On this 249th episode of my Monday Morning Pep Talk, I will continue my "Fly Light" series of calls to put an emphasis on strategies that will bring real estate advisors and entrepreneurs a predictable return on investment both in time and money. On this episode, I will discuss CRM and relationship management techniques that feel authentic and will help you connect with your clients. Your clients want to connect with you in a manner that does not feel like marketing. They respond to thoughtful gestures that prove that you care about them. With that being said, I've always believed that "You Cannot Automate Thoughtfulness".
Before I jump into today's call, I want to remind you of my professional purpose and that is to help you, the full service, full fee Advisor, optimize your productivity and help you become the best version of yourself. Why? "Because Happy Advisors Sell More Real Estate". I do that by teaching you how to handle the challenges and opportunities that you face every day. If you can effectively manage those certain situations that arise on a daily basis in your business, you'll be more productive and live a life that is the best version of you. My ask is that you listen as if you are in a one-on-one coaching session with me in my office or on a phone call.
Like everything else, a well thought out CRM and relationship management strategy starts with mindset. Do you sell homes, or do you help create a lifestyle for your clients? If all you care about is selling homes, this isn't going to be a podcast of real interest to you. Yes, the proper approach to building a predictable and enjoyable business is to create value for your clients and over time grow the number of clients to whom you provide that value (The Law of Compensation). The industry talks a lot about marketing and growing your lists of clients but does not discuss enough about "retaining" clients over their time in your market. That requires the CRM and relationship management strategy I'll talk about today. It's evident that the industry as a whole is transactional because the term "past clients" is used to describe those we've completed transactions with. I'm guilty of it. We need to change our mindset first and then start to level up our words and phrases. We need to use descriptions like Top 100 and "private client list" as better ways to refer to our books of business. I'm delivering this MMPT today because CRM and relationship management should be a keystone operational pillar of your business and you should make it your focus in Q4.
This strategy for a real estate advisor starts by creating your "5 Lists":
Top 100 - this is your list of clients who know you, like you and trust you as their real estate advisor. (Up to 100)
Top 100 Referral Partners - this is your list of referral partners nationally and locally who introduce you.
Warm List - those prospects who plan to buy or sell within the next year. They are passive.
Hot List - those prospects who plan to buy or sell within the next month. They are active.
Collaborative Brokers in Your Local Market – brand-agnostic and collaborative sharing ideas and inventory opportunities.
The next step, once your lists are created, is to develop a follow-up plan. In 2024, I discovered and named a strategy that I think solves a lot of your challenges. Real estate advisors struggle with the "Who, when, and why am I making these calls? I don't want to feel like I am selling when I make my reach outs". Because of this, real estate advisors skip them. To solve this, use the process that I created and am rolling out for the first time today called "The Next 10". It's a super simple approach of looking at your 5 lists, identifying intuitively your "Next 10" touches and putting this process on repeat... literally, for the rest of the time you are in the business. By intuitively selecting your Next 10, you are adopting a process that a predictive CRM or AI options cannot yet solve for as those options don't consider the 1 off, random conversations you've had in person. Intuitively you know who needs your touch because of the length of time in between those touches. Use the "Next 10" process to solve for that.
Next, within those lists, your clients should be tagged as "relationship" or "all business" to better describe the type of relationship those clients want and need from you.
#relationshipclient (tag): This client is open to coffees, lunches, dinners and client events. They appreciate and expect a relationship with you.
#allbusinessclient (tag): This client is more stand-offish. They want data, updates on markets and for you to be there for them when they need you. Response time is super important to them. It doesn't mean they are less loyal. It means they want you to interact with them differently.
The better you understand your clients, the more effective your communication will be and therefore increase your retention and conversion rates. Use tags to build specific characteristics within each CRM contact as you move through your touches improving the quality of your CRM the more you interact with your lists over time.
Here are some proven techniques to use when communicating with your Top 100.
- Pull a hot sheet weekly of all of the closed sales in your market area. If there is a "comp" property that closed escrow that fits the criteria of the property owned by a Top 100, simply contact them via call, text or email and let them know that the property closed and how it impacts their pricing and that you were thinking of them. They can use it to update their financial statement based on the information you just provided them.
- Seasonal reminders for home maintenance. Send each client individually the appropriate service providers to assist them. If you have an operations team member, they can make these calls.
- Birthday recognition: Maybe the best ROI on client follow up. I'm still hearing from advisors that this is still their most impactful strategy. Simply put a handwritten note in the mail with a gift card for a coffee. There is no downside. Be authentic to you and your relationship with them.
- Seasonal gifting campaigns.
- Intentional gifting or recognition around major life changes. Use social media to gain that intelligence. This would include acknowledgement around career advancements or position changes.
The beautiful part of "The Next 10" is that you become more and more aware of the needs of your Top 100 as you stay on top of your communication with them. You'll get to the point where it feels like maintenance, and that is where you want to be with your lists. I use the metaphor of comparing batteries to your clients. The longer it is between "charges" (touches), the less engaged they will be in your business. The higher the "charges" of your Top 100, the more introductions you'll receive. The goal is to take care of your clients in such a way that they want to become an advocate (salesperson) for your business. Research shows that if you don't nurture the relationship, you'll lose 10% top of mind, brand placement with a client each month you go without a touch.
As we knock on the door of Q4, I suggest you read Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara to get focused and then commit to fine tune or build out your "5 Lists". When you are fine tuning, pruning or building out your lists, start using the "Next 10" strategy. It's so simple yet so hard for some advisors to make it a priority.
If you are going to Fly Light, you must take advantage of the highest impact, lowest cost and the easiest to implement strategies. "The Next 10" is on the top of that list. Being thoughtful is under-appreciated. Just don't try to automate it.
Team, thank you. If you are not getting my emails, email me at jim@askjimmiller to get on the list. Each weekly email will have hyperlinks within the body of the transcript that will take you to more detailed content I've produced in the past. Have a great week.
