My old pal Michael Jacobs gave me a shout-out in a comment the other day, which got me thinking about the old neighborhood and all y’all, so I thought I’d drop in and say hi. It looks like the last time I dropped in was 2022, but that was just for a quick one-shot Grab Bag (for those of you that remember the Grab Bag).
Let me start by saying I really miss being part of this community – it was an important resource that made both Mary and me better professionally, connected us to valued friendships, and played a huge part in us becoming successful. I’ve always regretted the time conflicts that led to my withdrawal from what became almost permanent residence on the site – it was necessary and right at the time, but that doesn’t mean it was painless.
Quick update: Mary and I are still selling real estate, even at our advanced ages (I’m 81 now and I ain’t gonna tell on Mary). And since this is still a real estate site, I’m going to justify my intrusion on your day by sharing why and how we’re still doing this.
The “why” part is easy:
Bob Dole, when asked why he was running for Vice-President, described the job thusly: “It’s indoor work and there’s no heavy lifting”. It’s also personally rewarding to just be good at something and to help people. When you can combine those, it’s a no-brainer. We could easily retire, but just don’t see a good reason to, although we’re well past the old 70-80-hour work week days (but then, so is the market).
The “how” part is a better story, and it goes back to something we learned long ago, something that I often wrote about here:
Take good care of your client list and it will take good care of you.
When Mary and I began working together 28 years ago, we decided that we were going to do our best to build long-lasting relationships with (almost) every client we worked with. We thought long and hard about the best ways to do that, and over the years, we experimented with a bunch of stuff and eventually came up with a process that worked well.
Of course, it all starts with the first transaction, which not only needs to be successful from the client’s point of view, but also needs to showcase – in a quiet but obvious way - our professionalism and commitment. But the follow-up – staying connected between home purchases - turned out to be the really important part.
We knew we didn’t want to be intrusive or obnoxious – like a previous insurance agent I once had who called me every month to ask if I knew anyone who might need insurance – but we wanted our past clients to consider us the go-to resource for real estate information and help. The way to stake out that territory, according to people working good client lists, was to always provide something of value as a reason for contact. Over the years, we tried many different ideas. Some were duds, some worked for a while, and some turned out to be keepers. But our dedication to that concept over the years has left us with a client list that today numbers over 200 and provides a steady, and very welcome, stream of business.
Here’s a partial list of the things we do that work well:
Every month, for at least the last 20 years, we send out our own market report, with analysis, on the northern Colorado real estate markets;
On the anniversary of every client’s purchase of their home, we send them a coupon for a free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cake (we’re the Fort Collins Ben & Jerry’s biggest customer);
Bi-monthly, our clients receive a copy of HGTV Magazine, with our branding on the cover;
We do occasional holiday and seasonal mailings aside from the obligatory Christmas cards – as an example, we’re currently sending out postcards redeemable for free Valentine cookies from a local cookie store. Last spring, it was packets of Forget-Me-Not seeds;
And with each contact, we emphasize our availability anytime to answer any questions or just chat about the real estate market.
And here’s one thing we never do: ask if they know anyone interested in buying a home. Our focus is on our clients, their home and their lives – not on their ability to send business our way. They’ll do that naturally – and keep doing it - if we do the best we can for them.
I hope the above is a worthwhile trade for your time and attention. Mary & I continue to wish you all great success and a belated Happy 2026! And if any of you ever find yourselves in Northern Colorado, give us a shout and we’ll go grab a beer at one of our many excellent craft breweries and trade real estate stories.
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