What’s the one thing that can make or break a sale instantly? The answer is simple: customer service.
Excellent customer service helps you foster a great relationship with potential buyers, leading to a higher likelihood they’ll buy from you. It also increases the chance they’ll give a good account of their experience, leading to positive referrals and an uplift in business over time.
One way to demonstrate good customer service is to simply be really helpful.
So let’s get specific. Here are 12 ways you can be more helpful, improve your customer service and support your international buyers through the property purchase process.
As you know, a Spanish NIE number (or Número de Identidad de Extranjero) is required to identify foreigners who are undertaking official processes like house purchases. But the process of getting one can be confusing, with notoriously tight timescales that can cause difficulties for international buyers. Draw on your experience to reassure and guide your buyers through this process and you’ll be able to take one stress off their mind.
Spanish taxation of property purchases can feel like a minefield to a potential international investor. There’s VAT and stamp duty, Spanish Transfer Tax, not to mention the costs associated with the purchase and ongoing ownership of a property. Do what you can to become well-versed in this area and your clients will appreciate your support. Make sure they don’t blow their whole budget on a house and have nothing left to settle these additional costs.
Legal systems vary so much between countries, so international buyers may worry they’ll miss something vital – especially if there is a language barrier too. While no one would expect you to become an expert, your client will be delighted if you can offer a little basic advice and refer trusted legal professionals in the area. Some buyers may be under the impression that a notary can do everything they need so explaining to them the importance of hiring an independent lawyer to handle the purchase is very helpful. At the very least tell your buyers what they will need to do, even if you can’t necessarily help them do it.
If your buyer plans to use the property they’re buying as a holiday home, they’ll only be there for a percentage of the year. Which means for the remainder they could benefit from renting it out. This is the perfect opportunity to support your client by offering advice about the rental market and even upselling your services in managing the property for them while they’re away.
If your client is outside the Euro zone, help them to navigate the currency fluctuations and exchange rate differentials involved in purchasing a property. They’ll certainly thank you for it.
As an international buyer, it can be tough to find the time to spend on the ground in the country you’re buying in. So make yourself indispensable by doing some of the hard work for them. Ask lots of probing questions and stay in touch throughout the search process. Show potential buyers that you understand exactly what they’re after and can help them cut down their search time immeasurably.
If your buyer is planning on renovating the property once they’ve purchased, use your local connections to help them find reputable tradesman to undertake the work. Remember: referrals can work both ways – your new network of contacts might very well send work your to you too.
It’s hard to get a feel for a place after just one visit or a quick browse online. Help international buyers find out more about the areas they’re interested in. Provide information about schools, communities, golf clubs and beaches depending on what they’re interested in. As a buyer living elsewhere they will have much less knowledge about Spanish areas and therefore will need more support in this than local buyers would.
One important consideration for those moving internationally is often the availability of good healthcare. Establish whether this is important to your clients and offer reassurance and information about local hospitals, doctors and pharmacies.
If your buyer is of retirement age, make sure that they understand the basics about receiving their pension in Spain and the differences depending on whether they have previously worked in the country or not. Give any tips you can from your knowledge of other buyers who have gone before.
Travelling around can be stressful in a foreign country, especially if you are unfamiliar with the language. Help your international buyer to identify the best modes of transport in the local area. Provide details of a taxi firm if they need it and explain when and where local buses run. Make it easy for your clients to get around.
Help your buyers to understand the options open to them when it comes to moving their possessions. If possible, collect recommendations from previous buyers who have had a good experience and pass these on. A good international removals firm should be able to provide all the advice they need but, if you’ve picked up any hints or tips along the way, make sure you share them.
Why not start a blog on your agency website? You could write useful articles on all of the topics above as well as a myriad of others. Not only will you learn more about the subjects, you’ll have information on hand to direct your clients to. And what’s more your content will have the potential to be found and shared online, helping others, generating more leads and ultimately more clients.
