These days, it’s difficult to find a business that doesn’t offer “quality service” at “affordable prices” but such phrases are empty and meaningless to prospects and client because they are intangible – they could mean anything. It’s up to you to express exactly what the benefits of doing business with you are – and that’s how you add value.

What is Value?
Value is how prospects and clients perceive your business. Something is only valuable if it means something to your clients. You may brag that you’re a top producer agent in your area, but your clients want to know what you’ll do for them – specifically.

In many cases, value is an “emotional” component. Sure, it’s nice that you answer your phone quickly and your office is in a convenient location. Yes, it’s great that you are knowledgeable about the neighborhoods, school districts, and real estate market. Those are givens. If you aren’t at that level yet, you shouldn’t be in business. (Perhaps that’s harsh, but that’s what clients expect – they’re paying you for your expertise in these areas.)

But meeting those expectations is not enough. Prospects and clients want more – they want you to understand and empathize with the emotional journey they are on. They are trusting you with one of the biggest financial decisions they’ll ever make when they buy or sell their home. They aren’t going to be calm and rational as they weigh the pros and cons of each house – they are going to fantasize about whether they can build a family together here, how their kids will fit in, or whether this is a good place to retire.

Turn Problems Into Opportunities
Seeing that they are making decisions on an emotional level, it’s not surprising that home buyers and sellers can get testy and agitated when things don’t go their way. It’s inevitable whenever you work with someone over a period of time that at some point you will disagree on something. Maybe that disagreement is completely outside your control or maybe you do something that fails to live up to your client’s expectations. Either way, it’s up to you to restore trust and right the problem.

How you do that will determine in your client’s mind how good your service is. Problems are often springboards for opportunities. Think about the last problem you had – maybe you were overcharged on your phone bill, maybe your flight was canceled and you had to book a new flight 6 hours later, maybe you got a new digital camera that wouldn’t work, maybe you called support for your new computer because you couldn’t connect it to the internet.

What comes to mind when you think of these problems? Probably how the problem was resolved and how you were treated during the process. If your flight attendant ticket agent was apologetic and tried to compensate you by offering you a free ticket anywhere on their airlines and a free meal voucher for the airport in addition to booking you a new flight, you would probably feel she was extremely helpful. She made you feel special and went out of her way to make you feel as comfortable as possible despite the flight cancellation being out of her control.

What if, on the other hand, you call up your phone company’s billing department and after spending 10 minutes trying to navigate their automated touchtone call system, you are put on hold for another 25 minutes until a live person talks with you. That person doesn’t speak English very well and doesn’t seem to understand you were overcharged – according to the system, you changed your plan and there’s nothing he can do to remove the excess charge. So you ask to speak to his manager who is just as unhelpful. You hang up frustrated and vow to switch providers.

What’s the main difference between scenario 1 and 2? In scenario 1, the flight attendant ticket agent was empathetic. She showed you she cared and wanted to help you out in anyway she could. Yes, her company may have inconvenienced you by canceling the flight, but she tried to make it as pleasant as possible while coming up with the next best solution to the problem. On the other hand, your phone company tries very hard not to talk with its customers – from the automated phone system to the 25 minute hold time. They also obviously outsource their customer support oversees to cut costs (rather than support customers). The person you talked with didn’t make much of an effort to empathize with your concerns – he couldn’t solve your problem nor did he seem to care about trying to make things right. When you work with prospects and clients, are you empathetic to their needs or do you try to shuffle them off the phone at your most convenient opportunity?

Of course, that isn’t to say you should deliberately create problems so you can resolve them – it’s up to you to manage expectations from the start – but when problems do arise, put yourself in your client’s shoes. He wants this resolved as much as you do. Offer him an honest explanation along with a few possible solutions – and be sure to empathize with him and his pain.

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