Elite Agent issue 23 Jul 2018

Page 22

first person

JOSH PHEGAN

There’s only ever one cheapest agent If you’re not aiming to be the cheapest agent, you must compete on value. And the only thing that can create value is customer experience. Coach Josh Phegan explains.

WHAT YOU THINK IS THE PROBLEM isn’t the problem. The way you think about the problem – that’s the problem. There are three types of customer you need to get close to. Existing customers of your firm – they know you, love you and chose you for a reason. Competitors’ customers – they chose the competitor for a reason and have valuable insights into the way you present that turned them away. And, thirdly, non-consumers – people who haven’t yet used real estate services but still have valuable perceptions around who they would choose and why. The industry is so transactional in its nature that rarely does it stop for just a few moments to get close to these three customer types to understand what the customers find valuable.

HOW DO YOU DRIVE UP VALUE IN THE CONSUMER’S MIND? Answer: Get more jobs done. What’s the job the customer needs to get done? If you think it’s to get the house sold, you’re wrong. It’s one of the jobs, but there’s far more to a successful transaction. They want to be sold, have successfully purchased, be

20 ELITE AGENT • JUN – JUL 2018

moved and getting on with life post the transactions. The more you can help to alleviate the things they will go through in the transaction, the more valuable you become. Most of what we do is

forgettable, but there are moments that become remarkable. Like the moment when the agent turns up a day after you’ve bought or sold to organise the mail redirection, provides quotes from suppliers

IT’S THE MOMENT WHEN THE CUSTOMER REALISES THEY HAD UNMET, UNIDENTIFIED AND UNSATISFIED NEEDS THAT WERE JUST MET AND EXCEEDED.

like a removalist and organises the disconnection and connection of essential services. While it seems simple, often agents only do these things if they notice their competitor is doing them. When you have a deep understanding of the customer, then you can serve. Designing the customer journey is about identified low points (pain, anxiety and stress), then placing a high point (moments of joy, wonder and amazement) right next to them. The closer the high is to the low, the less likely the consumer is to remember the low. Think price reduction, then 24 hours later there’s a buyer appointment, and the buyer makes an offer. Whenever you have to call a client and you’re putting it off or hesitating because there’s a real chance you’re about to deliver a low, what can you do in the following 24 hours to engineer a high? When you understand the customer journey, you can design the low and high points. Disneyland places an


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