Client Care Flashcards
Tell about why it is important to develop long-term client relationships.
Loyal customer base provides repeat business over long period of time, so they give a stable financial platform.
Long client relationships also project a positive image both internally and externally.
These loyal clients are brand advocates, and word of mouth accounts for a lot of referrals in this industry.
Tell me about the different stakeholders you have come across in your role.
Anyone one who can affects, is affected by or is perceived to be effected by a project.
- Customers. Stake: Product/service quality and value. …
- Employees. Stake: Employment income and safety. …
- Investors. Stake: Financial returns. …
- Suppliers and Vendors. Stake: Revenues and safety. …
- Communities. Stake: Health, safety, economic development. …
- Governments. Stake: Taxes and GDP.
- Shareholders/owners. Stake: They own the business
Tell me about how you have tailored your client care to one of these stakeholders.
Opera Lane
1) I am proactive by reaching out to my clients and keeping them updated on my progress.
2) I involve my client in the goal-setting process and setting targets.
3) To achieve success, the client likely need to do some work themselves and needs to be involved to provide data etc.
4) I address the client’s needs before they know they even exist e.g. doing the snag reports
5) I build a relationship - Pick up the phone and make an actual phone call.
6) I treat my clients with respect and don’t get hung up on trivial things.
7) I am transparent, even when I made a mistake.
Why is it important to you to set objectives?
Objectives are Steps to Achieve Goals. Setting objectives with specific action-steps on the roadmap to achieving the long-term goals, gives me direction and clear focus.
Tell me about your duty of care towards your clients.
The ‘duty of care’ is a legal concept and obligation an individual or organisation owes to another party in performing acts or providing services or failing to act or provide those services which, with reasonable foresight, affect or could affect others.
A surveyor owes his client a duty to exercise reasonable skill and care in relation to the matters on which he is instructed. … Even where there is no contract, if the surveyor knows or ought to know that someone is relying on his advice, he will owe that person a tortious duty of care.
By Maintaining:
• Professional Indemnity Insurance.
• Complaints Handling Procedure.
• A procedure for handling clients money if applicable.
How have you defined your scope of services within the limits of your competence and PI insurance?
Yes. The scope of services and PII insurance are always noted in the TOE.
How do you set fees?
Suggest 1.5% then reduce to minimum .8% if there are a large volume of units included in the project brief. Consider your costs involved in the project and the fee you need to charge to cover the costs and a profit. Consider the market rate and competitors rate.
Opera Lane is : .8%
Lancaster Gate is: .8%
One of property is: 1.5%
Auction property is: 1%
How have you used standard forms of appointment?
I havent used a standard form of appointment yet. However, I will use one if I am asked to work on a project as a consultant Chartered Surveyor when I am qualified.
What mechanisms are contained within an appointment document?
- Parties to the Contract.
- Scope of work.
- Fees.
- How payment will be calculated.
- Dispute resolution Procedure/Method.
- Provisions for Termination.
- Define Responsibilities.
What insurance requirements are you aware of (both legal and RICS)?
- Employers Liability Insurance. - for compensation claims against you by employers for accidents or illness that occur from work activities.
- Third party Liability Insurance. - for compensation against non-employees.
How are stakeholders identified?
Anyone one who can affects, is affected by or is perceived to be effected by a project.
Explain formal communication systems with clients and stakeholders you are aware of.
Formal communication re OL: Written quarterly reports, weekly excel updates and virtual teams meeting, regular phone calls.
What KPIs might you agree with a client to monitor performance?
No. of enquiries/ viewings/ viewings to sale conversion/ viewer feedback. Hitting the target? Reaching sale price projections? No. of fall through sales.
How do you gather data during the inception stage of a project, including client briefings and site based information?
- Client Questionnaires.
- Key Performance Indicators.
- Pre-start meetings.
- Brenchmarking.
- Good, clear communication.
What is your role in Key Account Management?
