You did the hard work, now call your Past Clients!

Your Past Clients are essentially a goldmine!  You've already proven yourself to them and they know you and like you.  Even if something went wrong in the transaction, don't be afraid to call them.  They aren't going to be mad forever and chances are you are the only one still thinking about it.  If you haven't talked to them in a while, no problem either.  Just tell them you think about them all the time and today you just decided to pick up the phone and call.  Easy enough!

What about referrals?  The fact is, most people prefer to work with someone they have some idea about.  Either a friend has tested you out or they saw your work in their neighborhood.  We all feel better about a personal reference.  You can often have instant credibility with a referral as well.  So, how do you tap into that business and get more of it?

Identify your list of Past Clients and Centers of Influence.  Get them organized in whatever program, system, folder you prefer.  The idea is to make it easy on you.  If it's not easy to get to, you won't do it.

Once you're organized, create a schedule to contact them.  Coaches agree that calling this database a minimum of 4 times per year is key.  Decide to email or mail them the other 8 months of the year.  You have to keep your name in front of them.  It's not their job to remember you, it's your job to ask them for business and referrals.  

Understand calling 4 times per year is only once a quarter.  There are 13 weeks in every quarter, I usually recommend throwing one out for vacation, sick, etc.  That leaves 12 weeks.  So, if you have 200 people in your list, divided by 12 weeks is only 17 people a week.  Roughly 3 a day.  Totally manageable, especially since you should be able to get a 10% return.  Yes, that means working the list of 200 properly you can expect 20 deals a year!  Just by calling 3 to 4 people a day.

Create value.  It's easy to ask for business from people you've worked with and know when you have established yourself as a resource in the industry.  When you provide people with valuable information they are willing to trade.  You give information they need and they give referrals of people you can help, knowing with confidence you will do a good job.

Now... the big question... What-the-heck-in-the-world do I SAY to these people FOUR times a year?
1.    Say hello! You're remembering they exist and acknowledging you have a relationship... and reminding them you're a Real Estate salesperson.
2.    Acknowledge how important they are to your business. THANK THEM.
3.    Ask how you can help with their real estate needs.  Do they need a CMA? Do they want to know how much a home they drove past last week is listed for? Have they thought about buying an investment property as part of a retirement plan? Do they need to refinance?  ASK how you can help!
4.    Bring some VALUABLE INFORMATION to them about the real estate business.  "As one of my Valuable Clients I want to be sure you know about XYZ.". What do YOU know that they DON'T?  Use your creative mind or the list of 28 items below.
5.    Ask who they know that....___________. Be specific... Don't make the mistake of just saying the old standard "who do you know that wants to buy or sell"... blah, blah, blah. Have a list of endings to that question you can draw from that makes sense based on the rest of the call.   

Some ideas: Who do you know that...
-      Wants to live in your neighborhood?
-      Wants to get an investment property before prices go back up?
-      Needs to refinance their home?
-      Might be interested in a really great home I have for sale on XYZ street?
-      Needs to stop paying rent and pay even less on a mortgage payment?
-      Got a new job, had a new child, got a job transfer.... Etc. etc.

Valuable Information List you can bring for # 4 above

1. Interest Rates
2. Interesting Local News
3. New Restaurants, commercial activity, etc.
4. Prices trends
5. Homes for Sale/Sold
6. Property Taxes
7. A Listing you have
8. A Price Reduction you got recently
9. New Development in the area
10. Chamber of Commerce Info - Activities in the area
11. How many Pendings/Under Contact
12. POSITIVE anything!
13. Property you Previewed recently
14. Law changes pertinent to homeowners
15. New Office information for yourself or other professionals in the area
16. Seminars you're doing or attending
17. Open Houses
18. Article you read (offer to send them)
19. Book you read
20. Offering to meet with them
21. Ask if Homeowners Insurance is up-to-date
22. CMA for their home
23. CMA for neighborhood they might want to move up to NEXT
24. CMA for area they may want to invest in
25. Referrals for people they know out of state (do they know you offer that?)
26. How much PAYMENTS change when interest rates go up just 1%
27. How buying for MORE at today's rates could save $ in the long run (if rates increase)
28. A Case Study - something someones done that might make sense for your client (...one of my clients, Mr. Jones, was able to pick up a great investment last month and is getting a $275/mo positive cash flow with just $8000 down and closing costs... It was a jewel of a little property too, and there are MORE like that out there!)