I spent two decades employed in the broadcast industry (radio). At one point in my career I worked for an ABC-owned and operated station in San Francisco.
As you can imagine, with ratings being the end-all, be-all, ABC’s corporate bigwigs were on top of their game when it came to determining what their listeners wanted and didn’t want.
They didn’t guess. They didn’t go online to get others’ opinions (there was no “online” back then anyway). They went straight to the source: their audience.
And, they did this via focus groups, a handful of listeners, gathered together for a discussion led by a pro, focused on what the station was getting right and where it needed to improve.
If you’re considering introducing a new service for your listing clients, if you are looking for ways to build a client-driven real estate practice, the best way to find out how is by asking clients directly. That’s where a real estate client advisory council comes into play.
Have your real estate client advisory council focus on one aspect of your business
What aspect of your real estate practice isn’t working as well as you had hoped?
- Your listing presentation
- Your website
- Your client events
- Your direct mail or email drip campaigns
- Your marketing materials
Choose the part of your business that you think might suck, but you’re too close to judge accurately.
It’s important to keep your real estate client advisory council to a single topic or issue. It’s a “focus” group, remember?
A successful real estate client advisory council requires a bit of planning
The experts at Franklin Templeton Investments suggest that you include “about 15 clients to contact initially.” Sounds like a lot, yes, but this allows for those who may decline the invitation.
“Ideally, you’ll want to have between eight and 12 members on your advisory council, since you want everyone to connect personally,” they continue.
When choosing which former clients to invite, think first of those with whom you’ve built a solid rapport.
You may also want to bring along an associate who can help keep you on track, act as a second set of eyes and ears and run the audio equipment. Professional focus group planners caution against using video to record the event as some may feel less inclined to give candid answers if they know they’re being filmed.
Where will you hold the real estate client advisory council and when?
A conference room at your brokerage is ideal for hosting this group of clients. A private room in a restaurant would work as well, as long as the noise level isn’t too high and there aren’t a ton of distractions.
Think “intimate,” with a small group of people sitting around a table, exchanging ideas.
When choosing which day or evening to hold the event, consider what your group does for a living. Day workers may prefer an after-work or weekend session whereas retirees or work-from home clients may prefer a lunch meeting.
Issue the invites at least four weeks in advance of the meeting.
How to issue the invitations
A personal phone call is the best way to invite people to become a part of your client advisory council. When you call, The Franklin Templeton folks suggest that you “ … tell them that, if you could, you’d like to work only with people like them” in the future.”
Flattery may just get you somewhere.
“Explain that you’re trying to do everything you can to give your clients the service they deserve because, primarily, you value their business and want to keep them as satisfied clients,” suggests Bill Berkowitz with the University of Kansas.
“You might say you prefer not to mass market to people you have no connection with,” he concludes.
Ask if they’d be interested in attending a quick meeting over lunch (or coffee, or cocktails or whatever) and offer their opinions, advice and feedback about your customer service, marketing pieces or whichever aspect of your business you want feedback on.
Although it’s fine to call it a “focus group,” we think that “client advisory council” has a certain professional and somewhat prestigious “ring” to it.
Don’t neglect a follow up call, text or email as the date draws closer, with a reminder of the date and where the session is being held.
Create the real estate client advisory council’s agenda
Recheck the goal you hope to accomplish with the real estate client advisory council. Get clear on what you want to learn.
For instance, if you’re interested in getting real estate consumer feedback on your listing presentation, give an actual presentation to an associate you bring along. Then, create goals around the topic. For instance:
- I want to know what type of impact my pre-listing packet has.
- I want to know which aspects of the actual presentation have the greatest impact and why.
- Which parts of the presentation, if any, are confusing?
- Would they list their home with me or continue interviewing listing agents?
If your goal is to build referrals, get the ideas flowing with some tips from Berkowitz:
- “How would you feel about referring others to me?”
- “What could I do to encourage word-of-mouth referrals from you?”
- If you were in my business, how would you go about reaching people like you?
- How much is “too much” when it comes to a real estate agent reaching out to you?
A couple of years ago, Hear it dir
Don’t forget the small details
- Confirm the location reservation at least 24-hours in advance of the event.
- Create name tags for attendees.
- Ensure that snacks, beverages, etc. are taken care of.
- Remind your associate of the event.
- Keep your goals top-of-mind
The last point is critical. Focus groups aren’t marketing opportunities, so don’t go out of your way trying to promote yourself. It’s not a meeting where attendees are attempting to reach a solution to your problem, either.
A focus group’s primary purpose is to obtain feedback about one aspect of your business, or how you approach it, from real estate consumers.
Although they’re no longer holding consumer panels of buyers and sellers, a few years back Hear it Direct was offering up brilliant videos of Q&A sessions with these folks.
A few of these videos still exist online and they’ll offer up some ideas for questions to ask, feedback to solicit, from your focus group members.
Start with this one and this one, but you’ll find others on the sidebar on the group’s Facebook page.
Learn more about how to plan a client advisory council online at Community Toolbox, University of Mississippi and Fortune.com.
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