Structure

What To Do To Get Referrals: Structure

The ParticipationCoOrdinator focuses on equality. We use a timer to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity for self-promotion.

  • What tool do you use in your business to give your clients a specific value?
  • Why is that value important to your clients?
Karen Williams

Response from Karen Williams

from the Virginia Highland Team

I use my connections with other vendors that can assist my clients with their needs. If they need to purchase a house, I use my connections with realtor. If they need a therapist, I use my connections with a therapist. If they need auto insurance, I connect them with an insurance agency. Equality is important, but it may look different because each client is different.  My firm is committed to helping my clients to build a life better that  that the one they are currently experiencing. We work with everyone that we can to help them build a better life. We use our knowledge of the law as well as our knowledge of local providers to help them get there. Its a pretty rewarding experience for everyone. 

Kelly Vandever

Response from Kelly Vandever

from the North Point Team

Two tools I use are the multiple listing services or MLS (for houses that are actively marketed and sold) and tax records (for houses that are sold off market).  Both tools help me determine whether the price on a house is right... As in setting the price when helping a client sell a house or making an offer when helping a client buy a house.  This is important to my clients because no home seller wants to accept less than they should for the value of their house, and no home buyer wants to pay more than they should when buying a house.

 

The MLS systems also allow me to promote homes that I'm helping clients sell to thousands of agents in the area. The reason that's important is that 88% of homebuyers use an agent when buying a home. Using the MLS systems gets the most exposure to the most agents in the metro Atlanta market.  Additionally, the MLS systems syndicate the listing to hundreds of different websites.  Websites you've heard of like Zillow and realtor.com, and websites that are not commonly known in the Atlanta area but are used in other parts of the US.  The value to my client is that their home gets the maximum exposure to those people not using an agent or not in the Atlanta area. The more exposure, the larger the buyer pool, and the maximum chance to get the most money for my clients who are selling a house. 

Alberto Sapoznik

Response from Alberto Sapoznik

Great question!

In the world of Commercial Real Estate...literally everything you see or hear about in reference to properties...is a source of information that may be useful to our clients. There are some specific examples of sources, such as The Atlanta Business Chronicle (physical weekly edition and daily updates), The Saporta Report (online paper), Bisnow National (online paper on transactions), GlobeSt.com, plus many more plus...by far the most important one is CoStar.

CoStar is subscription service which provides people in the Commercial R.E. field with infomation (data) which is invaluable for our industry.  They are a national firm, which collects monthly updates about every commercial property in the areas they cover. They do this by calling (yes, calling!) every property owner to verify current status of property...is it for lease or sale, is it occupied, how high are the ceilings...everything is asked and updated, every month!

Such a tool cannot be understated. For example...when I started in the business, I use to have to drive every area my client wanted to be in, and call (off the sign) to see if they have the right sized space for my client. Many hours spent calling and verifying, now can be done in a few minutes. Difference maker!

Though without all the other sources of information I wouldn't be able to give my clients the very best all-around information about the market, and what is going on...at that time.

Sometimes it is what you know, not just who you know!

 

BTW, I don't work for CoStar!  I pay them monthly, too.

Wendy Kinney

Response from Wendy Kinney

from the PowerCore Team

There is a line item on our budget for each workshop for tools.

Most workshops include a pocket folder with a label.

Many Members capture detailed action items on the outside of the pocket folder (see Jim Hilber's) which means they can easily pull a pocket folder from a drawer, find what they're looking for, put it back where it will be easy to find next time.

A second benefit is the place to store handouts. Workshops tend to be paper intense. Without the pocket folder stacks of paper would build up, and eventually be trashed since they have no context. Because working papers are in the labeled pocket folder, work started during the session is easy to find for continued processing.

Tommy Schlosser

Response from Tommy Schlosser

Total Premium, while not a perfect surrogate, the higher premium the greater complexity and need for review; as such reviews and remarketing are prioritized by the amount someone pays for insurance. The other reason this is relevant is that many insurance rating and issuing software have caps on what will go directly through leaving higher premiums to be reviewed by underwriters causing longer turnaround time. If you do not start with your "Big Rocks" you might not get them in later.

Diane Campbell

Response from Diane Campbell

The value we give to our clients is a 90 day review of their stats for their online marketing.  Carving out space on the internet is something we all want, but not all know how to do.  Our team of professionals know this space well and are working and watching for any changes in the algorithms and how that affects our clients.  We want our clients to be closing the deals.

Jeff Buchweitz

Response from Jeff Buchweitz

While homebuyers shop for homes or once they have a loan in our system, we have a system to keep them updated on a regular basis and when certain milestones in the mortgage process are met.   Instead of having to call for updates on their files, this service keeps everyone up to date so they can prepare for the big event...Closing Day!  

