Full Disclosure: Continuing to Care About Your Clients Protects Them from Fraud and Makes You Money

April 1, 2022
Written by Columnist:
Samuel Doncaster

 

Any business coach will tell you that referrals are the best source of new business. And the best two ways to get referrals are to give your clients exceptional service after the sale and make good referrals to trusted partners. This article will help you accomplish both in a single call.

Last month’s article covered the 7-day check-in call. You should also check-in with your clients at the thirty-day mark. During this call, you’ll again ask about any surprises or unexpected repairs in the house. The additional call will protect your client from fraud because sometimes problems aren’t noticed in the chaos of a move-in.

In addition, the clients will be facing new issues by this time, so the extra call gives you an additional chance to help the client with a referral. And giving the extra referral will lead to you getting one back. It’ll also keep you top of mind with the client, to ensure the client is there to refer you. And, if you focus on giving service instead of just asking for the referral, you’ll wow them so much that they’ll feel a psychic need to refer you.

If you’ve already done the 7-day call, the client is already impressed with how you care so much about them. The 30-day call is then icing on the cake. It establishes you as a true “white-glove” service provider.

Here’s an agenda for a thirty-day check in call.

Hi, this is ___ calling about your recent sale. I checked in a few weeks ago, and I’d like to do that again. As an experienced realtor, I’ve found that there are some issues that often come up after the seven-day call that I want to help you get in front of. Do you have about ten minutes to discuss that? Great!

  1. I’ve found that many of my clients are able to enjoy their home more if they don’t have to spend time on lawn maintenance. Have you found a good, reliable company for your new house?
  2. [For clients with pools] Have you had a chance to set up a pool maintenance company? And relatedly, have you gotten a pool fence installed to protect your young ones? I can give you a great recommendation.
  3. Have you gotten a housecleaner hired?
  4. Have you found a good mechanic near your new house? Most folks don’t want to drive too far to a mechanic, and I know a great one in the area. Can I get you that information before you need your next oil change?
  5. In my experience, the first month is often enough time for clients to think seriously about the upgrades they want. Is there anything you’d be interested in? Maybe a kitchen renovation or a closet remodel?
  6. Have you had any trouble with the HOA? I happen to know a great real estate lawyer who will love to protect you from your HOA.
  7. Has this prior month revealed any problems with the house, or any surprises? In my experience, sometimes the first week is so filled with moving activities that it takes a month to discover defects. In fact, sometimes it takes a month or even more to discover a roof leak or certain types of plumbing problems. [And if your client mentions anything in response to this question, you can compare their description of the problem to the SPDS. If it wasn’t disclosed, your client needs a good SDPS fraud lawyer to help solve the problem, in addition to whatever contractor or tradesman would do the repair.]

Consistently following the 7-day check-in with a 30-day check-in is going to wow your clients. They were already impressed that you cared enough about them to call once after the sale. A second care call in the first month will place you in the top 1% of salespeople for giving their clients value. Consistently giving top 1% value will let you reap a top 1% income through the referrals you’ll make and the referrals you’ll gain.

Samuel Doncaster is the owner and founder of Fraud Fighters Law Firm in Phoenix, Arizona. He regularly handles SPDS Fraud and Real Estate Fraud cases. You can contact the firm at 480-666-4054 to help one of your clients set up a strategy session if they’ve been cheated in a real estate deal.