I think most who know me know that I am in the real estate business. As a REALTOR, you are business owner. As a business owner, you always need to have your eye on the big picture. It’s up to you to be aware of potential opportunities and threats and to determine the direction that your business will take. However, this does not mean that you can afford to neglect the details. Sometimes it’s the little things that make the difference between a business that is successful and one that is not.
When you demonstrate that you are on top of the details, it gives your customers confidence in your ability to handle complicated matters. Often your peers’ perception of your business is actually a combination of several small details. For example, what do you think when you reach out to someone and their voice mail box is full? Being on top of the details communicates excellence to your customers.
Sometimes your perception of what constitutes a small detail is completely different from your customers’. What appears insignificant to you could be vitally important to them.
For example, I recently stayed at a hotel where my experience wasn’t so great. My name on the reservation confirmation had the incorrect spelling of my first and last name, which added an extra 5 minutes to the check-in time. There was no one present at valet when we pulled the car up and no bellman available to move our luggage from the car to our room. I literally had to grab the luggage cart myself and wheel it into the elevator and up to the room… as I passed several hotel employees who never uttered a word. Conversely, on a recent trip to the east coast, I stayed at a Four Seasons Hotel in Boston. Talk about attention to the details. By day two of my stay the hotel employees knew me by name. When I asked where the rest rooms were, I was personally escorted. There was a beautiful welcome message on the TV screen in the room on arrival. Fresh cut flowers with a note saying welcome to the FSH. About an hour after check-in, I received a text message from the hotel GM asking me if I found everything to be satisfactory. Five minutes later, a text from the concierge introducing himself, letting me know that he was here to make sure any questions I had about the Boston area were answered. Do you think that all happens by accident, or do you think that attention to detail is emphasized greatly within the organization? Don’t presume to know what is irrelevant to your customer; do everything well and you’re sure to make them happy.
Big problems that can sink a business often start out as small details. It could be as simple as you taking too long to get back to a person when they leave you a message. Heck, they may decide that doing business with you is frustrating and move on to your competition. It won’t take many customers leaving to impact your business’ bottom line.
If you’re a big picture thinker, you may feel that you don’t have the time or even the desire to pay attention to the details. This attitude will hurt your business. If you aren’t capable of giving the details the attention they deserve, hire someone who is; it could make a big difference. Remember the old proverb: “For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the message was lost. For want of a message the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail”.
TERRY Talks 