Estate Agents - Don't risk asking your clients to post direct to Google

Focusing on the Web, for now, there are two arenas where you are able to influence a potential client: on your own website and on Google.

On your own website: 

You have invested time, money and resources in making this attractive (to potential fee earners). You know it is visited by hundreds (in some cases thousands) of people a month and, let's face it, most of those are actively looking to do business in one way or another (very few people visit an estate agent's website out of idle curiosity these days - they visit portals for that). 

So you need to show verified (and therefore credible) reviews there.

Independently verified reviews drive enquiries through your website

The benefits of hosting reviews on your own site will be hugely rewarding - read what happened to this client just days after joining.

On Google:

Let us tell you a story. Last month a new client joined. A great agency, with good management and hard-working and diligent staff. The MD decided they would contact their 'top 20' clients first (using Dialogue - thankfully), the clients who they knew, for certain, would write five star reviews.

He was right about the clients writing reviews; but, to his surprise, three of the clients' responses were less than glowing. Two were the result of misunderstandings caused by factors outside the agent's control; one was a client who had been 'got at' by friends and relations and decided that they had been advised ('forced' was the actual word used in the review) to sell 'at the wrong time.'

These potentially damaging reviews were able to be managed by the agent because they went through Dialogue first. The issues they had raised were dealt with calmly and effectively in private. Had they been posted direct to Google the effect would have been disastrous. None resulted in a published review - on Google or anywhere else.

You need to score as near to 5 out of 5 as possible:

Potential clients will contact agents that look great on Google

And that means no negative reviews. You need to reduce the chances of a review like this showing on Google to as close to nil as possible:

Like it or not - potential clients are influenced by negative reviews

The Dialogue™ effect

Dialogue allows you to...

• Confidently invite reviews to your own website knowing that you will be able to address any issues raised in private
• Go on to invite those who have reviews published on your website to post their reviews to Google

All safe in the knowledge that you are showing just how great your business is on your own site and on Google, without running the risk that one misunderstanding with one client becomes the negative review that harms your business for years to come.

Don't be tempted to take a short-cut

With Dialogue you will soon look great - on your site and on Google, and with the passing months and years you will look better still. Don't knee-jerk into inviting your clients to post direct to Google just because a competitor suddenly looks great there. You are in business for the long haul, you owe it to your business not to risk its reputation with a 'quick fix' solution.

Use Dialogue and you can rest easy that you have a review management solution that will serve your business well in the years to come. With HelpHound right behind you for help and advice on all matters review-related, all the time.