5 Things to Do to Keep in Touch with Your COI
Keeping in touch with your COI is one of the most important components of your real estate career. After spending time creating your database, you should dedicate a significant portion of your time following up with past clients and cultivating leads. Read on for ways to make those connections!
Use your referrals as an excuse to follow up with past clients.
After receiving a referral from a past client, immediately call them, send a handwritten note or email them. Update them on the market, and ask about their home, family or job. Ask open-ended questions about their situation so you can identify future opportunities to stay in touch. For example, if they mention an upcoming renovation, provide them with your Zaarly referral code. A referral instantly offers an opportunity to stay in touch with a former client — use it!
Provide a mini CMA.
As part of your marketing plan, send a mini CMA to your clients once or twice a year, depending on the market. Frame your message in a way that makes it clear it’s not a hard sell — you are simply staying in touch and thought they might want to know what’s going on in their neighborhood.
Send out Just Listed/Just Sold Cards through Xpressdocs.
Typically, once agents gain a new listing, they pull a farm area for a radius search in and around the new listing. There’s a reason they do this — it works! By consistently marketing to a farm area through direct mail, you get a chance to advertise yourself to potential sellers and spread the word about the new listing to all the neighbors. You should also send these cards to past clients, even if they live in a different neighborhood or town. There’s no better way to showcase how busy and active you are in the market than by sending out cards for every home you sell and list.
Publish an electronic newsletter.
Not only is sending out an e-newsletter a creative way to stay in touch with past clients, it’s very easy. However, you should keep in mind two important considerations: frequency and content. You should send out your newsletter at least once per quarter and at most monthly — ideally, every six weeks is best. And make sure the content you send is useful and interesting to your COI. ReeceNichols provides some great customizable action plans to get you started.
Drop off gifts in person.
Knocking on your past client’s door on a late afternoon or early evening is your best shot of getting someone at home. As a familiar face with a gift in hand, you are unlikely to get the door slammed in your face. Just make sure to tailor this strategy to your clients — if you think your past client would be taken aback, this might not be the best option for them. But for many clients, an inexpensive gift and visit will help you stand out.
As a bonus activity, invite one person a week out for coffee. It’s a small time and cost investment, but reaps big dividends for converting C-level contacts into B-level contacts, and even B-level contacts into A-level contacts!
