Real Estate Service: Bridging the Gap!

Systems and technology have made advances on the two ends of the real estate transaction. Technology has positively impacted the front end of service (customer contact and customer acquisition) and the back end (contract or escrow through closing). Yet there remains a gaping hole in the middle.

Without a good middle, there may be no ending, and even the most efficient closing system can't ensure a satisfying total experience. But the answer to better total service requires more than technology. Where are the systems, resources and standards for delivering the most important part of the service process--service from customer acquisition to contract? Isn't that the job of each sales professional? If the sales professional can benefit from technology and systems to assist with customer contact, customer acquisition and the closing process, what about the details of service delivery as well?

Actually, the front and the back of the transaction are easier to address. That's why the technology and systems that have been developed are being applied there first. The middle of the transaction has more variables, requires more judgment, involves multiple behaviors and has been designated as the sacrosanct domain of the sales agent. Add to this the shadow of the independent contractor myth (that independent contractors will not and cannot be controlled, held accountable or required to follow a process) and we have an environment where service processes, systems and standards might never emerge.

In this environment, many brokers and organizations are pursuing the notion that the way to deliver better service is to offer more services, as if more and better are synonymous. More is not the same as better...better is better. Further, better service cannot be developed by the marketing team; it must be measured legitimately, with every client, every time.

Systems, technology and metrics exist for managing and controlling revenue, expenses, profitability, productivity, customer acquisition, recruiting, and other key business functions. Quality service delivery, which is at least as important, remains unmanaged. But can such resources be applied to the sales person-customer interface portion of the sales/service process? And isn't this a big step?

First of all, know that a growing number of owners and leaders have taken "the big step" while learning that it wasn't as big a step as they feared. And their independent contractors are voluntarily buying in and enjoying the benefits, many for over a decade.

A significant additional benefit to managed service delivery is that true quality, measurably better quality, is the only sensible response to the growing assault on service pricing. Clearly consumers will pay more for services and goods if superior quality is certain.

Consumers will forever seek to maximize value. The pursuit of value maximization is satisfied through some combination of price and quality. When quality is uncertain, the default mechanism is to choose price, a more certain variable.

The bottom line of business is attracting and retaining customers, because without customers there is no bottom line. Value and satisfaction are the most critical elements of a customer attraction and retention strategy. The delivery of value and satisfaction can neither be random events nor someone else's responsibility. Either we seriously pursue taking care of our customers or someone else will. That's the beauty and the beast of the free market system.

"Those who understand what consumers want and deliver it, win! Whether a neighborhood strategy or a global one, the stakes may change, but the rules are the same." -- Philip Kotler distinguished professor, Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management