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Want to improve your customer service? Talk to Clare Yates! She has over 25 years’ experience in the property industry and is more than happy to share what she knows to help you get the best out of your customer interactions. 

Here, she explains how asking every customer if now is a good time to talk – and genuinely responding to their answer – can make for happier conversations:

Any number of factors can affect your customers’ mood and emotions, and make them less tolerant of updates your team might need to share. 

This is why your team should never assume the customer is going to be calm and accepting – and always ask “Is now a good time to talk?” at the start of every call. 

If your team feel that a conversation isn’t going well, or if the customer would prefer not to talk, listening and responding to this is key. A simple response of “that’s fine, we don’t have to do this now, we can talk later” can help to leave the conversation on a positive note.  

Your team should also be able to recognise when they need to call a “time out” – instead of either parties losing their temper. They can introduce this by saying, “I appreciate your frustration. I’ll go and find some more information and call you back in 15 minutes.” 

Take a step back…

Does your team always ask “Is now a good time to talk?” Are they able to quickly recognise the signs of an unhappy customer – and do they feel confident enough to suggest they call back later? Would a 15-minute chat with your team help to create a better customer experience, positive word of mouth and maybe even a testimonial?

With thanks to Clare Yates, Senior Business Development Manager at tmgroup. 

Got a question? Connect with Clare on LinkedIn. 

Want to improve your firm? Talk to Clare Yates! She has over 25 years’ experience in the property industry and is more than happy to share what she knows to help you get the best out of your business. 

Here, she explains how sending regular reassuring emails (even if there is nothing new to report) can help to keep customers happy:

To a customer, no news IS news – and a simple email to say “there’s been no change since last week, but I will continue to chase” can help to reassure them that they haven’t been forgotten. This can help to manage general expectations, as well as avoid unnecessary phone calls to your team and local estate agent. 

Your team can also reassure customers by giving them positive glimpses into the future with informative statements such as:  “By next week, I expect to find out… I’ll be in touch with you by… to give you an update.”

Take a step back…

Why is this so important? According to Home Moving Trends research, 76% of customers value good communication skills when choosing their conveyancer, while 65% also seek out those with a proactive approach. 

Could you be doing more to deliver against your customers’ expectations?

With thanks to Clare Yates, Senior Business Development Manager at tmgroup. 

Got a question? Connect with Clare on LinkedIn.

Want to improve your firm? Talk to Clare Yates! She has over 25 years’ experience in the property industry and is more than happy to share what she knows to help you get the best out of your business. 

Here, she explains how arranging to call a customer back “in the afternoon” could lead to miscommunication and disappointment:

People can have very different definitions of what calling back in the “morning” or “afternoon” means. 

For example, one customer might consider the “afternoon” to be anything from 12 noon through to 4pm – and could have given up on your team calling them back by 4.15pm. Even if your office is open until 5pm. 

Don’t take the risk. Ask your team to always refer to specific time frames (e.g. between 2pm and 4pm) when telling a customer they’re going to call them back – then make sure they follow through. 

Take a step back…

If your team always called back when they said they were going to, would your customers have more confidence in your service and make fewer chasing calls? Could your firm even win new business based on your team’s flawless reliability?

With thanks to Clare Yates, Senior Business Development Manager at tmgroup. 

Got a question? Connect with Clare on LinkedIn.

Want to improve your firm? Talk to Clare Yates! She has over 25 years’ experience in the property industry and is more than happy to share what she knows to help you get the best out of your business. 

Here, she explains how avoiding negative words such as “unfortunately” can help to keep your customers happy – even if your team do need to deliver bad news: 

Starting a sentence with “Unfortunately…” or “I’m sorry to say…” instantly prepares your customers for disappointment. It can be far more reassuring for your team to avoid these words completely and simply state the issue – before quickly moving onto how to fix it. 

Your team can also try simple language changes to put a positive spin on a situation. For example, “we’re chasing the matter” sounds far more positive and proactive than “we’re waiting to hear back…” 

These tweaks can make a big difference to your customers’ experience (and stress levels), so take a few minutes out of your working day to discuss “happier” language choices with your team – both in emails and phone calls. 

Take a step back…

If your team could put a positive spin on every situation, how would your customers feel about their service experience? Would they be more likely to recommend your firm to their friends and family?

With thanks to Clare Yates, Senior Business Development Manager at tmgroup. 

Got a question? Connect with Clare on LinkedIn.

Want to improve your firm? Talk to Clare Yates! She has over 25 years’ experience in the property industry and is more than happy to share what she knows to help you get the best out of your business. 

Here, she explains how training your team to make simple changes - such as avoiding jargon - can help to reduce repeat calls and improve efficiency:

Taking multiple calls from the same customer about the same thing is a waste of everyone’s time – but it can be avoided. 

Try asking your team to be more proactive with these small tweaks to their telephone manner – and make sure that every customer gets the information they need first time around: 

• Ask the customer to find a pen: If your team need to give a long answer to a question or explain a step-by-step process, they should ask the customer to find a pen first, so notes can be taken to refer to later on. 

• Avoid jargon: Every industry has technical terms that they come to understand as “the norm”. Don’t make assumptions! If your team do need to use technical language, ask them to offer an explanation too. 

• Double-check for understanding: A customer may politely agree with a member of your team as they explain something, but it doesn’t mean they are taking it all in. Before hanging up the phone, your team should always ask the customer if they have any questions about what has just been said, or if they would like anything to be repeated. 

• Offer a follow-up email: If your team are explaining something particularly complicated, they could also offer to follow up with a helpful email. You could even share templates with the team to save time. 

• …And actually send that email! In tmgroup’s mystery shop research, we discovered that 55% of firms that promised to send further information via email never followed through with their promise. 

Take a step back…

If you could guarantee that every customer query could be resolved in a single conversation, what else would your team be able to achieve in their day?

With thanks to Clare Yates, Senior Business Development Manager at tmgroup. 

Got a question? Connect with Clare on LinkedIn.

Want to improve your firm? Talk to Clare Yates! She has over 25 years’ experience in the property industry and is more than happy to share what she knows to help you get the best out of your business. 

Here, she explains how your team can create a better working environment, and improve your service experience, by treating every colleague like a customer: 

Working in conveyancing can be stressful, but less so if everyone makes a conscious effort to help each other. Answering the telephone is a great example of how a positive approach to a routine task can make a big difference to everyone’s mood – and the customer experience. 

In a busy office, answering the telephone can feel like a chore and an interruption – and it is all too easy for team members to “pass the buck”. Yet doing so can breed resentment amongst colleagues – especially those who feel frazzled from always being the one that ends up answering the calls. 

Take a step back…

If you asked your team to be more conscious of their own behaviour and think about their colleagues as customers, what do you think they’d do differently? 

Would they develop a fair rota for answering the telephone? Would your customers notice a difference in their service experience?

With thanks to Clare Yates, Senior Business Development Manager at tmgroup. 

Got a question? Connect with Clare on LinkedIn.