How To Have More Repeat And Referral Business
Ever consider the cost of LOST BUSINESS because you did not stay in touch with past clients who forgot about you when they were ready to sell their house and buy a new one? It is crucial for you to have a system that will keep you TOP-OF-MIND with your clients. This one idea will outline how you could KEEP THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS in commissions instead of letting them slip through your fingers.
Has this ever happened to you? You were in the grocery store and you see a past client across the produce department. She calls out to you. “Oh, I wish I had known you were still around. Since I never heard from you after we closed on our home, I assumed that you had moved away or you were doing something else. I just hired another Realtor to list my home. We are expecting another baby and needed to find a bigger house.”
Ouch! How much income did you miss out on in this one scenario? Assuming they sold House 1 for $200,000, the Gross Closed Commissions would be around $6,00 and assuming you are on a 70/30 spilt, you would net about $4,200.
Let’s say they bought House 2 for $375,000. Gross Closed Commissions on this house would be around $11,250 with a net to you of $7,875. From just this scenario you would have made over $12,000. This doesn’t include future buys or sells or referrals lost. If she had several friends she also referred to this other agent, you may have lost considerably more.
Here are a few ALARMING STATISTICS. The number one reason a client does not come back and use you again is because they forgot about you. 95% of your happy clients will purchase from a competitor on an impulse. For each month that you don’t communicate with your clients, you lose 10% of your influence.
So what can you do to keep this unfortunate and costly series of events from happening to you?
Most real estate agents think that the journey is over as soon as they get the deal done. However, if you truly want to succeed in the industry, then it might be a good move to take note of Billy’s Birthday, Dad’s Fishing Tournament and Mom’s Social Event of the Season. The key is Relationship Marketing.
What is Relationship Marketing? Relationship Marketing is a relationship management strategy designed to encourage strong, lasting connections to your brand. The goal is to turn prospects into customers that generate repeat sales and encourage word-of-mouth promotion (referrals).
Relationship Marketing must follow the 80/20 Rule. Reach out in the spirit of building relationships first, (80% of the time: for things like thank yous, birthdays, holidays,) and marketing second (20% of the time).
The Real Estate Agent who gets the ideas in this chapter can transform their business to one that focuses on building by it with repeat clients and referrals. These referrals are already interested in buying or selling. Imagine how much time and resources are saved through this approach. Now you won’t need to run after potential clients. Instead, prospects are now coming to you.
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou
So, build your business by becoming a Master in Relationship Marketing! Focus on Client Relationship first and Marketing second. Create strong relationships, celebrate life, and be grateful.
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