We feel that communication is the one of most important components in mortgage lending and the system we use very much sets us apart of others in our space. 

Leslie Brooks

Response from Leslie Brooks

Giving my clients value is priority.   'My clients have access to me, their payroll processor. And backup tax team.  We don't use phone trees, 45 minute hold times, or failure to return calls.

Corporate Payroll Services speciaizes in small to midsized businesses .  No one likes to have to wait to get a payroll situation resolved or a question answered.  Our clients are very busy, especially being short-staffed.  The Value to our clients is  "Peace of Mind."

Leslie Brooks

Corporate Payroll Services

 

Laurie Nolan

Response from Laurie Nolan

Equality among clients is key in my industry, as many of my clients come to me from agencies in which relationships are not nearly as important as numbers.   Calling my office directly gets them to me or my associate, not an 800 number.   This sets me apart, as 800 customer service numbers are the norm....not in my office. It's all about relationships, so my direct phoneline and voicemail are key to ensuring equality among my clients.   Simple, but necessary. 

Susan Pulse

Response from Susan Pulse

Being able to quote multiple carriers at once gives me the ablility to show my clients what product will work best for their specific situation, and that gives us a good springboard to work with when having a converstion about what it is they want and need.  That conversation can truly bolster the relationship we have and save my clients a lot of time. 

After the client relationship is established, my clients can always call me directly, rather than calling the 800 number listed on their statements, or on their policy, to get their questions answered.  There are things clients may need done (change benficiaries, their address, their payment date, etc.) which I can handle for them in a timely manner, and many times, much more quickly than going through the customer service channels.

The relationship I develop with my clients is extremely valuable - I am a resource for them, and I pride myself on being able to refer others to them who I know personally, like and trust.  A personal recommendation can save my clients a lot of time and effort, helping them to get their problem solved much more quickly.  

Jeanie Clinkscales

Response from Jeanie Clinkscales

In my real estate business, I give all my clients and prospective clients the same listing/buyer brokerage presentations and market information at the initial contact,  regardless of price point, location or client demographics. Whether dealing with luxury housing or assisting clients in finding a rental property, or assisting an investor in their search for investment properties, my service and attention are the same.  I can do that seamlessly because I have established systems and business components which automatically prompt me about upcoming deadlines and appointments such as listing appointments, showing appointments, home buying anniversaries and client birthdays. My clients and prospective clients appreciate the attention to detail as well as the personal touches I provide. They know that I truly care because I keep up with their lives and families in a systematic way.  I am Jeanie Clinkscales with the Wright Clinkscales Team and Keller Williams First Atlanta, residential real estate.

Ben Battell

Response from Ben Battell

As a technology provider, the first tool we use is our monitoring software platform.  When a client calls with a concern or problem, any team member can log in via their phone and view any outages, error logs, memory issues, or overheating issues that a client has.  This allows us to immediately assess the situation and either fix it remotely or know that we need to get someone onsite.  This software coupled with a commitment to either answer the call immediately or call back within the hour, with knowledge of what needs to be fixed allows our customers to know they are in good hands and that their issue is being resolved in the fastest way possible.  Having an IT company that not only knows your setup, but also knows your people, and responds quickly and accurately builds trust and provides peace of mind. 

Ricky Guida

Response from Ricky Guida

After meeting with a new customer, we put together a customized detailed cleaning schedule tailored for their facility.  This schedule is based on things we heard from them that are important (for example, particular pain points from their prior cleaning crew), coupled with our experience on the things that we need to be focused on daily, weekly or monthly.  We then use that schedule going forward as a guideline and calibration tool to ensure we are delivering on our commitments and exceeding the customer's expectations.  This brings the customer the value they are looking for (and paying for), so they can focus on their core work, and not on the cleanliness of the facility, which is our job.

Randy Beck

Response from Randy Beck

from the Whitlock Avenue Team

I rank clients by repeat business.  I ensure that if the client has made a commitment to Beckshot, that I also have a loyalty to their project, thereby producing the best result, whatever it takes.

Teala Smith

Response from Teala Smith

I use stringent market analysis in order to monitor the real estate market and interest prices in order to make sure I am placing my clients into the best loan product for them. 

Tom Wallace

Response from Tom Wallace

from the Peachtree City Team

I have a 15-Minute Spending Plan tool that allows clients to quickly capture how their money is flowing in and out of their budget.  This helps them see possible areas of overspending and areas that they can trim back.  I also have several educational resources my clients can access such as goal setting, weekly planning meetings, and many others to grow their knowledge and discuss more in depth during our sessions together.

All these tools go way beyond a simple budget discussion and helps my clients in forming a solid financial plan that will meet their goals.