The Commercial Real Estate Alpha Site

To ensure this is never overlooked, we developed the Super Six: keys to developing excellent client expectations and building longstanding relationships that can withstand good times as well as bumps in the road.

After all, it’s easy to keep a client when things are going well; maintaining a client when times are tough is the true test of a relationship. We believe the Super Six will aid in this process:

1. Build a relationship that goes beyond client/vendor

We have long believed that business people like working with people they not only respect, but also personally like. Therefore, we believe that developing a personal relationship goes a long way in building a stronger business relationship.

Get to know the client’s family situation, how they spend their free time, where their interests lie and, most importantly, what motivates them on a daily basis. When you understand what makes them tick as a person, you can translate that into your business relationship.

2. Regularly communicate and address problems directly

A lack of communication is usually at the root of most problems associated with clients. Any good client relationship will be able to weather setbacks if you are proactive in communicating both good and bad news.

When communication is direct and transparent, trust forms and helps to create a foundation for long-lasting relationships.

3. Agree on strategy, goals and timelines

Until you and your client agree on strategy, pricing, goals and timelines, you are always at risk of them not understanding what success is and how it should be measured. We always suggest creating a realistic proforma document that outlines the actuals, comparables, proforma extrapolations and a range of value metrics. This will alleviate any confusion over expectations and hopefully eliminate a difficult conversation.

Often times in today’s frothy market, this may end your conversation or create a divide in perception of value.  As long as you are within your range of value and can support that information, then you have done your job for your client, effectively managing their expectations.

In our industry we see this quite often, where companies will come in and promise the world, inflate the value above and beyond all competitors, cut their commissions, offer little to no co-brokerage commissions to buyers agents and ultimately win the listing.

4. Be a counselor

When you offer your client advice, direction, input and business counsel, you become a truly valuable partner. This style of open dialogue helps to establish the respect necessary to ensure better project management.

Clients hire outsourced marketing services because they want an objective opinion. If you fail at giving that POV, you subject yourself to being a “yes man or woman,” which will ultimately be your undoing.

This catapults off of the previous point (#4) where if you always over inflate value or always slash your commission to win the listing, then are you working in your clients best interest or your own?