Being the top REALTOR® in your community can be hard work. Turning promising leads into happy, long-term clients that want to refer your services as a real estate agent to friends and family takes an immense amount of attention and energy. While there are an infinite amount of good habits to adopt, there are also a few bad ones that would be well-advised to drop.
Here are a few business practices to avoid in order to establish yourself as a trusted, “go-to” source for your community’s real estate needs.
Sloppily Maintain Client Contact Information
Being an attentive professional that is always on the lookout for more business means you might often find yourself connecting with potential clients in all sorts of locations. Whether you’re in your office, at a convention or even in line at the supermarket, you must always be aware of the potential clients that surround you. Consequently, keeping track of all of the information you acquire about these contacts can get somewhat difficult.
Try to get your contact information organized and in one place with a customer relationship management (CRM) system. These systems allow you to store all of your information in one consolidated database that usually syncs between your smartphone, computer or tablet, bringing everything up to date automatically. Not only will a CRM system help you to come across to your clients as organized and on top of things, but the ability to manage your business in one place will allow you to provide a higher level of service to your clients.
Invest in Marketing Services Haphazardly
Especially in business, there is no such thing as “one size fits all,” meaning that there is no marketing practice that is guaranteed to work for you just because it has worked for someone else’s business in the past. Avoid marketing services that aren’t catered specific to your needs and wants as an individual agent.
Take stock of where your leads and referrals are coming from so you can learn where you need to concentrate your efforts and where you need to cut back. This is another area where a good CRM system can help. A good CRM can generate reports to help you see just where your business is coming from and how to capitalize on it.
Not Maintaining Contact With Past Clients
While the two previous practices will help you gain clients, there is one more practice that is important to help you maintain clients. After you’ve worked so hard to turn a lead into a happy client, it is important not to let that relationship wain. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the average person knows between three and five people who will move each year. Given the wealth of opportunity made by your current client list, this is an important area to foster for more leads and contacts.
Once you’ve successfully completed a transaction with a client, stay top of mind by sending out a monthly newsletter or automate some email marketing to make sure your clients remember you for all of their real estate needs.
