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I do not want to pick on real estate professionals in this article, as this could easily be any service type business that deals with clients, but I’m here to tell you it’s personally happened to me in 4 different transactions (with realtors) in my lifetime so far.
Does this sound familiar?
Several years ago they did a study. They interviewed 100 people who had just done a Real Estate transaction, either buying or selling a house. They asked them 3 questions:
1) Were you happy with the service you received from your Realtor?
2) Would you do business with the same Realtor again?
3) Would you refer your friends to the Realtor?
About 96% of the people were very happy with their Realtor and answered yes to all 3 questions. So the Realtors had done their job and provided a quality service.
Here’s what you’ve got to pay attention to now!
They interviewed these same people 2 years later. 90% of them could not even remember the Realtor’s name! So just like my experience, these Realtors dropped the ball on followup. Instead of having a stream of referrals coming their way they had to pump more money into non-effective advertising to stay in business!
How Can You Learn From This?
It is critical to the livelihood of your business to maintain contact long after the transaction is completed. If you treat people like a number, they will not ever refer you to their friends, family and peers. You’ve just lost out on a ton of long term business with zero advertising cost.
You need to “digitize”your clients into an online contact manager that has the capability of sending out actions of appreciation many times a year.
My background in marketing has exposed me to many systems that promise to get you clients and to grow your business. Until the last year or so, I had not seen any of these systems produce the results that were promised…until now.
This is the ONLY software tool I use to grow my businesses, and you can have access to it too. This tool is unlike any contact manager you’ve ever seen. Check out what you can do with it:
- Import your client database to an online secure server you can access anywhere with an Internet connection.
- Send a REAL, physical greeting card with the click of a mouse for under a buck.
- Send Hundred’s even thousand’s of cards with ONE CLICK (just imagine a holiday card list).
- Schedule and automate REAL cards, in your handwriting to go out for birthday’s, anniversaries, any special occasion.
- Send REAL gifts like brownies, cookies, gift baskets, gift cards (Starbucks, Home Depot, Cheesecake Factory, and more) for appreciation (ie. “Thank you for the referral”).
- Create beautiful cards by uploading pictures that are meaningful to the client.
- and more …
These are not electronic email cards. They are real physical greeting cards that arrive in the mail with a first class stamp. The cards are under $1 at Retail and even less at wholesale. They are the same quality of cards that you would find in a card store for $3 or more! I could talk about this system all day long but the best way to understand the system is to try it out.
You can send a few cards “on me” with no strings attached. Just contact me and I’ll set you up in less than 5 minutes.
And as always, I’d love to hear from you! Give me a shout out down below and some FB or Twitter love! Thanks so much!
Mike Pedersen has been an entrepreneur his entire adult life, and really enjoys helping golf professionals, and small businesses grow their revenue through online internet marketing strategies.
27. September 2010 at 1:52 am
Great article Mike,
This is what I try to tell my agents to do all the time. Most Realtor think that only because people don’t buy houses in a weekly bases that they should not follow up. My company has been able to survive this economy by doing just that following with my clients in a yearly bases and reminding them that we are still around.
Sincerely,
Jorge Vazquez
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3. October 2010 at 3:34 pm
Jorge,
You are to be congratulated for taking your business serious enough, and to prosper in this brutal economy, especially for real estate professionals.
Mike
Twitter: mikepedersen
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27. September 2010 at 2:09 am
@Jorge – but what HOW are you keeping in touch with them throughout the year is just as important. Do tell
3. October 2010 at 3:27 pm
Here it is Mike!
We created a system from day one to capture leads and new clients into a database with their name, birth date, date of purchase, additional comments, & etc. In order to get my employees and agents to better understand the importance of client information, we added a dollar value per item. Example $1 for name, last name, and phone number. One more $1 for email, $1 more for address, and one more for any additional contact information.
We contact them be email several times a year,for holidays, and special occasions.
Great information Mike!
