When I started my full time career as real estate broker in 2001, I was sold a bag of falsities by the industry. I was sold on the concept of being transactional, that the closing was everything. Sell a property, close it, move on. It wasn't until I had my real estate heart attack in 2008 just how misguided that concept turned out to be. That was my fault that I hadn't done the research. My brokerage at he time hadn't pointed me to any other conclusion so I just went with the flow. The same flow that is still prevalent today in our industry. It's still hard to believe the surveys that both Zillow and NAR put out that only 6-9% of brokers stay in contact with their clients post close. All this while the latest stats show that it is 6 to 7 times less expensive to market to those that already know you, like you and trust you. This realization has truly been my motivation to get into leadership and take on the role of your coach.
So, why is it so hard to maintain a relationship with our clients post transaction? It's hard because we've created a mindset that following up and maintaining that relationship is selling. Society has given selling a negative connotation. In the 50'-70's, sales people were taught to "go after money that was theirs" and "That money that is in your pocket is mine and I'm gonna come get it". Movies like the "Wolf of Wall Street" show exactly this mentality. We struggle with that because we don't want to take on that same reputation as the car dealership. We don't want the reputation as a sales person.
So is maintaining a relationship selling or are we adding value?. Sandesh Bilgi, VP of Global Training for Sotheby's International Realty, reminded us on Friday that the average lifetime value of a past client is $120,000. Think about that and let it sink in. No one wants to go identify a new plumber every time they need a plumber. No one wants to identify and research a new hair stylist every time they need a haircut and same goes for a real estate broker. Once they have created a relationship with you, 88%+ (according to Zillow) would use their broker again but only 12% do. Why is that? It's because the broker 90%+ of the time "one night stands" their client and to drastically improve that percentage, it is up to the individual broker to maintain contact and add value over the lifetime of that relationship. Over time, "absence makes the heart go wander". Your past clients all know a handful of agents so they go with the one that is "Top of Mind". In marketing, "Top of Mind" is explained by describing who or what comes to mind first when the topic of a product or service is brought up. Coca Cola or Budweiser don't have to spend much at all on marketing because their products are so ingrained into our society. They spend 100's of millions of dollars just to stay top of mind. Are you Top of Mind with your sphere? To stay "T.O.M." as a real estate broker is so easy, it's not fair. Let me give you some really simple, entry level tips to get started. These tips will be more than 97% of all broker will do and it will cost you very little money and time in relation to its impact. Here you go:
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Start by creating your list and develop a database. Start with a spreadsheet if you have to.
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Friend all of your clients on Facebook and follow them Instagram (if applicable)
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Identify the birthday of every one of your clients and send a card and gift card annually. Most people have their birthdays on Facebook. (story of downstate farmer)
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Schedule touch points ever 90 days using the birthday as your axis. You can use your Outlook Tasks or Google Reminders as your initial software.
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Develop a gifting program around the holidays. I prefer Thanksgiving.
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Develop a gifting program around Memorial Day.
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Gift all major life events like births, engagements, weddings etc. Again, major life events are almost always posted on Facebook.
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Don't forget the pets and children.
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For those scheduled reach outs, use texts, Direct Messages, record a quick video and send via text, quick email, invites to coffee etc. (7 Levels of Communication by Michael Mayer) . Stay personal. Just called to see how they are doing and if you can be of value. (Comcast)
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Create a weekly process, on Sundays, of your plans for the week. Review the upcoming tasks and reminders and start to mentally prepare for your reach outs.
Okay, how much time and money does this involve? I coach you to develop a Top 100. A Top 100 should take about 5 years plus to develop should you maintain the steps above during those 5 years. For the purpose of this exercise, let's use the number 65 because I feel like I see most agents in the range of 50-75 in their Top 100.
Per person in your Top 100, you will invest an hour a year on these steps to maintain that relationship which equals 65 hours total for the year.
Your annual budget per person in your Top 100, will average about $100 with all of the gifting etc so call it $6500.
If you are starting from scratch and have to go back and reconnect, build a database, etc add 50 hours. Note: This cannot be automated. They want you, not a automated process. As I've always said, "You cannot automate thoughtfulness".
So let me ask you a question, will you get 1 extra closing that first year to more than cover the cost of your time and financial output? Absolutely you will and most likely you will 2x your business in year 2.
(Story of agent that went from 6M to 18M in same year). By providing value and building/strengthening your database, you will build your business, in fact, The Law of Compensation states that your income is equated by the value you create x the number of people you help. Bob Burg reminds of that in his book "The Go Giver". I could spend hours on the concept of marketing and influence but in a nutshell, it all relates back to the fact that we, as members of society, hire who we know, like and trust. So selling isn't about some well memorized script, it's about the person you are, your specific knowledge and the value you create.
If I could sum up through this call and challenge you to add the following guiding principle to your business it would be this:
"The lifeblood of your business is to create value and remind your sphere of who you are, your knowledge and the value you create. Your mission is to continue to level up in all 3 of those areas throughout your career. Your income will follow"
