As a realtor have you ever stopped to consider the standards and service that you deliver to your client? Would a client use you again? Or for that matter would a client refer you to his or her friends? While you might think so, let me point out that a report by the National Association of Realtors had 89 percent of consumers saying that they would use the same agent again. But in reality only 11 percent of those consumers actually did use the same agent again all because the agent failed to maintain a relationship after the completion of the transaction.

Caring for your customers/clients is of the utmost importance in real estate because without them you don’t get paid. While most buyers and sellers have certain expectations of what a realtor should do for them, there is also an opportunity to go the extra mile and exceed the client’s expectations. Your job isn’t just doing a little bit of paperwork, placing a for sale sign in the yard and waiting for the house to sell. Contrary to popular belief, being a realtor is a lot of work! As a realtor you need to be able to convey your work ethic and service that you provide so that your client can see the value in utilizing your services. Most every realtor can offer the same basic product and service, but what is it that sets you apart from other realtors? Could it be your service?

Take for example a survey that Realtor.com recently did that showed over 50 percent of consumers were unhappy with an agent because of the agent’s poor response time and general lack of responsiveness. Go the extra mile and exceed your client’s expectations! In the end you will be glad you did since research from the National Association of Realtors showed that 42 of an agent’s business comes from referral or repeat business sources. As a real estate agent you have a specific service to provide and (lucky for you) people need that service. You must have the mindset of offering a service; you are able to help others and provide a service to your community by doing so.

Megan Rutherford is a Realty Biz News Contributing Writer