Communication - Accuracy

RC = (C(T)(A)(CL)) + SL 

A = Accuracy...  A client wants and expects accurate information regarding the status of the service process.  This variable in the equation might be the most volatile.  If a client believes they have been lied to, whether or not the information provided was intended to be a distortion of the truth, trust has been shattered and the client will most likely move immediately to the angry extreme of the service continuum.  Worse yet, they are unlikely to move from this position because of the reason they decided to go there in the first place.  On the other hand, accurate, transparent information builds trust.  A client that does not trust their service provider will not risk their own reputation by volunteering a referral (unless they don't like the person they're giving the referral to).  A client with high levels of trust in you will rave about your service to other potential raving clients.  Here's the focus point: Don't hide or even "color" true information that a client wants and needs to know, even if the truth is not good news. Diplomatically communicating the truth will build trust through transparency and the "accuracy" variable will be maximized.

Communication - Timeliness

RC = (C(T)(A)(CL)) + SL 

T = Timeliness...  A client wants and expects timely information regarding the status of the service process.  They do not want to wait.  The longer the timespan is between the their thought "I wonder what the status is" and when they actually receive the status, the further they move along the continuum towards becoming an angry client.  Conversely, the shorter the timespan is between their desire for an update and the receipt of the status, the closer they move along the continuum towards becoming a raving client.  Here's the focus point: If the time between the want and the receipt of the status information is instantaneous, the "timeliness" variable in the raving client equation has been maximized.

The Two Disregarded Secrets

As a successful service professional you have already mastered many of the skills needed to win and retain clients.  Imagine the growth of your clientèle and business, however, if all of your clients were raving clients.  A raving client is the result of unparalleled communication and service levels (C + SL = RC).  At some level we all understand this equation, but what makes these two well known facts "secrets," is the fact that the demands and pressures of communication and providing service cause us to lose focus and ultimately disregard their importance. 

Expectation Management can keep our focus on the important details of how communication and service levels result in raving clients.  It's really quite simple if we reverse the order of the equation to read:  RC = C + SL.  By putting focus on the raving client first, the pertinent question will natural follow with frequency, "What communication and service level will exceed a client's expectation at every step of the process?"

Introduction to Mortgage Professionals

Let's face reality:  The chasm between a borrowers understanding of the loan process and an actual funded loan is wide and deep.  In the typical borrower's mind, all they really want to know is when they will be able to move into their new home or skip a payment before making their new lower payment.  Sometimes the client may politely ask when this finish date will be; sometimes they may rudely demand when it will be.  With either extreme or anywhere in between, rarely do they understand or cooperate with the sometimes challenging process that makes the funding of their loan possible.

It may seem trite to suggest that communication bridges this abyss, but it is the major difference between the angry client and the raving client.  This blog is dedicated to exploring the principles that determine whether or not a borrower's expectations are exceeded; because if they are, such a borrower will want to rave about you to another potential raving client.