all know, online reviews are making a huge difference to every business these days. What can we do for you? We’re trying to accumulate reviews on Google, Zillow, and Facebook. Would you consider going there and writing something short and sweet? We’d really appreciate it. ”
After providing links to all the sites you want them to visit, conclude with:
“You have the power to make a difference. These reviews really help our business. We deeply appreciate a few minutes of your time and hope you can make a great long-term impact on our business.” And we have fun ways to say “thank you.” Please let us know if you have given us a review. I’ll send you something nice. ”
5. Follow-up
In an ideal world, you’d get great reviews as soon as you asked. Unfortunately, not everyone is excited to write a review. Not everyone reacts immediately. In fact, it might mean following up with them several times.
Please be patient and keep trying. You can also get the pump going by asking questions about specific aspects of the deal, such as “How’s your new home?” “Where in the transaction process did you most appreciate our assistance?” and so on.
Once a review is posted online, respond immediately both online and by email. Plus, because we promise you something fun when you write a review, we’ll send you something from See’s Candy along with a cute thank you card.
After all, if you want positive reviews, you have to earn them. What’s the easy solution? We deliver world-changing 5-star experiences by providing customer service that far exceeds our customers’ expectations.
