The Process vs The Event, Making Them Both Count

With the shelter in place order that came out this week, chances are you’ve got some extra time in your schedule. It’s a perfect time to work on your business, since we can’t really work in it right now.

The “Disney experience” is legendary and serves as a model for many businesses. When we were at Disneyland for mid winter break, I had one of those “aha” moments as it related to Real Estate.

We were on the new Star Wars ride (it’s amazing and totally worth the effort the next time you are there) and I noticed how much effort they put into the process of waiting for and getting to the ride. It wasn’t just crowd management, they made the waiting process an experience.

In the area where you waited in line everything was done to look like it was part of the ride, there were built in benches that looked like rock outcroppings to make the wait more comfortable, and they took you through several stages of pre ride build up before you got to the actual ride. The lead up was as much fun as the ride itself.

It got me thinking about real estate and our interactions with our clients. We are usually focused on 2 main events – going under contract and closing. Or in many cases, just the closing.

But the process of getting to those 2 events is just as important, and has many opportunities to connect with and wow our clients.

Now is the perfect time to evaluate your process. See if you can find 3 ways to make an impact at each stage.

The first step is to determine your processes:

1. Buyers during the search process
2. Buyers in escrow
3. Sellers prepping their house for market
4. Sellers on the market
5. Sellers in escrow
6. Clients on your warm list
7. Staying in touch with clients

Some things to think about as you focus on how to serve them in each process include:

• What would make it easier for them?
• What are their fears and concerns at this stage?
• What would be a fun and unexpected surprise?

Here are some fun ideas to get you started:

• Individual home search bags for buyers that include snacks and a high end pair of shoe covers for looking at homes
• An infographic handout that maps out what happens next in escrow
• Taking care of the house cleaning at closing
• Sending lottery tickets for St Patrick’s day

The options are endless and can be really fun once you get into it.

After you brainstorm your list, decide what you can take action on this week. How can you set it up so that it’s ready to go and easy to use going forward?

To your success!
Nicole