Field Guide to Customer Service
(Updated May 2008)
Do you have what it takes to exhibit excellent customer service skills to both clients and prospective clients? Ever wondered if it is appropriate to accept a cellular call from a client while showing a home to another client? Or perhaps you are a Generation X/Y real estate agent who wishes to reach out to Senior Clients, but you’re not familiar with multi-generational differences between you and this age group. Effective communication skills, as well as customer-driven business etiquette, are key if you strive to grow your book of business and keep your existing clients coming back for more. The tips and approaches discussed in the articles below may just get you to reconsider your approach to customer service - one client at a time. (K. Janisch, Information Specialist)
Contents:
Customer Service | Telephone Etiquette | Customer Service and Generational Differences | Books, eBooks & Other Resources
The culture of service needed for successful branding consists of several components:
The service promise
Internal customer service
Standardization and quality
Differentiating your brand
To implement, a manager should...
Research and survey clients' service needs
Prioritize services to be implemented
Interview outsource service providers
Develop contract agreement between property management and the tenant
Source: The Red Carpet Treatment, (Journal of Property Management, Jan./Feb. 2000). Q
Customer Service 
Enhancing Customer Service, (REALTOR® Magazine Online Toolkit ).
Inside the Mind of Generation Y, (REALTOR® Magazine Online, Oct. 1, 2007).
Making the Grade: Consumers Rate their Agents, (Realty Times, Sept. 11, 2006).
The Keys to Building Lasting Business Relationships, (TexasRealtors.com, Jul. 2006).
How To Handle Complaints In Your Real Estate Business, (Realty Times, Aug. 30, 2005).
Restoring Success, (Sales and Marketing Management, Aug. 2005). Q
How Do You Handle Customer Service?, (Realty Times, Aug. 17, 2005).
Tips for Enhancing Customer Service, (REALTOR® Magazine Online, Mar. 2005).
Service Excellence: Eye of the Beholder, (REALTOR® Magazine Online, Mar. 2005).
FOR BROKERS: Relationship Management, (REALTOR® Magazine Online, Mar. 2005).
Service, Please, (REALTOR® Magazine Online, Mar. 2005).
Coldwell Banker Study Finds Customer Service Is Key To Repeat Business, (Realty Times, Dec. 14, 2004).
"Wowing" Today's Clients, (The American Salesman, Dec. 2004). Q
Customer Service: Back to Basics Is Better, (Public Management, Dec. 2004). Q
Customer Service Leaves Many Consumers in a 'Rage', (Wall Street Journal, Nov. 4, 2004).Q
Make Them Customers for Life, (REALTOR® Magazine Online, July 2004).
Telephone Etiquette
Don't drop manners when you pick up cell phone, (Washington Business Journal, Sep. 7, 2007).
The Profitable Way to Say No, (REALTOR® Magazine Online, May 2005).
Cell Phone Misuse in the Workplace, (HR Business Reports, Jan. 20, 2005).
Don't Be So Rude, Businesses Telling Cell Phone Users, (Post-Gazette.com, Jan. 13, 2005).
Courtesy Counts, (The American Salesman, Jul. 2004). Q
Why Salespeople Resist Scripts, (Realty Times, Aug. 27, 2002).
Customer Service and Generational Differences
Working With Buyers: Who Are Today's Buyers?, (REALTOR® Magazine Online Toolkit).
Understanding Senior Buyers, Sellers Better, (Realty Times, Jan. 30, 2004).
X Marks the Spot, (REALTOR® Magazine Online, Jan. 2003).
Salespeople Must Step Over the Generation Gap, (REALTOR® Magazine Online, Nov. 2002).
Why Do Some Buyers Distrust Agents?, (Realty Times, Oct. 30, 2002).
eBooks & Other Resources
eBooks.realtor.org
The following ebooks and digital audiobooks are available to NAR members:
Customer Relationship Management (Adobe eReader)
It's All About Service: How to Lead Your People to Care for Your Customers (Adobe eReader)
Hug Your Customers: The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results (Adobe eReader)
Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service (Mobipocket)
Customer-Centric Selling (Overdrive Audiobook)
Books, Videos, Research Reports & More
The resources below are available for loan through Information Central. Up to three books, tapes, CDs and/or DVDs can be borrowed for 30 days from the Library for a nominal fee of $10. Call Information Central at 800.874.6500 for assistance.
The consultative real estate agent: building relationships that create loyal clients, get more referrals, and increase your sales, (New York, NY: American Management Association, 2006). HF 5438 Sp2c
Unleashing excellence, (Sanford, FL : DC Press, 2003). HF 5438 Sn6
Magnetic service: secrets for creating passionately devoted customers, (San Francisco, CA : Berett-Koehler, 2003). HF 5438 B41
Lessons in service from Charlie Trotter, (Toronto, Canada : Ten Speed Press, 2001). HF 5415.5 L42
Brand manners, (West Sussex, England : John Wiley & Sons, LTD, 2001). HF 6161 B73
How to give exceptional customer service, (Shawnee Mission, KS : Career Track, 1999). VT045
Beyond customer satisfaction to customer loyalty: the key to greater profitability, (New York, NY : 1996). HF 5500 Am 3L
Field Guides & More
These Field Guides and other resources in the Virtual Library may also be of interest:
Field Guide to Marketing Tips for REALTORS®
Field Guide to Working with First-Time Homebuyers
Field Guide to Effective Online Marketing
>> Have an idea for a new Field Guide? Click here to send us your suggestions!
The inclusion of links on this Field Guide does not imply endorsement by the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR makes no representations about whether the content of any external sites which may be linked to this Field Guide complies with state or federal laws or regulations or with applicable NAR policies. These links are provided for your convenience only and you rely on them at your own risk.
