I’m usually very much focused on the Big Picture (those who know me will tell you I also love details sometimes), still I can overlook details when they are so obvious that they give a negative feeling.

When I was looking for a house in Brussels I had already the opportunity to see how unprofessional some real estate agents might be. I had an interesting meeting at that time with Patrick Menache , the founder of the MacNash network. It was clear to me that real estate agencies which behaved professionally would eventually be ahead of the competition. I’m not saying that professionalism alone is a differentiation criteria. Price remains, in my opinion, the ain decision criteria and buyers are likely to accept a lot of non-professionalism if the final price is right. However professionalism remains important for the upcoming relationship between the agency and the buyer. Let  me explain. A buyer will usually not find the good he is looking for at the first attempt . The relationship with the agencies he has gotten in touch with will therefore continue for several months until, eventually, the good will be found and purchased. My opinion is therefore that agencies should pay extreme attention to the first contacts since the probability may be higher that buyers will be in touch with them again during their purchasing process. This experience has to be managed the right way.

My story:

I found an interesting good I was interested in and visited the website of the agency which was proposing it. I sent an email and asked for an appointment. After a few days I re-sent an email since I hadn’t received any answer. A week after I still had no answer. I decided to call. The answer was amazing : « yes we got your emails. But we already received an offer for the good and have stopped organizing visits ». Thank you for not having informed me.

My take:

Proactivity is an evidence of professionalism. Even if a project doesn’t go ahead, even if you can’t answer positively a customer’s request, inform your customer. Not informing is the worst think you can do.