Sincerely,
Jorge
Jorge Vazquez recently posted..8512 N Mulberry St Tampa Fl
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3. October 2010 at 3:36 pm
The only problem I have with your system is people ignore emails, and emails are not personal enough. Just imagine sending a REAL card with a sincere message to your clients multiple times per year. Especially the kind of cards that our system can make? It’s much more impacting and leaves a very strong impression.
Mike
27. September 2010 at 2:14 am
You are absolutely right, Mike, it is indeed important to keep keeping in touch with an old prospect. That will definitely bring home a lot of referral and the business will keep growing.
Thanks for sharing,
Loic
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27. September 2010 at 2:38 am
@Loic – Thanks Loic! I just hope more and more small business owners, entrepreneurs, and real estate professionals take notice.
27. September 2010 at 1:20 pm
Mike,
Excellent point…. real estate agents may not see repeat business from their clients on a monthly basis, but a very happy client may refer others on a monthly basis! We once had a salesman who sold us a new vehicle who then continued to send birthday cards and Christmas cards each year… year after year. We referred others to him and went to see him when looking for a new car again. Everyone likes to be remembered and everyone likes to know their business was appreciated….
To your continued success,
Robin
Robin van der Merwe recently posted..What Do You Want
27. September 2010 at 1:41 pm
Hey Mike, as a client I do agree with your post. Well what I call my nightmare experiences with the most unqualified Agents you can find I have a a few things to say about this.
So for your 3 points the agents I did work with, none of them get my referral nor will I ever use the well know Real Estate Company again.,
And for the follow up part, I am surprised that by having a handful of Agents all over the nation, none of them actually utilize anything to stay in contact with me or my wife.
So I wonder is that the training the companies provide or is it because the agent itself is just interest in a quick buck and actually doesn’t show a slight interest in creating a relationship with a person.
Well I could go on and on, but you got it Mike, just by simple things like postcards, one can build a great relationship with clients and people who didn’t buy the first time around.
After all buying a house is a big deal for people, so the job of an agent is to be the bridge between them and the unknown.
Thanks for your great post, Thomas Lierzer
Thomas Lierzer recently posted..Do You Think Out Of The Box
27. September 2010 at 3:38 pm
Mike,
You are so right about the necessity of followup. Followup just comes naturally when you’ve built a strong with your clients. The other great thing is that the well-built relationships last so much longer.
Thanks for sharing your insight and stressing the importance of followup in keeping your clients happy and satisfied.
Dave and Dawn
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27. September 2010 at 3:54 pm
Mike, Wow, so true, I just bought a house a few years ago and I don’t have a clue what the realtor’s name was.
Powerful stuff here! This shows us how important the follow up really is!
I like the way you used realestate professionals as a parallel to our industry to get your point across.
Thanks for sharing this truly useful information!
~Joseph McDevitt
P.S. Great job being the #1 commentator for the week! Your efforts are very much appreciated!
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27. September 2010 at 4:34 pm
@Robin – You know what’s funny, is that I’ve purchased no less than 10 cars in my lifetime and have never heard back from the salesman. So your person was a small percent of the population of auto sales people who “got it” and they got your loyalty and referrals for years to come. I hope people are starting to “get it”.
Thanks!
Mike
Twitter: mikepedersen
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27. September 2010 at 5:03 pm
@Thomas – You are not alone my friend
I hear these stories all the time, and that is why I aim to do something about it. I just need to get the word out about our online follow up system that will help them grow their real estate business (or any business) even in this bad economy.
27. September 2010 at 7:28 pm
Hi Mike,
Follow up in any profession is the smart thing to do. As for my last realtor, I wouldn’t do business again or give a referral. My realtor was inexperienced (and so was I) but you’d think the broker would have helped!
What this brought to my mind though was a well known home improvement store that called me twice to take a survey on a major purchase I made that required installation (windows). I was asked to give a rating of 1-7, 7 being excellent. They didn’t care what my reasons were for my ratings on each question… no explanation allowed. Hmmm, doesn’t seem that they cared about my experience at all. And no one said Thanks for my purchase!
The thing you said that I feel needs to be reiterated is the HOW of the follow up, which you brought up in the comments here. The “how” IS extremely important!
