As we celebrate Valentine’s Day, we thought we would share some thoughts about loving you—our friends of the firm!
We “googled” the idea and lots of things came up (not all appropriate for this article J) but I think it begins with the fundamentals:
- Love what you do, and the people you do it with and for! Our team is committed to that principle, and the reverse side of our business cards state, “Everyone Walks Away Happy”! When you care deeply, just “getting it closed” simply isn’t enough. It can’t be faked and everyone who takes the time to read this knows that long term if you don’t love it you will stop caring. Now celebrating our first decade in business, Doug and I were best friends in law school and we go to work thinking how we can make our practice better and serve our “friends of the firm” daily.
- Love the challenges your career presents! Whether you’re an agent, loan officer, owner, broker, builder, or just happen to be in another field reading this article, you will have challenges. If you’re in real estate and don’t enjoy solving problems, then it’s time for change! Do you embrace the challenges and solve them, or do you let them defeat you? Go back to #1 above and if you love it, you’ll find a way to conquer any obstacle.
- Love the great moments, celebrate them and be grateful. Life may have challenges, but there’s so much more than turning lemons into lemonade. Sometimes, it’s about knowing that you have lemonade right in front of you. We all have moments of victory, and we should celebrate the feeling of joy that comes from them and the satisfaction of a job well-done.
In an effort to ensure we provide you with valuable content I want to share an article from Entrepreneur Magazine about the top 10 ways to make your client happy (along with quick thoughts from our firm).
- Call your clients regularly (Who knew? People still love real connections!)
- Create valuable content (Learn something new and relevant, and share it freely. We stay up-to-date, and share what we learn teaching CE (continuing education) classes several times each month.)
- Become an authority in your field (With 7 real estate attorneys averaging over 14 years of service … we are here to help our friends of the firm and their clients.).
- Reply to your emails promptly (If this isn’t the greatest challenge for all of us, then what is? We expect promptness but we all get hundreds of emails daily.)
- Be decisive (Twenty years ago, Home Depot founders Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus taught me this when they said it’s the key to success…. Check out their book Built From Scratch.)
- Value your client’s point of view (Practice empathy, listening and understanding.)
- Add a personal touch. (Let those you work with know you appreciate them as people, not commodities.)
- Be realistic and do not over promise. (Under-promise and over-deliver.)
- Identify opportunities proactively. (Identify ways for your customers and clients to grow.)
- Be clear and transparent. (Set expectations, recognize any shortcomings or mistakes, and proactively make corrections.)
We think today is an a wonderful opportunity to share with others how you feel, and let then know you love them and are thankful for them! Thanks, we love your support, and we wish you all the best in ’18!