The Ultimate Real Estate Lead Generator: Past Clients

    Sep 20, 01:17 PM in Marketing

    A few weeks ago, I blogged about the cheapest and most effective source for new real estate business. In case you missed it, the answer is past clients.

    Here’s just a quick “fact recap” before we go on…
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    According to the 2005 REALTOR® Technology Efficiency Survey, co-sponsored by the Center for REALTOR® Technology and the National Association of REALTORS®...

    “Over 64% of the respondents report they communicate with their past clients from 1 to 4 times per year. About 18% communicate with their past clients over 6 times per year.”
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    In today’s world where life is moving pretty fast and furiously, contacting your past clients 4, 6, 8 and even 10 times a year just isn’t enough to keep your position as “Realtor® Number 1” firmly cemented in their subconscious.

    Just think about it this way…

    If you really offer your clients a special level or special type of service that they truly cannot get anywhere else in their market (and only you know that), then you OWE it to them to keep reminding them about it. To not do that would simply be irresponsible.

    You can think about yourself as being your clients’ real estate coach… You help them just as much in the “off-season” when they’re not in the market as you do when they are “in the game.”

    So here are some ideas to help you use technology to develop a stronger relationship with past clients and build your unique value in their eyes and minds.

    METHOD 1: The Education That Never Ends

    Get yourself an autoresponder service, or “drip email” as some people call it. Basically, you are going to setup a series of emails that will go out to your clients at predefined times, automatically… forever.

    This is NOT a new concept, but it is something that few do consistently. And that is where the real power is.

    The important thing is that the emails need to be of real VALUE to your clients, even if they aren’t buying or selling in the next six to twelve months. And you MUST set the stage by letting them know in advance what you are about to do for them.

    Something like, “Most of my competition will drop you like a hot potato after your deal is done. They will be on the lookout for the next piece of business and you may never hear from them again. But I take a much more long term approach to my real estate business. I expect that you will call me again when you or a friend need real estate services, so until then, I want to continue offering you value and helping you in anyway I can. As a part of that value, I will be giving you a free subscription to my “101 Hints and Tips for Buyers and Sellers, Even If You JUST Bought Or Sold.”

    Now, just go and take a few hours to brainstorm and draw on your real estate experience. Make a list of 101 tips that you think your clients should know – stuff that will really help them next time around… Craft a helpful email based on each one, and set them up to go out every other week. That’s 4 years worth of email without you lifting a finger once it is setup.

    This will take a lot of work, but you’ll only do it ONCE and reap the benefits again and again.

    METHOD 2: Become a Trusted Source

    This technique also uses an autoresponder…

    The idea here is to setup regular contacts with your clients, but not with the goal of discussing real estate. Your goal is to build a deeper level of trust and position yourself in their minds as a true advisor: someone who is really looking out for their well being and is willing to prove it again and again.

    So go around to different merchants in your market and tell them that you will be featuring them in mailings to your clients. Ask them if they want to include a coupon or some sort of special to extend to your readers. Sprinkle in some emails about places your clients need to visit, things they should know, stuff to do…

    Your goal isn’t to talk about real estate, it is to genuinely help them enjoy their surroundings… YOUR market… the place where YOU are the expert.

    And as long as you make your emails “evergreen,” meaning they are not time sensitive, once you set up the system, it will run like clock work.

    You’ve worked hard to create happy clients, but that’s just the beginning. Building your relationship over time requires an investment from you, but there is no reason that you can’t use technology to leverage that investment. It will increase the returns on your effort exponentially.