Good customer service is critical to success for all businesses in any type of industry. Real estate agents are no exception. While there may be some minor variations in what creates good customer service from industry to industry, there are also some key elements that do not change. Here are three tips to offering outstanding customer service as a real estate agent.

1. Be readily available

When it comes to buying and selling homes in a hot market, every agent knows timing is critical. While you may not be able to personally answer your phone every second of the day, it is important to make sure that your clients always have a live person they can speak to or a way of reaching you fairly quickly. It may mean sometimes allowing one set of clients to wander a home for a few minutes on their own while you call another client but always do your best to answer calls whenever you can and respond promptly to texts, messages or emails.

2. Communicate clearly and regularly

Not all clients will be in a hurry to buy or sell. Both buyers and sellers may just want to test the water and see what’s out there. In some cases it may be days, weeks or months between showings. As an agent, it may be your job to keep the ball rolling. You do this by keeping in contact with your clients regularly to see where things stand, what their current needs are and how you can meet them. You never know when the right buyer or listing may get a client off the fence and finally bring you a commission.

3. Listen carefully

Agents need to learn to listen to not only what their clients are saying but also what they are not saying. It is almost a certainty that your clients will have fears, doubts and concerns that they may not even be aware of having. They may also say they want one thing but keep being drawn to listings that are very different from what they say they want. The more you understand their fears, doubts and actual needs, the more likely you are to successfully usher them all the way to the finish line.