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27. September 2010 at 8:14 pm
@Deb – It’s amazing how many people have similar stories about realtors. I, in no way, have this blog to bash them, in fact to help them, if they have an open mind. Yes…the HOW is key. Emails, ecards are just not personal enough IMO.
27. September 2010 at 11:37 pm
Hi Mike,
Great point. I know a really great professional realtor who keeps in touch with everyone on his list throughout the year…so it doesn’t matter if a client is a new one or one that he worked with a decade ago, he is in touch. The system definitely works.
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27. September 2010 at 11:54 pm
@Linnea – That’s great that you know one. I’ll bet they are doing okay even in this tough economy too.
28. September 2010 at 12:11 am
This is great information for people in a wide variety of niches. It is important that any small business owner follows up with past clients. You definitely want to keep your name on your client’s mind. Keep up the good job.
28. September 2010 at 1:09 am
Great Post about following up with Clients and how it relates to any industry. This is something that is overlooked a lot. I know that I need to improve that part of my business as well.
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28. September 2010 at 2:00 am
@DeAnna – Yes…this applies to virtually all small businesses and sales professionals. This should be “standard operating procedure)”.
@Ted – Thanks man! And yes…the majority of business professionals overlook this.
28. September 2010 at 4:27 am
Hi Mike, I do agree with you that follow up is critical to success. However, there is a very fine line between a positive follow up and becoming a nuisance. The realtor that helped me buy my second to last house, is still mailing me stuff. I do not live in that area any longer and it feels like an intrusion into my privacy that she is following me even though I did not sent her an address change. The fact that I did not approach her for the sale of the house she helped me buy, should be a clear sign that I have moved on (no pun intended). Wouldn’t you agree?
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29. September 2010 at 12:40 am
Hi Mike. I love this because I am all about follow up. I would rather build a relationship with a client than to continue searching for new ones. When I was an active real estate agent we learned to have no less than 33 contacts with our prospects and clients over 12 months. When ever they thought of real estate, they thought of me. That’s a beautiful thing.
29. September 2010 at 1:20 am
Great point Mike the success is in the follow up. Just a little bit of follow up will go a long way. My Realtor is very good with followup. I know her well and would use her again in a heartbeat.
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29. September 2010 at 2:33 am
Mike, as you mention the focus of this post should not be overlooked by any business. Follow up and keeping in touch with clients is so critical in getting repeat business but even more so in regards to getting referral business.
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29. September 2010 at 2:34 am
MIke,
You’re absolutely right! Follow-through and follow-up are essential to good marketing. It’s not just about making connections, it’s about sustaining them and turning them into relationships. Plenty of people have huge lists, but they are COLD lists. Need to keep things WARM and HOT. Interaction is the key and your system sounds like a good one to create that.
Thanks so much,
Adam
Dr. Adam Sheck recently posted..Why We’re Triggered In Relationships The Lizard Brain!
29. September 2010 at 5:49 am
Hi Mike,
Sending cards is a great way to build long lasting customers and build repeat business. Everybody knows how important Birthdays and special occasions matter to your customer but so few people actually utilize this secret marketing technique.
The more it’s incorporated into your campaign the more benefit it is to you as a business owner. I use this marketing technique and it’s great to get people to want to do business with you. I think you’ll get all the business from people that really like you for touching bases. Thanks for pointing the importance in using techniques that build relationships. Attraction marketing 101. That’s what makes this business enjoyable and stress free. Thanks Mike!
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29. September 2010 at 4:49 pm
Relationship market is the only way to build a successful business. I am shocked at how many brick and mortar business are not making an effort to build a relationship with me.
I sold my home 4 years ago in New Jersey and still get postcards from the Realtor.
I will probably never move back, but I have lots of friends and family there. I would love to recommend him to anyone selling their home.
THAT is good marketing.
Debbie Lattuga recently posted..What is Your Business Avatar
29. September 2010 at 5:42 pm
Mike. You are 100% correct on this one. There are so many professions that are dependent upon repeat business and referrals, and so many professionals that simply take the time to set up a proper follow-up campaign. With the amount of automation that you can achieve these days, hard to believe that anyone would not try and stay in touch with past clients. Thanks, Scott Pollov
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29. September 2010 at 8:22 pm
@Debbie – That is awesome your realtor continues to do this. I’m impressed. Every small service business and sales professional should be incorporating a personalized “keep in touch” system.
