7 Great Customer Service Traits to Cultivate

As you might have gathered, RE/MAX Nigeria is all for and about great customer service! It's what makes us refreshingly different from the lot.

Have you been trying to build strong long lasting relationships with your clients for a while now or are you just passionate for great service? Well, here are some tips that you could use to win over the most difficult of customers. It all starts from within!

Before real estate, Kim Scott spent 15 years in the hospitality industry working as both a waitress and a bartender, as well as eight years as an administrative assistant to a financial advisor, a position she still holds. “I learned a lot during those years from interacting with both happy and unhappy customers,” she says. Here’s what Scott has to say about offering superior customer service:

1. Empathy – The ability to relate to how someone is feeling and to understand what they are going through is a customer service skill that involves being able to see past your own frame of mind and see the world as someone else does. We may never see it just as they do, but trying can make all the difference.

2. Active listening – Always try to repeat back to customers what you hear them saying to you. This ensures you heard them correctly and gives the customer a chance to clarify if there seems to be a misunderstanding.

3. Problem solving – It’s crucial. Problem-solving derives from both empathy and active listening. You should be committed and have a sincere desire to solve the customer’s problems. The ability to ask the right kind of questions will be a major factor in providing a solution. You also need to prioritize your time around their customers’ needs and wants.

4. Being proactive – It’s always better to anticipate than to react. Although you can’t predict all that’s coming during the transaction process, use your experience to minimize surprises.
5. Flexibility – Being overly rigid can make customers feel like they’re just a number. While it’s good to have systems and processes in place, you never want to be so bound to them that you’re unable or unwilling to try and accommodate customers’ unique needs and wants.

6. Friendliness and courtesy – It doesn’t get any simpler than this. And these traits go a long way in earning clients’ loyalty, and their referrals.

7. Professionalism – Never forget you’re representing yourself, what you stand for, your trade, and your clients with every move you make. Regularly ask yourself: “Am I giving every client the right impression of me and my service.

Source: ABOVE, the RE/MAX magazine abovemag.remax.com