Mercedes Vazquez is a broker-associate with RE/MAX Advance Realty working in South Miami and Kendall.

Every week, we ask a real estate professional for their Short List, a collection of tips and recommendations on an essential topic in real estate. This week, we talked with Mercedes Vazquez, a broker-associate with RE/MAX Advance Realty in South Miami and Kendall, who shared her best methods for providing stellar customer service.

5. Remember we are in the business of serving – not selling. I always remember a quote from Theodore Roosevelt that beautifully illustrates this point: “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”

4. Great customer service not only distinguishes you from competition, or builds close bonds with clients – it is also a pathway to job security when clients, customers, partners and even tenants sing your praises.

3. Good customer service is making them believe that you are the best at what you do.

2. Promise small and deliver big – always exceed expectations.

1. LISTEN! Listening is a skill. Listening is a habit. It can be taught, practiced and learned.

Mercedes Vazquez is a RE/MAX Advance Realty broker-associate. She was recently ranked No. 108 in the 2014 National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) report of the Top 250 Latino Real Estate Agents in the United States.