@Scott – Thanks! Yes…this should be automatic nowadays.
30. September 2010 at 4:42 am
Follow-up is so important. And without the system most people will just sit back and think yeah, I’ll do that.
I’ve got to say, this whole system can really make your information stand out.
Just like Jorge said above just because that particular client is ready to buy or sell right now, it doesn’t mean they don’t have 5 other friends that are ready. By just keeping your name in front of them will help them start the topic.
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30. September 2010 at 9:08 am
Hi Mike, I can still remember the name of the person who sold us our house 3 years ago so he must have made a lasting impression… Although, that impression wasn’t a good one, lol…
so, making a long term impression on someone is very important for repeat business and referrals.
Thanks
Gavin
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30. September 2010 at 1:30 pm
@Jeremiah – you make many good points in your comment, and I appreciate it. It’s all about building better relationships with people.
@Gavin – I can relate. Our last one was absolutely horrible. He made a lot of money off our transaction and we didn’t get “boo” after it was done. I would NEVER refer him. His loss!
30. September 2010 at 6:42 pm
Nice use of statistics to create an article. No follow up for realtors can really be a big mistake. Most people may want to buy a second house or move in a couple of years. If they were happy with their realtor and can remember the person, they would like to use them again.
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1. October 2010 at 1:41 am
Love it Mike
Great simple concepts for use in any service business. thats what its about. Relationship marketing for future income. Those who do the most follow up work HAVE to make the most money. Its the law of numbers
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1. October 2010 at 7:52 pm
Very interesting study…thanks for sharing that, Mike. If that isn’t a clear message to professionals about the importance of follow up and relationship building I don’t know what is!
My mom was a very successful realtor in my younger years, and I got to be her mailer stuffer, stamper, sealer, what have you so I KNOW that she rocked her follow up! It was a lot of work back then, and now with systems like this there is simply no reason to not be on top of it.
Thanks for sharing!
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2. October 2010 at 12:18 am
Hi Mike,
It has always been said that the fortune lies in the follow up and you point this out well in your article. My health clinic was all about the personal touch and follow up. I know several realtors who use the system you speak about very effectively. I know it has made a specific positive difference in their business.
Thanks for sharing.
Clare
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2. October 2010 at 3:05 am
Hey Mike,
Unfortunately, I can’t relate. Call me lucky I guess as the realtors I worked with were simply fantastic. Still to this day they visit us and personally deliver gifts to us. It’s amazing, I know.
Although, I know many people who have shared some pretty crazy stories that I could not believe had happen. I guess you never can tell.
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2. October 2010 at 7:57 am
Hey Mike,
I am a Realtor,And the personal touch goes a long way for referrals and repeat business. For most people, a home purchase is the biggest investment in their lives, and people want to be catered to.
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2. October 2010 at 9:56 am
Nice post.. it’s amazing how much some real estate agents spend with machine gun advertising but do not even have their past clients on the Birthday / Holiday Card list.
2. October 2010 at 2:32 pm
This is a great testament to Send Out Cards. I love the service this provides. I have an account with them and not only is it good for follow up but as a data base for organizing your contacts.
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2. October 2010 at 4:31 pm
Mike, You make a great point to keep in touch with past clients that can refer you. And you have chosen a smart example to illustrate your point.
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2. October 2010 at 5:31 pm
@Gary -thanks man! I appreciate it.
@Nicole – glad to hear you are with SOC Nicole! It’s an awesome tool!
@Paul – I agree. So much wasted money with a horrible ROI.
@Joe – thanks for visiting and commenting. What amazes me Joe is more realtors say the same thing you do but very few put it into action
@Jerome – I’m glad to hear you’ve had good experiences with realtors, as there are some good ones out there.
3. October 2010 at 6:48 am
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3. October 2010 at 7:55 pm
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5. October 2010 at 3:18 pm
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