Nurturing. It’s the most effective method of moving leads and prospects through the sales funnel. Do it right, and you end up with clients who, if nurtured, can provide you with referrals.
Nurturing your past clients requires reconnecting with them consistently after the transaction.
1. Ensure that your customer service is unforgettable
No, you don’t need to present them with a whirlwind trip worldwide at closing. It’s the small things that when added up, will leave the best impression and one that will last far into the future:
Keep probing, gently, until you fully understand their wants and needs.
Return calls as quickly as possible.
Reach out consistently to keep them abreast of the transaction’s process or see how they’re doing and if they have any questions or concerns.
Listen to your clients—really listen.
Let them know, in word and deed, that they are never alone during the transaction.
2. Keep them abreast of the latest local housing market news
Create a customized housing market news report template to send to former clients quarterly, semi-annually, or annually.
Homeowners love to know how their home is holding or not holding its value. Keep it simple to understand by using lots of visuals.
3. Just Listeds and Just Solds
Be alert for just listed or sold homes in your former clients’ neighborhoods. This is the perfect time to reconnect and show you’re keeping abreast of local real estate. You’ll find some brilliant Just Listed and Just Sold postcards right here.
4. Celebrate with them
Hopefully, you’ve kept track of important dates in your former clients’ lives. This includes birthdays and anniversaries (especially the anniversary of when they purchased their home).
Mark those dates to send a small gift to the former client’s office.
Why the office?
Ask anyone who has received a bouquet of flowers at work how many of their co-workers asked who they were from and what the occasion was.
Just think how much free word-of-mouth advertising you’ll get when your former client tells coworkers that the gift is from their real estate agent to celebrate the anniversary of their home purchase.
5. Send an updated CMA
Your past client reconnection efforts should include an annual CMA to keep them abreast of how their home stacks up regarding market value. They may not be considering selling, but they are most likely curious about their home’s market value.
Make sure you put this task in your CRM so you won’t forget about it.
Reconnecting with folks you’ve done business with is a tried-and-true referral generator.
PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.
1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine
Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct, response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts and engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you. Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here
2.The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 6-Month Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here
3. The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review
The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review allows you to enter your business goals for the remainder of the year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closings, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
The fact that 89% of homebuyers say they will use their agent again says a lot about the fantastic job real estate agents do with their clients.
Yet, only 12% of buyers used their former agent when buying another home (NAR).
Weird, isn’t it?
Something happens – or doesn’t – between the closing table and the time your client engages in another real estate transaction.
Let’s cure the disconnect between “first-timer” and “client-for-life.”
Former clients are “warm” contacts
Unlike picking up the phone for cold calling, a call to a former client is like calling a friend.
It is one of the more comfortable tasks in an agent’s business. If they hired you in the past, they clearly know, like, and trust you.
Your only job with these past clients, at least right now, is to remain top-of-mind with them.
Here’s just one reason why:
“Depending on which study you believe and what industry you’re in, acquiring a new customer is anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one,” claims Amy Gallo at Harvard Business Review.
Here’s another stat that you may find impressive, “Increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%”, Frederick F. Reichheld and Phil Schefter, Harvard Business School
The Holiday scheduled campaign is shown above. To learn more, Click Here.
Large and splashy or understated?
Reaching out to former clients doesn’t have to cost a lot or be overly extravagant.
A phone call, a postcard dropped in the mail, or a check-in on social media are all perfectly appropriate ways to get your name back in front of a past client.
Here are a few more inexpensive ways to reach out to former clients:
Put together a quarterly market update and direct mail it to former clients.
Send out birthday, anniversary, and annual home anniversary postcards.
Include them in Just listed/Just sold postcards you’re mailing to announce transactions near your clients’ homes.
Take them out for coffee, cocktails, or lunch.
Naturally, a large and splashy “touch” would be more memorable. These include client appreciation events. The key to a successful client retention strategy is consistency.
The most important part of these conversations
The question used to be, “Who do you know that might be thinking of buying or selling a home?”
Today, the question is best when it’s narrowed down.
If you have read the book Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days, you are familiar with this concept. In it, Jay Conrad Levinson suggests trying to narrow “… the universe of those you ask.”
Here’s an example:
Marcy is a former client who loves playing tennis. Instead of using the broad question, narrow it down to “Who do you play tennis with who might be thinking of buying or selling a home?”
Instead of combing through her mental database of everyone she knows, her mind turns to the tennis court and her conversations with fellow players.
