When your ideas suck, and what's great about competitors' negative reviews

One of the points that stuck out to me during our talk with Christie and our CWS afterward was the conversation around seeing your clients as people and not as transactions. When you see them as people first and begin that dialogue as person -to - person, reaching, selling, and serving those clients becomes so much more natural and authentic! It made me reflect on how far our client service and hospitality plan has come since the beginning of the Bradford, spoiler alert, it has come a LONG way!

I am the first to admit, I am a numbers girl, and when it comes to clients I tend to see them as numbers and bottom lines as opposed to the humans that they are! I think a lot of people who are business minded probably tend to lean this way too! But, what I have learned over the years of servicing clients and working on our hospitality plan is that the old adage of “treating others as you would like to be treated” goes a long way toward fulfilling your business or “numbers” goal. It seems counter intuitive, but spending time, energy, and resources on your clients goes a long way toward fulfilling your financial goals AND makes the journey so much more enjoyable.

I realized this recently when we had an open house at the Bradford, how much all of the little interactions, thoughtful details, and client care that our team gives our clients and potential clients endears them to the Bradford - and in turn, us to them! It was really fun to serve the client (Literally - as I was acting as bartender this particular evening) and interact with them in such a fun and light way. It allowed me to experience how much joy our hospitality and client care brought to them and see the value in all the money and time spent creating our hospitality plan. I am sure for many of you in this industry, reading this, that hospitality piece is second nature - but for my numbers people out there - that while it may seem frivolous or expensive on the onset, I would encourage you to develop a hospitality plan for your clients that sets you apart and acknowledges the human to human interaction that is taking place!

XOXO

Courtney