CUSTOMER SERVICE

  • Darren Krakowiak: Are you providing excellent customer service or becoming a doormat?

    Striking the right balance between exceptional customer service and preserving self-respect is essential in our industry.

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  • Revolutionising property management: Lessons in superior service from Jaquie Scammell

    In the enthralling world of customer service, Jaquie Scammell's Creating a Customer Service Mindset stands as a beacon of wisdom, providing invaluable insights that can revolutionise the way businesses interact with their customers.

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  • Beige flags: Are they harmless quirks or warning signs?

    In real estate, where trust and relationships are paramount, a new trend has emerged on the horizon - beige flags.

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  • Ellen Bathgate: How proactive feedback could save your client relationships

    Do you have unhappy landlords sitting silently in your portfolio, waiting for you to make one little mistake before they take their management somewhere else?

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  • Why property managers are losing thousands in management fees

    Technology has helped transform the property management industry, making us far more efficient than ever before, but it’s also become somewhat of a double-edged sword and inadvertently resulted in many agencies sitting on a goldmine of unclaimed fees each year.

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  • James Dunn buyer management

    James Dunn: Why buyers are just as important as sellers for real estate agents

    R&W director James Dunn reveals how Bob Marley helped him make his first sale and why buyers management is just as important as listings

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  • cheapest agents aren't always the best value Josh Phegan

    There’s only ever one cheapest agent: Josh Phegan

    If you’re not aiming to be the cheapest agent, you must compete on value. And the only thing that can create value is customer experience. The low cost of your locale’s cheapest agent might appeal to some potential customers, but being affordable doesn’t always equate to the best value. If you’re an agent who prides themselves on providing value for…

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  • How Victoria’s #1 agent sold through Stage 4 lockdown

    Michelle Stephens from OBrien Real Estate Carrum Downs has won Residential Sales Person of the Year at the REIVs two years running, taking out the latest award during a year of financial and mental upheaval, and forced lockdowns. Michelle talks to Elite Agent about how she managed to do an award-winning job in spite of all the turmoil.

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  • 5 simple steps to master the essence of great service

    Once upon a time, service was easy. There was less pressure and fewer expectations to meet in order to provide what we’d call ‘quality service’. Being responsive was simple and satisfying. In the 21st century, however, we’ve become so focused on systems and speed that we’ve forgotten service still is, and always will be, about building long-lasting relationships. So the…

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  • The key to success

    As a real estate agent, interpersonal relationships and sociability are at the forefront of your role. The ability to negotiate and dissipate tension and stress between buyers, sellers and other agents are essential. A supportive environment is an indispensable office asset when ensuring a successful and healthy agency. Being a real estate professional requires high energy levels and an optimistic…

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  • Five ways to build trust

    Last time, we covered defining and delivering your value proposition. Once you have your value proposition down pat, you can start to leverage it, and with that comes the need for your current and prospective clients to believe in what you are telling them. The good news is, building trust is relatively easy because so much of it is underpinned…

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  • Service, please!

    Every client wants excellent service, but no two are the same. In order to deliver excellent service, you need to know what your client values and the outcomes they desire. You see, when you know what a client values and what they expect to happen, that’s when you have the potential to truly serve and deliver an exceptional experience. You…

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  • Five ways to boost the client experience

    Building trust is an essential part of doing business – until our clients trust us, we have very little leverage or leeway in the relationship. We are more of an order-taker and less likely able to add value. Once there is trust, you can build on the relationship and start to add tangible value. This enables more sophisticated conversations around…

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  • What does a bank want to see to get your deal approved mid-pandemic?

    Every day as broker I’m asked by clients and agents:  “Will the banks still lend money?” “What if I’m on JobKeeper/JobSeeker?” “What’s changed – will the banks still accept overtime / bonuses / commissions?” And in truth, there’s no simple answer. It’s different for every lender.  Some banks will take JobKeeper income, but you’ve got to go to the right…

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  • Competition for the customer

    You either focus on the customer or the competitor. One will use your services and pay your invoices; the other won’t. The real estate industry is a fast-moving, highly innovative space. The challenge is, most of what we call innovation is the duplication of what competitors do in the marketplace. The fastest-growing companies in any industry are the ones that…

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  • Passion and Purpose

    Leading real estate agencies across the country are putting their hands in their pockets to give those less fortunate a place to call home. Across the industry, we’re seeing a societal shift, with agencies passionate about buying and selling homes with a purpose that reaches far beyond a signed contract. From building homes for the homeless in Cambodia to providing…

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  • What Da Vinci can teach us about real estate

    The notion of stepping into the head space of becoming “elite” is an interesting one. The word itself originates from Latin and essentially means “one amongst the best” or the select few in any endeavour. What is most interesting with the elite in any field, according to my research, is that they are often big-time…

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  • Move over Airbnb, it’s time to share the pool and the backyard

    The world of real estate services enabled through PropTech changes so fast we’ve completed a round-up of some of the other innovations that have caught our attention. Torii Boston-based disruptor Torii knows that buying a home can be hard. Founded in 2017, the PropTech startup offers homebuyers a full suite of services, including…

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  • Eyes on the prize

    In life – and in real estate – change is the only constant. Australia has many property market dynamics, nearly all of which are changing from the slight to the seismic. The best way agents can strategise to thrive through the market’s inevitable changes is to have a plan they can implement daily – one that keeps their eyes on…

