“Not following up with your prospects is the same as filling up your bathtub without first putting in the stopper in the drain.” – Michelle Moore
It is so, so true. This is where a lot of Real Estate Agents fail. Correct that. This is where all the Real Estate agents out there fail at some point in their career. (Don’t be that guy or gal) Most do not do this well. I was included in that category for a large part of my career. 5 years into my real estate business I brought on a newly licensed agent and her first duty was to go through all of my banker boxes and enter people into a database program. It took her 3 months!! I paid her a salary and gave her some business through buyer referrals etc and it worked out pretty well for her to get her started. It cost me a lot of money but it was totally worth it. I caught it just in time. Imagine if I waited longer to get this done. The question that keeps plaguing my mind is, “How much business did I NOT do because of my lack of "after sale follow up?” Tragically, I will never know the answer. There were some people that I actually avoided calling or sending letters to because I felt like an idiot contacting them now after 4 years from the time they moved into their home that I sold them. They probably had no idea who I was anyway. If they did remember who I was, the biggest thing that they would remember is how I NEVER SPOKE TO THEM AGAIN from the moment I received my commission cheque. Was it because I didn’t care? No not really. I just was so caught up in my “busy-ness” that I forgot to work on my “business”.
That is the past and it is in the past. I have learned from this. Follow up has to be intentional and it has to be done.
It humanizes the business. It keeps us in their minds. It reminds them that we are still active and working and when
we jump back in their lives for a second there is always a chance that there is more business that will come out of it.
This is the cheapest advertising that you can do.
Firstly, I would take the word “prospects” and add to that, Friends, Referral Sources, Strategic Alliances, Past Clients,
Back burner leads, and prospects that have newly come into your circle. Everyone. Every source. Every person that
you have touched in some way. Having said that, there are systematic ways to do this. It is not as daunting of a task
as it seems. It can be systematized and it should. If you are going to have paid staff for any reason this is the chief reason.
This will keep them busy and will pay you large dividends. This can be a minimum wage activity and a part-time job
for someone as well. More on this in our next level course. But for now just understand the benefits of the activities
that include: following up, touching base, communicating, visiting, pop-by’s, random texts, emails, letters, birthday cards,
Christmas letters, lunches and dinners and coffees etc etc etc.
Understand this…….there is never nothing to do. (What a horribly written sentence.) This has to be part of your work day
every single day.
When you list a home to sell your marketing should be targeted to the Buyers that may be interested in that type
of product. Right? Our value proposition to the consumer has to be more than "listing" a home. We need to "position" the
the home into the existing market and then market the assets of that product to the potential Buyer. Why is
marketing so important? Its twofold. One, to get the home sold and get the best result that we can for the Seller in the shortest
amount of time; and Two, to obtain Buyer leads to sell homes to. This is the foundational aspect of the 4X Formula. Every
Listing should produce 4 commission cheques. So with that in mind...how is your follow up? How do you respond
to email inquiries? How do you discuss the property on the phone with a "sign call"? These are crucial moments
to the overall goal. These are the pivotal game changing moments in your business. How do you treat these opportunities?
Most inquiries have some sort of question. Do you simply answer the questions and then leave it up to them to get
back to you if they need any more answers? Are you an information outlet? An MLS DATA sheet? Are you a "door opener"
for people interested in homes or are you a valuable asset to these people? How do you become that to them?
How do you ask questions back to them to get them thinking about ....what they don't know....or what maybe ...
they have never thought of...
This is how you become a valuable asset.
If you have to have the water on full blast in the bathtub constantly because you don't have a plug in your bathtub,
then you are never going to get control of your business. There are so many leads running down that drain. There
are so many referral sources running down that drain. Get good at the follow-up. Get good at becoming someone
of value to those leads. Get good at doing more than your competitors.
The world of Real Estate is changing drastically and some of the models out there believe that they can eliminate that personal
touch. They think that we are too expensive. Well don't give them more amunition to support that belief!
Have a super day....if you want to learn more about how we teach agents to 4X their businesses...go to 4XFormula.com
Check out my podcast on Stitcher, Google Play, and iTunes....look for 4X Formula Real Estate Training.
Take care and make a great day!
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