Nordstrom has a culture of putting customers first. Employees are trained to go above and beyond to satisfy customers, even if it means losing commission or money. The company focuses on customer service and experience rather than advertising. Nordstrom encourages employees to collect information about customers and get to know their stories to provide personalized service. Video is used to increase personal connections and build trust with potential clients.

1. Customer Before Company
Revolutionizing Your Business the Nordstrom Way
Maura Neill, CRS, ABR, CDPE, e-PRO, REALTOR®
about.me/mauraneill
©2014 Maura Neill

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

4. “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

5. The Best Policy Ever!

6. The Best Policy Ever!

7. 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.”

8. 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.”

9. 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.”

10. WHEN YOU’RE THE CUSTOMER
Consider This:

11. 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?

12. Would you like
being your own client?

13. Be the client.

14. HEROICS

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

16. 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.”

17. 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.”

18. Shannon Williams King
“We flew a client from Australia on
our dime prior to closing to make
sure she liked the home - and was in
person to sign her closing docs.”
Note: this price point was $400,000.

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?

21. Create an unforgettable
customer experience

22. The Experience

23. 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

24. GOAL SETTING
Client-centric

26. 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.

27. Define your
money-back guarantee

28. Proving the Difference

29. 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?

30. What sets you apart?

31. Customer service redefined
Social Media

32. Even Nordstrom Had To Go Further

33. Where can
you
get into
trouble?

34. Where can
you
get into
trouble?
Anywhere
you have
an online
presence.

35. Social Media Landmines For You
• Always make sure that your
company name and
professional status are
apparent on every electronic
communication you make.
• Be careful about posting
information about your
meetings with clients or other
real estate professionals.
• Don’t complain, brag, or even
talk about your client’s
reactions to property.

36. Social Media Landmines
for Your Clients
• Have your clients make a list of
all the social media sites on
which they have profiles.
• Warn them about posting
during the buying or selling
process.
• Explain the dangers that social
media can pose to their
negotiations.
• Need a horror story to tell?

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. What Do You Know About
Your Clients?
Raziel Ungar, CRS
Create space in your CRM -OR- a
spreadsheet where you can file
information/jot notes about your clients
Where can you find information/details?
 Facebook
 Your questionnaires
 Your notes
Notes, articles of interest, birthday/anniversary
cards, phone calls, conversation starters

43. 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

44. What are they saying?

46. “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
Photo credit: “Multi Ethnic Team Indoors” by ambro on freedigitalphotos.net

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

48. Third-Party Review Sites

52. Get Yours Here:
AngelFields@thinkbig4me.com
www.ThinkBig4Me.com

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

54. Monitoring Your
Online Reputation
 Keep track of sites on which you’ve set up a
profile
 Respond to requests for information, even if
your response is, “I don’t know – let me find
out!”
 Make this a part of your daily and/or weekly
tasks – know what people are saying

55. VIDEO:
F2F Redefined

56. 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

57. 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

58. 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!

59. Video as Introduction:
Respond to Leads Immediately and Personally

60. Client Testimonials

61. Neighborhood Videos

62. INSPIRING LOYALTY

63. 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.”

64. 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

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

66. CO-OP(ERATION)

67. co· op· er· a· tion
/kō äpə rāSHən/ˌ ˈ
-the process of working together to the same
end
-assistance, especially by ready compliance
with requests

68. When Does Co-op(eration) Start?

69. MINDSET

70. ...based on experience?

71. ...generational?

72. ...communcation breakdown?

73. Cooperation or Competition?

74. Be responsive

75. Be responsive
Be compassionate

76. Be responsive
Be compassionate
Be grateful

79. Impact on the transaction?
...And future transactions?
CONSIDER:

80. Why Does It Matter?
People.

81. 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.

82. Connect With Me
about.me/MauraNeill