Staying in Touch
(Mostly) Effortless Ways to Stay in Touch
Aug 16
Written By GB Landrigan
Most of my clients are either those who I’ve previously helped or are referrals from them. We owe it to them to keep in touch in a way that is regular but not bothersome. Some agents hold annual events. These are often very successful, but they can be exhausting to arrange.
A few years ago, I found that I was treating my clients badly. Aside from an occasional phone call, they had very little communication from me. I noticed that a few of my clients had moved using other agents. How could I be upset? I had effectively abandoned them. They didn’t know that I genuinely liked them and, separately, wanted their business. Because I didn’t tell them.
I set out to put together a series of interactions that didn’t require my bothering them on the phone.
Personalized Magazine. Another agent kindly suggested that I send out a personalized magazine to my clients. She thought that it might be best to use only for my “top” few clients, but I have found that it is worth it to have mailed to roughly 140. Called American Lifestyle, it is an extremely polished glossy publication that has articles a person actually wants to read. I have one client who has written to me thanking me for it while a couple of others posted copies on Facebook (mentioning my name!). It is mailed every other month, has my name and photograph in a corner of the cover and the ability to push my listings or customize the back cover. It runs about $5 per copy mailed. Not inexpensive, but certainly worth it to create an automatic quality contact.
Handwritten Note. My series of interactions was meant to require as little time on my part as possible because I knew I would occasionally procrastinate, the task would remain undone, and my client would not feel connected. At some point, though, your humanity must show. Hand-written notes are one of the best ways to do this. While considered “old school,” even the techiest person appreciates something that took just a bit more effort to do. So, on the annual anniversary of the client’s home purchase, I send a note along with a $10 Starbucks card. You can create a “basic” note that you can use for everyone, as long as you leave a couple of lines to personalize it. This is also a good time to double-check that they haven’t moved, had a death or divorce, or some other event that you should be aware of.
Property Tax Information. In most states, owners of real estate pay property taxes. Those taxes often change. In my state, there are special exemptions that lower the taxes for owner-occupants. There is also an appeals process in case you think your property has an incorrect assessment. We pay our taxes twice a year. Using Realvolve, my transaction and client manager, I put together a workflow so that I can automatically send an email to all of my clients reminding them of these issues, along with instructions if there is a problem. It takes a minute to send and I always receive at least a couple of questions or reactions following it.
Monthly real estate report. Barbara Corcoran, the founder of New York’s Corcoran Group and a regular on Shark Tank, wrote a great book years ago that I still recommend. In “If You Don’t Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails,” she recounts her very early days when she needed to sound authoritative. She figured that she was just as capable of reporting statistics in the Manhattan market as anyone else and began distributing The Corcoran Report. Truth be told, Manhattan didn’t have a centralized multiple listing system and her statistics were a bit anecdotal. Nevertheless, it was a great way for her to know the market’s numbers AND be an authority. I read the book twenty-odd years ago and loved the idea. Our board of Realtors at the time published its statistics three weeks into the new month. That created a knowledge gap and slightly outdated information. The largest firm in town published its own take on the numbers a bit earlier, but I thought “Why should they be the only source?” For several years, I created a fifteen page report every month that broke down the numbers for approximately 100 separate neighborhoods. During the 2008 housing crash, my report landed me “above the fold” on the front page of our major daily newspaper – next to the news of the death of hometown son and author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. But it was exhausting and took me three days to produce. I have since pared it down to the overall region and three regional areas. With advances in the MLS, I can have all the data within a half-hour. I then use a template from Canva and make it look pretty. Then I send it out to my clients, using Realvolve. This keeps you in touch with your clients and forces you to keep informed. Since many agents now produce their own reports, it’s important to set yours apart in some way. My covers feature a painting from a local gallery, something that adds a bit to my emotional branding. The other is that I include the most expensive current listings and sales for the month. Gossip, you know!
Social Media. Two words that are so overused I almost didn’t include them. Still, it is one of the easiest ways to keep in touch with your clients – and their friends! Different age groups tend to use different platforms, so be aware. There are many online courses that will help you do your best with social media. Most will say that it is best to have separate accounts for business and personal use. I disagree a bit as I find that few people will want to follow your business page as they fear the equivalent of spam. Three-fourths of my Facebook posts, for example, are of a personal nature. An activity I’m involved in, an historic article on my city, etc. The other one-fourth notes a new listing, this month’s real estate report, or some other real estate-related post. While I do present myself as a unified person by using only one account, that doesn’t mean I need to express my political views for all to see. I was once guilty of the occasional rant, but realized that it did very little and only served to remove me from “potential Realtor” lists.
Harry & David gift baskets. I used to have great difficulty thanking my clients following a closing. I sometimes wrote a note, other times sent a small gift, or simply let things drop entirely. I wanted to be so personal in my thanks that I often ended up not thanking them at all! As a stop-gap measure a few years ago, I decided to simply send Harry & David gift baskets as closing gifts. If you aren’t familiar with them, they have a reputation for being a bit high-end with excellent cookies, pears, chocolates, and more – all stuffed into unique containers. My Realvolve workflow reminds me to make the order about one week before the closing. It takes three to five minutes to make a selection and pay. Done!
End of Year Closing Documents. My now-retired assistant, Debbie, started a great service years ago when she mailed out copies of closing documents to that year’s clients. Many people have misplaced their paperwork over the course of a move, packing boxes, etc. Yet they often need those papers to prepare their taxes. Even though I went paperless some time ago, I request a set of paper documents from the title company/escrow agent at closing, in addition to those that are electronically-sent. Once a year I prepare a generic cover letter and a couple dozen manilla envelopes. When a closing occurs, I simply put the papers in an envelope, address it, and set it aside with the others from the year. Then I mail them the first week of January. The clients may or may not need the documents, but they seem to appreciate the thoughtfulness and connectedness. If you know that your client absolutely detests paper, you can simply send them an email the first week of January with the same information.
GB Landrigan