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  • Make it then break it: John Percudani on meeting the agile challenge

    Realmark might already be a hugely successful and highly-awarded agency, but Managing Director John Percudani is set to pull apart his business model then reassemble it piece by piece in a bid to improve the customer experience. When Realmark Managing Director John Percudani talks of ‘agile business’ and the ‘customer journey’, he’s not just paying lip service to two of…

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  • Winning campaign gives power to the people

    There aren’t too many people more equipped to sing the praises of Keperra than Glen Milliner. A former Queensland cabinet minister, Glenand his wife Kay raised their three children in the family-friendly suburb nine kilometres north-west of the Brisbane CBD. In a 68-second Why Buy Here video for Harcourts Solutions, the couple face the camera to explain the amazing sporting…

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  • How to build customer loyalty with diversification

    Diversification isn’t a new concept; almost every agency offers both a sales and property management service, after all. But tech tools can take this much further. You don’t have to use one to use another, but together these tools help you provide a great customer experience: from the first touchpoint, through to moving day and beyond. Meet sellers on social media…

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  • How your people skills can improve your property retention rate: Danelle Hunter

    The true value of a real estate business lies within its rent roll, and the number of properties managed can often mean the difference between a business running at profit or a loss. In order to really harness their true potential, it’s pivotal that property managers maintain a strong customer retention rate and leave a positive impression on their landlords.…

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  • Consistently Inconsistent: Mark McLeod

    I like to compare real estate to golf, as the ball itself remains motionless on impact. You would think that it would make it easier, but no. As technology comes more into play, sometimes getting back to the raw essence of how this industry operates in its purest and simplest form can help an agent perform. The one thing that…

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  • Defying the Disruptors: Rob Ward

    The constant speculation around industry disruption led me to attend Inman Connect San Francisco last August – a real estate conference exploring current industry trends and technology, and focusing on how agents can leverage the benefits of changes and innovations to grow their businesses. From the moment I stepped into the conference, one thing was clear. We’re in a race.…

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  • Know Your Customer: Using Data to Build Trust and Advocacy

    In a notable change in direction to the spiralling property values of late, the latest CoreLogic data has revealed a 1.1 per cent drop in dwelling values across five capital cities in the past quarter, with Sydney down further at 1.6 per cent. It’s only a small decline. But at a time where housing affordability challenges, home loan interest rate…

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  • Winning Big

    Let me tell you about an amazing App for your phone. You don’t need to download it from the App store; it’s already there and it’s the best way to get organised in the new financial year. I’m amazed by how many people wait until the end of the calendar year to reflect on achievements and set goals for the…

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  • How to Plan Your Pipeline: Josh Phegan

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  • 7 Habits Of Highly Unpopular Agents: Kylie Davis

    Why do real estate agents have a poor professional reputation? The truth can be found in the fact that, while agents are paid for by the vendor, they also service buyers. But without a financial incentive to excel, it’s buyers who have some of the worst experiences and who then delight in telling their friends. The CoreLogic Buyer Perceptions of…

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  • It’s Written All Over Your Face: Alan Stevens

    Using a face-reading technique called Rapid Trait Profiling combined with analysis of facial expressions and micro-facial expressions, as well as NLP techniques, Alan is very quickly able to determine someone’s personality and emotions – even if that is something they are trying to conceal. “I clear rooms,” said Alan on the topic of what ‘exactly’ he does. “Often people are…

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  • The Power of Agents: Kylie Davis

    If you want to stand out from the crowd of real estate agents, focus on the value of your relationships. While many speakers at the AREC 2017 conference focused on systems, processes and goal setting for winning transactions, speakers like Leonard Steinberg, the ‘gentleman’ broker of New York, and Charles Touma from BresicWhitney explained their success had been created by…

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  • Four Ways to Respond Faster To Your Clients: Kylie Davis

    THE MOST POWERFUL SKILL agents can develop to build trust with their clients is communication, according to both research and popular opinion. But sadly there is a dramatic difference between how the majority of real estate agents define ‘good communication skills’ and the definition held by consumers. Kylie Davis provides four ways that you can improve your response times and…

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  • 8 Real Estate Resolutions to Deliver Great Customer Service

    New research shows that delivering great customer service to vendors and buyers can turbocharge your real estate business by increasing referrals and creating customers for life. Kylie Davis suggests some practical resolutions to ensure you see benefits of adequately serving both groups. The Consumer Perceptions of Real Estate Agents research from CoreLogic identifies that 36 per cent of sellers would…

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  • hit and stick

    The ‘Hit and Stick’ Philosophy

    The term ‘Hit and Stick’ was coined by Isaac Newton to describe the momentum theory, whereby objects collide and stick together. It is used in rugby as well. In real estate, however, it could apply to a committed approach to client service – upon initial contact, we stick with them, as Cameron Nicholls explains. With a sporting background, I have…

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  • What They Really Need: Josh Phegan

    In the digital age, showing that we’re human is more important than ever. High performance real estate coach and trainer Josh Phegan highlights how great agents create a unique bond with their customers and why personalised service wins. We live in a remarkable time. While the industrial revolution gave birth to huge factories and complex machines manufacturing on scale, the…

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