Former clients most likely want your services when they buy or sell real estate.
Don’t let so much time go by that they forget your name. Reach out and stay in touch with them to stop leaving what should be easy money on the table.
PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.
1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine
Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct, response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts and engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you. Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here
2.The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 6-Month Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here
3. The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review
The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review allows you to enter your business goals for the remainder of the year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closings, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
Think of the home purchase process as a journey. I know, sometimes it feels like a never-ending one, but stick with me for a minute.
On any journey, we all look for signs: city names, arrows, freeway exits, and mile markers. These signs guide us as we travel. You, as the buyer’s agent, need to be your client’s sign during the purchase process.
Like all effective signs, you should convey clear, simple information and give it enough time for your client to provide a proper response.
In other words, don’t put the yield sign in the middle of the merge lane. Especially at the last minute. Give your client enough time to safely pull into an adjacent lane before the big semi-truck is on top of him.
Granted, the home purchase road is one full of potential potholes, but it’s up to you to keep your client from falling into one of them. Here are some considerations when guiding a client through a purchase.
The First Time Buyer Series is shown above. To learn more, Click Here.
Does the buyer have what it takes to keep going?
While many of today’s buyers are savvy about the market (thanks to all the media attention), and assume they have the stomach for the process, it may be a whole different story when your client is knee-deep in it.
Be honest with her about the things that may go wrong and how you will handle these issues if they come up. Don’t sugarcoat anything about the process. The last thing you want is for her to feel disillusioned after you’ve put time and effort into the deal. If she’s going to bail, then get her to bail upfront.
Communication is critical
Our goal as business owners is, overall, to build our businesses through repeat and referral clients. The client that refers you to her friends is one that was satisfied with your work.
The key to client satisfaction is communication. This is never more important than when working with a nervous first-time homebuyer. Not only do you want a client for life, but you want this particular deal to come to a successful conclusion.
Remember, you’re a signpost. Guide the client with clear communication every step of the way and she’ll get to her destination.
This is So Exciting!
While it’s tempting to think of yourself as keeping this buyer “on a hook,” it’s important to remember that she’s not a fish. She’s a person with hopes and dreams and the biggest of these right now is this house.
Excitement and enthusiasm are, thankfully, contagious. Get excited. Yes, this may not be your only client, but she may be your most frightened and frustrated. If you’re excited about her new house, she will be too. And excitement is a powerful motivator.
Keep her future-oriented. Where will she put the sofa? What color has she chosen for the living room?
Yes, you’re a new agent and learning the ropes as you go. Focus on your client, however, and before you know it, you’ll have more of them!
When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.
1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazin
Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct, response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts and engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you. Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 6-Month Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here
3. The Free Online Real Estate Business Plan
The Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for the year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closings, and so on are needed to reach your financial goals. – Click Here
4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
“I think I’ll send my new patient a $50 Macy’s gift certificate to thank her for allowing me to perform her annual physical,” said no doctor, ever. Come to think of it, my hairdresser, accountant, and lawyer have never gifted me either.
Yet real estate agents, somewhere along the line, came up with this notion that they absolutely must provide a closing gift to their clients.
Obviously, the agent who first gifted a client must’ve found the practice successful because it was quickly copied and has now become standard practice.
Does giving a gift to a client make you memorable? If that were the case, more service industries would take up the practice, don’t you think? I don’t know about you, but I return to my hair stylist every month because I love the way she cuts my hair.
My accountant saves me money on my taxes. So, is it the gift that makes them remember you, or was it your performance?
Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of giving closing gifts, to real estate clients.
Pros
I’m not a tax expert or an accountant, but the IRS says agents can deduct up to $25 for each person they gift during the year. No, that’s not a whole lot of money and if you make the big bucks, you’ll need to buy a whole lot of gifts throughout the year to even put a dent in your tax bill.
If you feel you must give a gift, consider handing your clients the keys to their new home on a quality (meaning, not plastic) keychain. With your branding on it, you’ll be able to deduct it as a marketing expense and possibly get a larger deduction. Talk to your tax professional.
A swanky annual client appreciation event, on the other hand, will give you a bigger tax deduction as well as put you right back there at the top of their mind.
The Content Card Series is shown above. To learn more,Click Here.
Cons
Since referrals are the lifeblood of a successful real estate practice, and keeping them coming in requires remaining top-of-mind with former clients, it would have to be a major gift to make you memorable throughout the years.
