8 minute read
BUSINESS GROWTH
Business Growth Hack: Absorb Your Clients’ Stress!
Your business coach or a CRM software sales rep has probably described a number of products or services to help you grow your business. But sometimes the easiest way to increase the deals you’re closing is to simply be present for your clients. In doing so, you’ll find have the power to decrease the stress they feel. And when you decrease their stress, you increase your value to them, leading to new referrals and organic growth. You may be thinking, “I have enough stress; how can I find the emotional bandwidth for other people’s stress?” But consider this: As their day-to-day point of contact in this life decision, you are already a strong presence in your client’s lives. Why not allow yourself to be the only seemingly calm part of this process? By asking them what’s on their mind, by truly listening, by showing that you truly understand and even by rolling up
your sleeves to relieve some of their grunt work, you’ll prove yourself invaluable.
Think of yourself as the equivalent of an anti-anxiety pill to your clients. All you have to do is form a few easy habits.
Laura and Raj, their agent and their loan officer soon came to learn that Laura’s 80-year-old mother may eventually move in with the family. This news not only helped the agent best meet Laura’s and Raj’s needs for a new home; it gave both the agent and the loan officer opportunities to go above and beyond for their clients. Their REALTOR ® connected Laura with a senior services nonprofit near Laura’s mom’s current home that may be able to assist the family. And their loan officer outlined various, detailed options to Laura and Raj make smart, long-term financial decisions.
Meanwhile, the agent and loan officer earned the trust of Laura and Raj, who felt less worried about the future.
Listen – really listen – with patience
Behind every home purchase or sale is a person or a family with a uniquely complex set of needs, motivations, objectives and priorities. Asking the right questions and truly listening to the answers are the easiest ways to learn how to make clients’ lives easier. In doing so, you not only show that you’re interested in them as people, but you help yourself discover ways to surprise your clients with service.
Take “Laura and Raj,” for instance – a couple in their 30s who wanted a larger home because their family of five outgrew their first home. By patiently getting to know
Empathize
Don’t be afraid to describe your own personal experiences as a homebuyer or seller, explaining how you felt at the time; let your client know you “get” it. The agent who is willing to open up and let buyers and
sellers know that they personally understand their needs and concerns will connect with clients quickly, break down barriers and help the process move smoothly.
Chayan Alavi, Broker/Owner of Alavi Agency in Long Beach, California, challenges himself and his team to ensure that every action of every day serves others. “If we can put ourselves in other people’s shoes with empathy, then we become stellar professionals and great human beings, too,” he says. “I like knowing that we remove the sales pitch from real estate and make it all about the customer.” Chayan and his team focus on customer advocacy and building trust. But they don’t take trust for granted. Instead, they know trust must be earned and nurtured over time.
mowed clients’ lawns, walked dogs and personally cleaned someone’s 8,000-squarefoot, $2 million home for a showing one day after his seller left the house. Two days before another closing, Matthew’s client was unable to move large amounts of unneeded furniture out of the house he sold. No problem! Matthew joined or created five online garage sales; sold or gave away most of the client’s belongings and had the remainder hauled away before cleaning in time for the closing. “The first time I sit with a seller on listing presentation or the first day I take someone on a buyer’s tour, they know I’m ‘all-in.’”
Meanwhile, in the Cincinnati area, Aaron Denton of Summit Funding considers himself and his team members to be concierges for their borrowers. “We’re like personal assistants,” says Aaron. “People are happier when you remove the stress.” Included in their standard services are researching moving quotes; arranging and organizing movein day; scheduling utility transfers; assisting with children’s school registration paperwork; and even connecting buyers with local resources like daycares.
Roll up your sleeves
“You can’t be afraid to do anything!” says Matthew Todd of d’aprile properties in the Chicago area. “People know there’s nothing I won’t do to get the job done.” He has If “rolling up your sleeves” isn’t your strongest skill, then an easy alternative is to get to know professionals in your area who can do these tasks for you. In the end, remember that by listening with patience, empathizing, and being willing to go the extra mile, you have the power to remove the stress your clients would experience without your help. When clients feel cared for, they remember the agents and partners who helped them.
SAMANTHA TOV & JUDY CUONG
SAMANTHA TOV & JUDY CUONG
Samantha and Judy created Portfolio Real Estate, where they currently lead a team of over 20 agents and staff, serving the Sacramento area.
For powerhouse duo Samantha Tov and Judy Cuong, working in real estate is a dream come true. As working mothers, Samantha and Judy joined forces 12 years ago to create a partnership that would allow them to balance their family commitments with their work, and have since built a reputation as one of the premier realtor teams in the Sacramento area.
After leading teams at a big box brand brokerage for 10 years, Samantha and Judy left the company to create Portfolio Real Estate, where they currently lead a team of over 20 agents and staff. Their new business was made possible through their partnership with SIDE, a technology-driven white-label brokerage that partners with high producing agents to create their own
boutique company. Although much of their work focuses on the Sacramento Metro area, they like to say that there is “no distance our agents won’t go.” This holds true metaphorically as well as geographically, and it is this dedication to world-class service that has helped build their stellar reputation in the community.
When you ask what helps them attract and retain the kind of high-quality agents their business is known for, Samantha will point to their proven track record. “We actually haven’t had to recruit a single agent since we started Portfolio Real Estate. All of our agents came to us via referral or word-of-mouth,” Samantha explains. “People see us in the community and see how successful we are as working women, moms, and wives, and see that we can do it all. So we get a lot of agents who look up to us because they want to emulate what we have achieved.”
Samantha also emphasizes her team’s familial ethos as a key driver of their success. “We care about our agents and treat them like family. Judy and I don’t just focus on helping our clients build a real estate portfolio, we also want to help our agents build one. We want each of our agents to own their own real estate as well as build up residual income by owning investment properties.”
Besides work, Samantha and Judy are also committed to supporting their communities. Judy’s children attend a Chinese school, and as a result she is one of the star volunteers with the local Chinese
Association. Samantha on the other hand, has been a member of the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA), Greater Sacramento, for 11 years, where she frequently volunteers and promotes their fundraising efforts. Over the years, the AREAA has helped rehab 30 homes for low income families, and provided the resources for 130 low income parents to buy Christmas presents for their children.
Samantha says that her passion for helping others can be traced back to her own family’s history. “Two social workers helped my family immigrate to America from Cambodia in 1979 when our lives were threatened by the Cambodian genocide. Two strangers helping people they didn’t know and had never met. I was struck by their kindness. It’s so rewarding for me to see how we can make difference in people’s lives by giving back.”
In looking to the future, both Judy and Samantha want to continue growing their business while helping support their agents and other female realtors. “It’s important to Judy and I that we continue to serve as role models for women
and entrepreneurs within the Asian and Pacific Islander community,” Samantha tells us. “We want to show people that you can do it, you can achieve anything you want if you set your mind to it and are willing to work hard.”
