The Nordstrom department store is legendary for exemplary customer service: from the earliest beginnings of Nordstrom, a sign hung from the ceiling that read, “If We Sell You Well, Tell Others. If Not, Tell Us.” Well known for putting customer over company, Nordstrom salespeople are empowered from above to always make it right for the customer. With lessons that can be useful for solo agents, team leaders, and brokers alike, Nordstrom’s business philosophies easily translate into the real estate industry. By taking a page out of the Nordstrom book, from practical translation of the Nordstrom way into customer relationships to incorporating the Nordstrom beliefs into our personal values systems, we can revolutionize our businesses and our industry.

1. Customer Before Company
Revolutionizing Your Business the Nordstrom Way
Maura Neill, CRS, ABR, CDPE, e-PRO, REALTOR®
about.me/mauraneill
©2016 Maura Neill

2. WHAT IT MEANS
Customer Before Company
(or not)

5. “The only thing we have going for us is the
way we take care of our customers.”
~ John Nordstrom,
on what sets Nordstrom
apart from the competition

6. The Best Policy Ever!

7. The Best Policy Ever!

8. Nordstrom Employees:
In Their Words
“I’m a customer-oriented service person. You’re
looking for something, and I’m determined I’m going
to find it.”

9. Nordstrom Employees:
In Their Words
“If it’s not nailed down, I’ll find it for a customer. I
don’t make commission on [everything], but it’s part
of the service I provide.”

10. Nordstrom Employees:
In Their Words
“Never judge a book by its cover. If you treat the kid
who is buying a $19.95 belt the same as a
businessman buying a $1,995 Oxford suit, you will be
successful. That kid might become a customer for
life.”

11. WHEN YOU’RE THE CUSTOMER
Consider This:

12. Photo credit: “Lady with Luggage” by digitalart on freedigitalphotos.net
Flying the Friendly Skies?
“My goal is to make you happy.”
What is your goal?

13. Would you like
being your own client?

14. Be the client.

15. HEROICS

16. Photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net
B
E
T
H
E
H
E
R
O

17. Leigh Brown, CRS
“I took an IOU on a commission on a
house last year to keep the deal
together and to keep my client from
having to short sell. Strikingly enough,
she paid me 11 months later. The other agent
was flabbergasted.”

18. Dawn Thomas, CRS
“Last month, one of our buyers
brought in their own lender.
Needless to say, a pretty straight-
forward transaction on a jumbo loan went
sideways and several delays, to the point the
husband had to cancel his trip to Europe even
though his wife was going to spend Christmas with
family. I hate the idea of anyone being alone
during the holidays, so I invited him to our house
for a crab feast on Christmas Eve and movies the
next day.”

19. Nobu Hata
“I drove five hours for four signatures
on a $125K relo deal for the nicest
couple in the world. Incidentally,
that same couple sent me a $15million
commercial buyer.”
Note: Nobu had to give away that $15million
commercial buyer – referral fee-free – because he had
already taken his new position at NAR.

20. Small gestures?

22. Create an unforgettable
customer experience

23. The Experience

24. The “We” Experience
“The more information I have…the better I can
serve the customer…This isn’t just my deal. It’s
not an “I” experience; it’s a “we” experience.
Photo credit: “Multi Ethnic Team Indoors” by ambro on freedigitalphotos.net
~ Patrick McCarthy – top Nordstrom sales
associate, 15 consecutive years

25. Core values

27. “We take most of the money that we could
have spent on paid advertising and instead
put it back into the customer experience.
Then we let the customers be our marketing.”
~ Tony Hsieh,
CEO, Zappos.com

30. GOAL SETTING
Client-centric

32. Incorporate Client-centric Goals
 Happily Closed Clients
 Incoming Testimonials
 Referrals from Past Clients
*Doesn’t have to be warm & fuzzy, but focusing on
these things can help you stay focused more on
your clients and less on yourself.

33. Define your
money-back guarantee

34. Proving the Difference

35. You vs. Them
 What’s your value proposition? Do you even
know?
 How do you communicate your value?
 What’s your “money-back guarantee”?
 Easy-exit listing agreement
 Easy-exit buyer brokerage agreement
 How else do you offer a guarantee?

36. What sets you apart?

37. What Do These Messages Say?
 “I’m out of listings! Who wants to sell?”
 “I’m in LOVE with my new listing!”
 “Just wrote contracts today for 3 lucky
buyers!”

38. HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
Taking a Page From the

39. Service vs. Hospitality
“Service is the technical delivery of a product.
Hospitality is how the delivery of that product makes
its recipient feel. Service is a monologue – we decide
how we want to do things and set our own standards
for service. Hospitality, on the other hand, is a
dialogue. [It] requires thoughtful listening to the other
person, and follow-up with a thoughtful, gracious,
appropriate response. It takes both great service
and great hospitality to rise to the top.”
~ Danny Meyer, restaurantuer

40. Turning Over the Rocks
Photo credit: “Fly Fisherman Casting” by joe1642 on Flickr.com
Turning Over the Rocks

41. Turning Over the Rocks
 Think like a fly fisherman
 Look for the story behind the story
 Collect the dots
 Give your clients a feeling of “shared
ownership”

42. Keeping Client Records
 Expand your database – vertically not
horizontally
 Add details about your current/past clients instead
of cold leads
 Depth and details instead of volume
 Take notes – after meetings, during phone
calls, as you think of them
 Facebook Graph Search

43. What are they saying?

44. Your most unhappy customers are your
greatest source of learning.
~ Bill Gates

45. Third-Party Review Sites

46. “If We Sell You Well, Tell Others.
If Not, Tell Us.”

47. VIDEO:
F2F Redefined

48. Spend a lot of time talking to
customers face to face. You’d be
amazed how many companies don’t
listen to their customers.
~ Ross Perot

49. Video as Customer Service
 Increase length of time consumers stay on
your site
 Increase your likelihood of being found
with improved SEO
 Build trust and credibility
 Help potential clients feel like they know
you
 Make the initial connection more personal

50. Incorporating Video
 Lead response videos
 Video updates for clients in transaction
 Community videos
 FAQ videos
 Personal videos – about you, about your
team, about your community involvement
 Videos of client events, charity events, and
more!

51. INSPIRING LOYALTY

52. Follow-Through
 Thank You Note: “Even if it’s the tenth time
I’ve waited on that customer, I don’t thank
him for his business; I thank him for his loyalty.”
 Nordstrom provides its employees with free thank
you notes – plus address labels, postage, etc. – and
encourages them to use them daily!
 Follow-Up Call: “Ninety percent of the time,
they’re so stunned that you called, they
remember you.”

53. NAR’s 2012 Profile Said…
87% of clients were satisfied with their REALTOR®
and would refer them again
BUT
Only 10% did. Why?

54. Why Does It Matter?
People.

55. I’ve learned that
people will forget
what you
said,
people will forget
what you
did,
but people will never forget
how you made them
~ Maya Angelou
feel.

56. GOT SLIDES?
www.BuySellLiveAtlanta.com/customer-service

57. Connect With Me
about.me/MauraNeill