What will make you memorable is frequent contact throughout the year — the birthday cards, the client appreciation events, and the ongoing direct mail campaigns.
Here’s something else to consider: you are a buyer’s agent. You have been at your client’s beck and call, spending weeks or even months driving your clients to house after house before they finally found one they wanted.
You submitted the offer, you coordinated your client’s end of the transaction, and you smoothly paved the way to a successful close. All parties are satisfied with the outcome. In return, you are paid a percentage of the sales price of the home.
You did your job and you got paid. Shake hands, as business people do, thank them for their business, and move on to your next client.
The subject of closing gifts, as you know, is a point of contention among agents. How about you? Do you gift?
PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.
1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine
Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct, response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts and engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you. Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here
2.The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 6-Month Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here
3. The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review
The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review allows you to enter your business goals for the remainder of the year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closings, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
Engaging homeowners who are hesitant to sell their properties requires a delicate approach. One that is rooted in empathy, understanding, and effective communication.
By having open and honest conversations, you can address homeowners’ concerns, alleviate their fears, and empower them to make informed decisions about selling their homes.
Begin By Creating a Safe and Welcoming Space
Establishing trust is crucial when communicating with homeowners who are afraid to sell. Create a safe and welcoming space where they feel comfortable expressing their concerns and fears.
Listen actively and empathetically to their worries, demonstrating genuine understanding and compassion.
Avoid judgment and assure them that their feelings are valid. By demonstrating an atmosphere of openness, you lay the foundation for effective communication.
Consider conducting a pre-listing interview over the phone, or you can use a free resource like SurveyMonkey.com to create a pre-listing survey for your potential homeowner to complete.
Here’s a “List of Essential Questions to Ask Homeowners to Alleviate Selling Concerns Amidst Market Uncertainty“. You can download it for free HERE.
Educate and Inform
Homeowners often fear selling because of the uncertainties and complexities involved in the process. Help ease their apprehension by providing clear and concise information about the current real estate market, trends, and recent sales in their area.
Educate them about the potential benefits of selling, such as capitalizing on market conditions, unlocking equity, or downsizing to a more suitable home.
By offering well-researched insights, you empower homeowners with knowledge, enabling them to make informed decisions.
Highlight Personalized Solutions
Recognize that each homeowner’s circumstances are unique, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Tailor your communication to address their specific concerns and desires.
Highlight potential solutions that align with their goals, such as offering flexible timelines, assisting with the search for alternative housing, or connecting them with trusted professionals who can help with specific areas of need.
By showing that you understand their individual needs and are committed to finding personalized solutions, you build trust and credibility.
Provide Clarity on Financial Matters
Financial considerations often play a significant role in a homeowner’s fear of selling. Provide clarity on the potential financial implications, including estimated proceeds from the sale, costs involved, and any tax implications.
Offer resources or connect homeowners with financial experts who can provide comprehensive advice on managing the financial aspects of the transaction.
By addressing their concerns about money and ensuring transparency, you instill confidence and help homeowners make informed decisions.
Share Success Stories
Illustrate recent success stories of homeowners who overcame their fears and achieved positive outcomes by selling their properties. Share testimonials from satisfied clients who experienced a smooth selling process, obtained desirable offers, or successfully transitioned to their next home.
Real-life examples help homeowners see that selling can lead to favorable results and reinforce the notion that their concerns are not insurmountable obstacles.
Hearing others’ experiences can inspire confidence and provide reassurance that they, too, can navigate the selling process successfully.
Effectively communicating with homeowners who are afraid to sell their homes requires empathy, understanding, and tailored solutions. By creating a safe space, educating and informing, providing financial clarity, and showcasing success stories, you can empower homeowners to overcome their fears, make informed decisions, and embark on a positive selling journey.
Remember, effective communication lays the groundwork for building trust and fostering successful transactions.
PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.
1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine
Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts and engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you. Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here
2.The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 6-Month Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here
3. The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review
The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review allows you to enter your business goals for the remainder of the year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
Artificial intelligence, or AI, has been the hot topic of news coverage lately. It seems like we can’t get away from it.
While some experts provide scary future scenarios, others are hailing AI as akin to a wonder drug.
Data analysis and insights
The truth is, right now, AI can provide significant benefits to real estate agents. Here are some ways in which it can enhance your work.
AI can analyze vast amounts of real estate data, including property listings, sales data, market trends, and demographics.
