For years, the real estate professionals have summed up what our business is about with a single phrase: "Location, location, location." In this age of the Internet, many agents are depressed by the competition from Web-based realty services who stress lower fees over service.

An important strategy for fighting off web-based competition is a high level of personal contact combined with excellent service. In other words, instead of "Location, location, location," the mantra for a profitable business in the 21st Century is "Connection, connection, connection."

To see how "connected" are you with your present buyers and sellers, take the quiz below.

Mark each item True or False

1. I receive at least one referral year from at least 50% of my past clients who still live in my service area.
2. I spent at least 20 minutes interviewing prospective buyers and sellers to learn what is important to them about their lifestyle, not just about the house they want to buy or are selling.
3. I routinely contact my past customers and clients by phone or in person at least four times per year.
4. I have a list of qualified contractors and other transaction support people who provide quality work at a competitive price.
5. At the end of each transaction, I send out a survey to my customers and clients to learn how I can better be of service in future transactions.
6. For each of my customers and clients, I know the names of their children, pets, and/or other significant people who live in their home.
7. For each of my customers/clients, I know at least one thing in their lives about which they're really passionate.
8. My customers/clients can count on me to be completely honest and forthcoming with them. When there's a problem, I contact them immediately to resolve the problem rather than waiting and hoping it will disappear.
9. I routinely send past customers/clients birthday and holiday cards.
10. Each year I do at least one thing for all my past customers/clients to let them know how much I appreciate the opportunity to do business with them.
11. Even after the transaction closes, I'm still available as a resource to assist past customers/clients with any challenges they may face concerning their home ownership such as taxes, repair people, etc.
12. When I do a listing presentation, my focus is discovering what is most important to the seller rather than focusing on how great my services are.

Scoring:

Give yourself 1 point for each item you marked "True."

10-12: Congratulations! You already understand the power of connection and are putting it to use in your business. Your customers/clients probably very much appreciate how much you do to make their home sale experience positive. While you're busy delivering this high level of service, don't forget to let your customers/clients know, "I work through referrals. Is there anyone else you know who is in need of my services?"

7-9: You have a solid foundation in place. Look at those items where you answered "false" and see how many you can change to "True." Check out the rest of this column for additional ideas about how to "improve your connection."

6 or less: Don't wait any longer to begin working on creating stronger connections to your clientele. Begin by working on changing as many "False" items as possible to "True." Start calling past customers and clients at least one day per week. Spend time learning more about what is really important to your clientele, not only in terms of their property, but in terms of who they are and what matters to them.