This was a high level meeting with the directors to provide key account details of my clients, to debrief them on all aspects of the client management. As I had a good relationship with my clients and I knew a lot about how their organisation worked, I was asked to prepare slides on the people, their positions, the history, other developments, developments we work on, and details of house types, site overview, upcoming launches. The purpose of the meeting was so that if the main point of contact (me) was out sick, other team members would know how to takeover.
Tell me about an example of how you have provided good client care. Tell me about an example of when you have provided a high standard of service to a client.
Marina Village Greystones and Ledwill Park, Kilcock.
I was the main point of contact for the developer for all matters including purchaser management, contract updates, snagging queries and new launches. I built a strong client relationship by acting professionally and ethically, having a positive attitude, being helpful, responsive, courteous, and reasonable.
How have you dealt with an unrealistic client deadline?
I was asked to prepare an end of year synopsis report, with lots of graphics and charts and to provide it within 2 days. All of this information required extensive data collation. I had lots of viewings already booked into the diary. Advised I would need until Monday (3 days) and I met this goal (by working overtime).
How have you dealt with unrealistic client expectations?
Opera Lane - Board of Directors were based in London and read the Irish newspaper headlines reporting 9.7% growth in sale prices in 2021. The product we were selling was already at the top end of the market and there was little scope for further price increases. We prepared a market analysis summary document based on the Irish market, Cork market and then specifically the apartment market. The newspaper headlines were generally based on 3 bed semis not 2 bed apts. We also prepared a comparable document to show the overseas board of directors what else was available on the market at the price levels we were achieving.
Tell me about the approach you have taken when dealing with a regular customer (low property knowledge).
Meadowbank- Carried out a viewing with FTB’s that had never viewed a property before. I talked them through the sale process, providing general information on what comes next etc. I gave them leaflets on how to get ready to buy/ brochure/ price list. I also gave them our Sherry Fitz brochure for FTB’s and getting mortgage ready.
Tell me about the approach you have taken when dealing with a client with a high level of property knowledge.
Carried out a viewing with a Director of Savills on behalf of their client. I approached the viewing in a professional and friendly manner, I still pointed out all of the property specifications, finishes etc as the professional may not know this information. We chatted about marketplace activity. We spoke about rental values achievable. I followed up with an email after the viewing providing the requested comparable information.
How have you established a client’s objectives?
SMART
Specific: ‘What’ is the target or specific client area of improvement?
Measurable: What quantity, estimate, indicator of progress that can actually be written down? This serves as a measure of progress for future reviews, priority weighted.
Achievable: Is the knowledge and experience of the client/adviser enough to ‘get it done’? Can the client discipline themselves to stick to the objective?
Realistic: Can present resources, ‘realistically’ hit the future target measure? Is it attainable without being too easy or too hard? If too easy, does the client really need to take the maximum risk defined by risk profiling? Should ‘measure’ increase?
Time-bound: When can the result be achieved? Over what time period? (Deadlines make it easier to achieve objectives).
What is a client brief?
A client brief is essentially a recorded document that helps in guiding a project. The client brief, written by a client, explains the ins and outs of a project to the agency who’ll be working on it. It acts as a blueprint for your project that helps synchronize all stakeholders involved in the project and bring cohesiveness to the group.
The aim of a client brief is to convey what business problem they need help with, describe their overall brand persona, and define the end result they expect. This document thus, aligns all contributors with the project requirements, expectations, and overall strategy.
Since the client may not have enough experience with creating such documents, agencies often help out the client to understand and describe their problems effectively. It is a collaboration between 2 parties joining hands to successfully deliver a project.
How have you confirmed a client’s brief?
SMART.
How have you established a scope of services?
Your scope of practice can be defined as the limit of your knowledge, skills and experience. It is made up of the activities you carry out within your professional role, provided that you have the knowledge, skills and experience to do them lawfully, safely and effectively.
E.g. If a property has seriously concerning structural cracks I would refer the client to a building surveyor with experience in building pathology.