This helps agents make informed decisions, such as determining the right pricing strategy, identifying profitable investment opportunities, and understanding market demand.
Lead generation and management
AI-powered tools can automate lead generation by analyzing online user behavior, social media data, and other sources to identify potential buyers and sellers.
AI can also assist in lead management by categorizing and prioritizing leads based on their likelihood of conversion, allowing agents to focus their efforts on the most promising leads.
Property recommendations
AI algorithms can analyze buyers’ preferences, budgets, and other factors to provide personalized property recommendations. This saves time for real estate agents by narrowing down the options and presenting clients with properties that best match their requirements.
Virtual property tours
AI technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) enable brilliant immersive virtual property tours. Real estate agents can provide clients with more realistic virtual walkthroughs of properties, allowing them to explore and evaluate properties remotely. This saves time for both agents and clients by minimizing unnecessary in-person tours.
Natural language processing and chatbots
AI-powered chatbots can handle basic customer inquiries, provide property information, and schedule appointments. Natural language processing enables these chatbots to understand and respond to user queries effectively.
This automation will free up a lot of time, allowing you to focus on more complex tasks and personal interactions.
Market predictions
Here’s where it gets super exciting.
AI algorithms can analyze historical data and market trends to predict future real estate market conditions. Real estate agents can leverage these insights to anticipate changes, make proactive decisions, and develop effective marketing strategies.
AI is poised to be a valuable tool to augment the real estate agent’s skills and efficiency, ultimately enhancing the overall client experience.
PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.
1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine
Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts and engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you. Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here
2.The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 6-Month Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here
3. The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review
The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review allows you to enter your business goals for the remainder of the year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
Although the return on investment for home improvements isn’t as significant as it once was, some home renovations are still wise investments and increase value, especially in a changing or down market.
The latest research finds that curb appeal can add “… up to 7% of a home’s value when sold,” according to associate professor Sriram Villupuram who led a study from the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA).
“The curb appeal premium is more pronounced during housing market weakness …” the study concluded.
Let’s look at some of the study’s findings that you can pass on to your listing clients to help them get more money at the closing table.
The Curb Appeal postcard from the Content Card Series is shown above. To see this card or more options, Click HERE.
New siding/paint
When considering ways to increase curb appeal, you can’t go wrong by recommending your clients get new siding.
This will increase the homeowner’s “… home value by about $12,500, claims CreditKarma.com’s Andrew Dunn, citing a recent real estate Cost vs. Value report. “This also assumes that about 1,250 square feet of new siding were installed and represents a 67% return on investment,” he concludes.
If your listing lacks siding, urge your clients to paint the home’s exterior. While estimates of the ROI for fresh paint are varied, “…it’s the least expensive investment for the biggest return,” according to Jennie Norris with the International Association of Home Staging Professionals.
Be the agent-in-the-know by offering suggestions on current trends. These include “… colors in the ‘greige’ family,” suggests Mekaila Oaks at Redfin.com. She claims that Kelly Moore’s ‘Gallery Gray,’ with ‘Desert Shadow’ as an accent color, will have buyers getting out of their cars and in the front door.
Add new windows
Not only will the addition of new, energy-efficient windows offer an 85% return on your client’s investment, but they may just be able to get a nice tax credit to boot.
Suggest to your clients a visit to energy.gov to learn how to shop for energy-efficient windows.
Spiff up the landscaping
Landscaping renewal’s ROI has been the subject of many studies over the past decade. “Numerous studies have shown that trees increase the value of a property from 3.5 to 27 percent,” according to the experts at the Arbor Day Foundation.
They go on to say that “An analysis of 844 single-family homes that sold in Athens, Georgia, revealed that houses with an average of five trees (regardless of species) in the front yard sold for 3.5 to 4.5 percent more than comparable houses without trees.”
Recommend that your sellers visit ArborDay.org’s tree database to find trees growing well in your area.
Then, suggest they remove weeds, green up the lawn, plant some color and apply fresh mulch to the beds.
There are workarounds to the uncertainty of the current market. Ensure your clients understand that curb appeal can either compel buyers to get out of the car to view the rest of the house or drive to their next showing.
PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.
1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine
Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts combined with engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you.
Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here
2.The Free 12-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here
3. The BusinessBase, SOI building system
The most effective thing you can do to build a real estate business is to become more visible, more likable, and remembered more often. The BusinessBASE™ not only checks these boxes but is also a business-building machine. In two easy steps, you can begin to build a robust sphere of influence that will provide you a lifetime of repeat business and referrals. –Click Here
4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan
The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
Back in the dinosaur days of real estate, a simple Rolodex, populated with the contact information of people in an agent’s sphere, ruled the day in most real estate businesses.
As technology advanced from those tiny 2.25-inch x 4-inch Rolodex cards, agents demanded more bells and whistles, which resulted in today’s sophisticated Customer Relationship Management platforms.
With the market in flux, it’s a good time for the less-than-busy agent to get to know their CRM and reacquaint themselves with the gold mine it is.
How about starting a drip campaign to drum up some business?
One of the best ways to grow your business and stay top of mind with your network is by reaching out to each person consistently over time.
Many agents swear by their drip campaigns, sending either automated emails or direct mail out to selected contacts in their CRM. However, how frequently you contact these people sits on a fine line between reaching out and spamming.
Some experts claim that dripping on these folks once a week is going to eventually get your marketing materials tossed in the trash or blocked from delivery to your contacts entirely – especially if they don’t plan on moving for a year or so.
A monthly email is more appropriate – even longer is fine. Just making consistent contact without annoying people is what’s most important.
You have one chance to lure these recipients into reading your drip campaign, which occurs with your first attempt.
The Content Card Series is shown above. To see more designs, Click HERE.
Depending on your database’s size, you may have to create several focused campaigns. Some of the categories to think about include quick (the operative word here) information for:
Homebuyers
Sellers
Condo buyers
FHA or VA buyers
To stay top-of-mind with past clients, think about sending information on their interests:
Gardening
Interior decorating and design trends
Green living
Food
Birthday, anniversary, new baby, and other greetings
The Content Card Seriesoffers many of the topics listed above. Whatever you choose to send, make it count. Wow, them – make the recipients look forward to the next one.
Face-to-Face
Sometimes a face-to-face encounter is called for. Many successful agents plan client-appreciation events periodically throughout the year or one splashy annual event.
One California agent uses her CRM to classify her clients according to how big their sphere of influence is. Those with a huge network of contacts she calls her “A” group and those are the ones she tends to go a bit above and beyond to maintain the relationships.
Her preferred method is to never miss their birthday by issuing a lunch invitation for birthday week. Pricey? Perhaps, but memorable and tax-deductible as well.
Follow up with industry colleagues
Stick all those people you do business with on a regular basis into your CRM too. Begin building relationships with them by attending networking events or even holding your own for title company representatives, escrow people, lenders, contractors, plumbers, home inspectors, and electricians.
Client retention is business promotion at its subtlest, and your CRM is the most valuable tool you have right now.
While letting people know you value them, you plant a seed that will hopefully blossom into a big, fat pipeline full of referrals.
Be sure to check out the CRM that we offer to our customers FOR FREE. It allows you to grab contacts from various customer lists, target them with specific marketing meant just for them, and keep historical notes and personal data (i.e., birthdays, family members, home anniversary dates, etc.).
To check out our FREE Contact Manager, Click HERE.
PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.
1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine
Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts combined with engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you.
Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here
2.The Free 12-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here
3. The BusinessBase, SOI building system
The most effective thing you can do to build a real estate business is to become more visible, more likable, and remembered more often. The BusinessBASE™ not only checks these boxes but is also a business-building machine. In two easy steps, you can begin to build a robust sphere of influence that will provide you a lifetime of repeat business and referrals. –Click Here
4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan
The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
Recessions used to be painfully easy to spot. Lately, however, the definition of the word “recession” seems to stymie even the most experienced and well-regarded economists.
Is it any wonder that the general public, and real estate consumers in particular, are now confused about the economy?
Whether or not your real estate practice is feeling the financial pinch that many other small businesses are experiencing, it very well may be in the future.
Should you discontinue marketing during the downturn?
Your competition may be tempted to do so. Which is the biggest reason you should absolutely not stop marketing.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be bringing you several tried-and-true real estate business marketing methods that, although some are time-consuming, will be easy on your budget.
The Market Update Series is shown above. To see more, Click HERE.
Consider increasing your content marketing
Content marketing, by definition, is not meant to promote your brand (although it often does) but to attract and spark interest in your real estate services.
Right now, consumers (whether ready to buy or sell or wait it out) want to be kept abreast of the economy and the housing market and get tips on how to solve challenges in buying or selling in this market.
