How can you forge a lifetime relationship with your clients, ensuring that they will return to you for future mortgage loans?
Keeping the customers you have through loyalty and by offering them a unique lending experience is more cost effective in the long run than acquiring new clients. Once you add to your client base, you should do everything in your power to keep those you have even as you seek to acquire new business.
Your relationships with your clients are just that – relationships. And relationships don’t fall out of the sky fully formed; they take work. A successful relationship with your client can be broken into three main phases: establishing, cultivating, and maintaining a mutually beneficial partnership. It’s not enough to merely form successful client relationships; it’s also important to nurture them so that they will last. Put simply, in order to maintain the integrity of these relationships going forward, you must set yourself apart.
Here are some considerations as you strive to turn your client relationships into lasting partnerships that will bring you future business:
Position yourself. You need to convince your client that you are the best resource for all future needs. Show your expertise in not only your current transactions, but any future dealings that may arise.
Establish trust.Customers are most likely to bring their return business to a trusted expert. If you have already established that trust, you will be the resource they turn to even if they are not sure of their exact needs. Showing that you respect your client’s needs and concerns will go a long way toward establishing that trust.
Show expertise. You want to stand out from the crowd with your understanding of current conditions and trends. If you know your market like no one else, you’ll be able to keep ahead of the competition when a new need arises for your client. Keep ahead of the competition by educating yourself on the latest and greatest developments in the industry. Offer a level of service that your competitors can’t duplicate.
Demonstrate understanding. If you can show that you truly understand your client’s needs, you’ll be the one to beat. The key to understanding is to listen. If you listen more than you speak during your early interactions with a client, not only will you show a willingness to thoroughly inform yourself, you will be able to understand the nuances of the situation.
Be proactive. Always be on the lookout for ways to further assist your client. Keeping track of each client’s pertinent information will help you stay on top of their needs. Organize your files so that you have this information on hand when you need a quick refresher about their circumstances. And make certain you always meet – or beat – any deadlines.
Offer solutions. If a crisis arises, be the hero. Find a way to turn the situation to your (and your client’s) best advantage. When things don’t go according to plan or deals fall through, show the client support and offer alternatives immediately.
Communicate. Be available and accessible when your client has a concern. Answer phone calls and email messages promptly to show your commitment and your hard work. Deliver information as quickly and concisely as possible.
Make it personal. No client wants to de on the receiving end of a generic catch-all. Show your personal touch. Be warm – be human – and you’re guaranteed to maintain a positive relationship
Request feedback. Your client wants to know that his or her concerns are taken seriously. By asking for feedback, not only do you stand to gain valuable insights about your strengths and deficits, you’re also investing your client with the belief that his or her input makes a difference in how you do business. It’s easy to do and it empowers your client.
Express gratitude. Show that you appreciate the business you have. It can be something as simple as a heartfelt, handwritten note or a small token, but it will speak volumes. Your client will remember that you valued his or her business.
Follow up. This is perhaps the most important thing you can do following a successful transaction. You can retain loyalty by keeping track of each of your clients through periodic contact such as a holiday card or other annual gesture. Apprise your client of any developing information that could be of interest – email is an easy and efficient way to reach multiple clients in one swoop. By continued contact, you will remain at the forefront of your client’s mind for future needs, and you may even end up getting referrals.
In the end, it all comes down to customer service, which may seem like a quaint, old-fashioned notion, but in reality has never been more important. These days, when so much business has become cumbersome and impersonal, it’s the small touches that will make you stand out from the rest. You have the tools and the ability to leverage your current client relationships into lasting, lucrative partnerships that will bring you continued business for years to come.
Chip Poli is founder and CEO of Poli Mortgage.
