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. Take a closer look at how to: - Put Nordstrom’s ”customer before company” philosophy into practice – in a written mission statement and/or company policy (personal and/or brokerage) – to maximize the customer experience, focusing on service rather than commission. - Strive to nurture the long-term relationship. Nordstrom’s top salespeople don’t go straight for the sale: one sale equals one commission; one relationship equals a lifetime of business. - Recognize the importance of follow-through and incorporate it into your daily routine. - Decipher the Nordstrom mystique and make it work for your real estate business.

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

3. On Twitter?
Tweet along…
@MauraNeill
@CRSConnect
#SAB13
@MauraNeill

4. Customer Before Company
WHAT IT MEANS
@MauraNeill

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. Nordstrom Employee Handbook
5” by 8” card that reads:
WELCOME TO NORDSTROM
We’re glad to have you with
our Company.
Our number one goal is to provide
outstanding customer service.
Set both your personal and
professional goals high.
Rule #1: Use your good
judgment in all situations.
There will be no additional rules.

7. 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.”
 “I’m a customer-oriented service person. You’re
looking for something, and I’m determined I’m
going to find it.”
 “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.”

8. Consider This:
WHEN YOU’RE THE CUSTOMER
@MauraNeill

9. Flying the Friendly Skies?
My flight to Sell-a-Bration:
Flight attendant #1: “I don’t know. Why don’t you check
the back of the plane?”
Flight attendant #2: “Come with me. I think I have a
place for your bag up in first class.”
“My goal is to
make you happy.”
Photo credit: “Lady with Luggage” by digitalart on freedigitalphotos.net

10. Would you like being your own client?

11. Be Your Own Client
 What would be important to you if you were on
the other side of the client relationship?
 When is attention to your personal
needs/personality most important to you?
 What expectations would you have at every
step in the process?
 Do you fulfill those items for your own clients,
every transaction, every time?

12. ACTION ITEM
Think back over your last closed transaction:
What would you say about yourself, if you were the
client giving feedback or writing a testimonial.
Be honest – what would you say?
Based on the experience you gave that client…
would you refer YOU?

13. HEROICS
@MauraNeill

14. Nordstrom: Heroics
 Weekly V.I.P. Club and Employee of the Month –
recognizes sales AND going above and beyond
 Examples:
 warming up a customer’s car in winter
 taking an order over the phone and bringing
merchandise to the curb when customer arrives
 driving a customer’s airline tickets to them at the
airport when they left them behind at the store
 Employees encouraged to “report” the heroics
of others – circulated in a weekly printed heroics
list
Photo credit: “Rubber Stamp with VIP Word” by Stuart Miles on freedigitalphotos.net

15. 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.”

16. 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.”

17. 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.

18. Sasha Farmer, CRS
“For the past 4 years I have kept a “sunshine
fund” – at the end of each month I take
1% of my commission checks and put them
into a separate small checking account.
Inevitably, one of my clients will call a month or two after
closing asking for a recommendation for a plumber
because they have a sink leaking, or an electrician
because they've blown a fuse, or HVAC because suddenly
the AC isn't kicking in, or something unexpected has
popped up. I have that extra little cushion of account that I
can use at my discretion to offer some towards helping.”

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. Julie Beall, CRS
“The house of a client burned
down. They had just moved. They
called me from the emergency room.
They were new in town and knew no one. They only
knew their REALTOR®. I offered them a place to stay.
They lived with us for four months. I remember
laying in bed the first night they were there thinking
what the hell had I done to myself and my family.
These people are now special friends in our lives.”

21. Jeremy Hart, Future CRS
 “Next time I'm feeling like real
estate is full of arrogant a**holes,
I'm coming back to read this post
again. Full of awesome stuff.”

22. SMALL GESTURES
@MauraNeill

23. Some Examples of Small Gestures
 Creating playlists that match your clients’ music
preferences for a day of househunting in the car
 Research restaurants that fit an out-of-town
client’s favorites while in town (especially for
clients with special dietary needs!)
 Make your closing gifts personal, instead of
“one-size-fits-all”
 Creating video previews of homes at the top of
your out-of-town clients’ lists – OR – visiting a
property to FaceTime with a client on their
lunchbreak

24. Some Examples of Small Gestures
 Creating a private Facebook group for each
transaction to share updates/reminders with that
client
 “Giving away the milk for free” – giving
consumers the information they want to build
trust and credibility
 Being flexible

25. ACTION ITEMS
 Make a list of things you already do that truly set
you apart from other agents in your market
 What are three things you can add to your list to
make each client’s experience with you
exemplary?
 What questions can you ask in your buyer and
seller initial consultations to glean more
information to help you personalize your
service?

26. CREATING THE EXPERIENCE
@MauraNeill

27. The Nordstrom Experience
 Carefully choreographed customer experience
 Ease of navigation
 Improved comfort and familiarity
 One-stop shopping
 Local feeling
In short:
 They listened to the customer.

28. 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.
~ Patrick McCarthy – top Nordstrom sales associate,
15 consecutive years

29. Buyer/Seller Questionnaires

30. ACTION ITEM: Create the Experience
Beyond your market knowledge and your real
estate experience, the client experience is your
value proposition.
Outline your client experience, from beginning to
end, for every type of client.
Design the experience to match your personality –
and the type of client you serve.
Create buyer and seller questionnaires online –
have them filled out before your appointment

31. Client-centric
GOAL SETTING
@MauraNeill

32. What Do Your Goals Look Like?
What does your business plan measure?
Transactions
Volume
Commissions
Listings taken/listings sold
Where is the client here?

33. 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.

34. Commission
EARNING YOUR WORTH
@MauraNeill

35. Proving the Difference
 Nordstrom considers its culture to be the key
element that separates them from the
competition:
 Employee autonomy
 Customer first mentality
 Lack of rules limiting employees’ ability to serve
 Salespeople take a true interest in the customer
 Money-back guarantee/return policy – truly sets
them apart

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

37. ACTION ITEMS
 Write down what sets you apart from others. Be
specific.
 On which items do you focus when meeting with
buyers? Sellers?
 How do you communicate those items that set
you apart so that the potential client becomes a
client?
 In the initial Buyer Consultation?
 In the Listing Appointment?
 Throughout the process?

38. Taking a Page From the
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
@MauraNeill

39. Hospitality vs. Service
“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
 Think like a fly fisherman
 Look for the story behind the story
 Collect the dots
 Give your clients a feeling of “shared
ownership”

41. 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

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. Facebook Graph Search

44. INSPIRING LOYALTY
@MauraNeill

45. 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.”

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

47. WHY IT ALL MATTERS
@MauraNeill

48. Why Does It Matter? People.
 We’re in the business of helping people
 The “depressed market” didn’t weed out the
bad agents, it just forced them into hibernation
 It’s about more than just commissions

49. Final Thought:
“If We Sell You Well, Tell Others.
If Not, Tell Us.”

50. Recommended Reading
The Nordstrom Way
The Inside Story of America’s
#1 Customer Service
Company
By Robert Spector and Patrick D.
McCarthy

51. Recommended Reading
Setting the Table
The Transforming Power of
Hospitality in Business
By Danny Meyer

52. Find This Presentation Online
www.mauraneill.com/nordstrom-sab
Photo credit: “Computer mouse, mousepad, hand” by Si1veryon Flickr.com

53. Connect With Me
about.me/MauraNeill