Blogging is one of the best and least expensive ways to accomplish this. Before you put your fingers to the keyboard, however, let’s take a look at some of the plusses of blogging:
Have a blog on your website? If you consistently add content to it, you may receive 97% more inbound links than the agent who doesn’t have an active blog. “Inbound links boost a website’s authority, which is a major page-ranking factor.” (Fundera.com)
Marketing advisory firm DemandMetric finds that “… companies with blogs generate 67% more monthly leads than those without.”
Their research also finds that you’ll spend 62% less on content marketing than on other forms of marketing.
Structure your blog posts for easy-reading
Most of us have landed on a blog post that hits us like a wall of words. And many will pass it by for just that reason.
Blog content needs to be easy to read, so break up long paragraphs and create additional interest by inserting bullet points, numbered lists, and lots of white space.
The folks at SEMRush find that a bulleted list every 500 words produces an average of 70% more traffic than posts that don’t contain these breaks.
Then, vow to add some spice to each post
Plan on adding images to each post. Types of engaging images include:
Stock photos
Screenshots that help explain the content
Infographics
Charts
According to the SEMrush State of Content Marketing 2020 Global Report, your blog posts’ images are critical to getting more traffic.
Blogging consistently during an economic downturn shows your website visitors that you’re still engaged in the industry, despite the slowdown. It demonstrates that you understand their concerns and are ready to assist them.
PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.
1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine
Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts combined with engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you.
Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here
2.The Free 12-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here
3. The BusinessBase, SOI building system
The most effective thing you can do to build a real estate business is to become more visible, more likable, and remembered more often. The BusinessBASE™ not only checks these boxes but is also a business-building machine. In two easy steps, you can begin to build a robust sphere of influence that will provide you a lifetime of repeat business and referrals. –Click Here
4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan
The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
Home sellers, so used to being in the real estate market’s driver’s seat, have no idea that they may soon be riding shotgun instead. The days of multiple offers for a home that sold overnight and for well over the asking price are dwindling.
This doesn’t stop the runaway enthusiasm they’ll feel when Joe down the street lets them know about the crazy high price he got for his home. Neighbor Joe failed to remind these sellers, however, that his home sold months ago when prices and demand were still high.
Now, this isn’t to say that the market is full of nothing but doom and gloom for home sellers. In fact, there’s an urgency in the air for homeowners who truly need to sell to get their homes listed before the market is full of doom and gloom.
The good news for listing agents and their clients
“Home prices will continue to rise, but at a slower pace,” according to Realtor.com’s 2023 Housing Forecast. With the recent barrage of negative media reports about the housing market, you at least have this silver lining to offer your listing clients.
Here’s an example, and although it’s hyper-local to Minnesota’s Twin Cities, it’s an apt anecdote to pass on to your clients.
Both the number of listings and the number of sales in the Twin Cities have declined. In fact, pending sales in November were the lowest in more than a decade, according to Jim Buchta at StarTribune.com.
Interestingly, home prices there continue to rise (the median sales price in November was 4.1% higher than this time last year), and homes are selling quickly.
To add even more silver to the lining that nobody seems to be noticing is that Freddie Mac tells us that “… the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined again to 6.31%,” Buchta says.
The Real Estate Times Campaign is shown above. To see more, Click Here.
More misconceptions
A recent Zillow survey of real estate agents finds that home sellers are still operating under the assumption that they will receive more than their list price, entertain multiple offers and enjoy a quick sale.
They also don’t anticipate the possibility of having to eventually cut their list price to get the home sold.
Although Zillow’s “… research finds a rapid drop in home values is unlikely,” the analysts there also predict that prices will pretty much flatten throughout 2023. By the end of next summer, prices will have increased by only 1.3%.
Additional rises in interest rates should also serve as a caution to any of your listing clients who are sitting on the fence. Urge them to put their home on the market now.
Keeping your clients and potential clients up-to-date on market conditions is critical in a changing market. Providing the information against a backdrop of what it means to them personally is immensely valuable.
PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.
1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine
Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts combined with engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you.
Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here
2.The Free 12-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here
3. The BusinessBase, SOI building system
The most effective thing you can do to build a real estate business is to become more visible, more likable, and remembered more often. The BusinessBASE™ not only checks these boxes but is also a business-building machine. In two easy steps, you can begin to build a robust sphere of influence that will provide you a lifetime of repeat business and referrals. –Click Here
4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan
The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
