The Science of Managing Service Standards

While brokers can quantify an agent's performance with numbers like, say, their sales volume, measuring the quality of an agent's performance is much more challenging.

Agent ratings are one method brokers are turning to to solve this problem--and the results are measurable and significant. According to Leading Research Corporation, when systems for tracking and, yes, quantifying the client service quality are used, repeat and referral business increases by 17.74 percent for buyers and 12.48 percent for sellers.

But how does one quantify how well an agent serves their clients? Agent ratings platform Quality Service Certification (QSC) does it by standardizing the service process that participating agents are required to follow. When a transaction is completed, QSC sends your client a questionnaire asking them to rate, on a scale of 1 to 5, specific aspects of the service their agent provided. Questions cover details like consumer expectations for days-on-market, quality and frequency of communication, and the agent's knowledge of the area. (You can see a sample questionnaire here.)

Brokers who use QSC can track the results of returned surveys in a dashboard. They can view results at the individual agent level or office level; they can also view both individual surveys and the cumulative results of all surveys.

The cumulative option is a great way to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of agents. Just compare the ratings an agent receives from seller clients versus buyers. If their ratings as a listing agent are lower, for example, this is a signal that their skills serving sellers need some polishing. Brokers can use this information to identify coaching opportunities.

Courting the Public Online

QSC ratings are publically available via RatedAgent.com, the company's consumer facing website. Consumers can search for agents in their area and peruse their profiles and ratings results.

Agents who want to display their ratings on RatedAgent.com must agree that ALL ratings they receive--both good and bad--will be used on the site; agents can't cherrypick which reviews are displayed. This is one way that QSC maintains the integrity of reviews.

RatedAgent.com isn't the only place that QSC reviews are available. Partnerships with Realtor.com and Cloud CMA have increased the visibility of QSC ratings. Realtors can port their QSC reviews to their Realtor.com profiles, reaching the millions of consumers who use property search portals. Similarly, agents can import their QSC ratings into Cloud CMA reports. This is a great way for agents to show off their good reputation in a listing presentation.

Wrapping Up

Tracking and managing the quality of service that your agents provide can have a big impact on retaining clients. This also has a big impact on your bottom line by reducing customer acquisition costs and increasing revenue.

To learn more about QSC and how to choose an Agent Ratings system, see our 2016-17 Technology Guide. It's a free resource that agents and brokers can use to identify the tools that will profit their business. Download your copy today!