5 Min Read
Spring is in the air and you know what that means – lots of fresh new leads looking to buy and sell homes! The arrival of spring reminds us of new beginnings, fresh opportunities and, yes, spring cleaning. Now I don’t know if you use this season to wash your windows or reorganize your closet, but I do know that it’s a good time for Agents to re-evaluate your real estate contact management.
Although we gain more hours of sunlight in spring, it can actually feel like there are fewer hours available when you’re a busy Agent! Staying organized will help you maximize your working hours, avoid burnout, and offer the best possible service to your clients. Here are our tips on how to clean up your real estate contact management strategy for spring:
Step 1: Identify your strengths and challenges
The first step of your spring cleaning is to know exactly what you’re working with. Even a top producing real estate rock star has some areas they could improve on when it comes to contact management. No one knows your business better than you do, so take some time to evaluate where you’re shining and where you could brush up.
For example, perhaps you’re terrific at remembering details and storing client information, but you’ve fallen behind on email marketing initiatives and keeping in touch with past clients. The first step is knowing where you can focus, then move forward!
Step 2: Use the right tools
You wouldn’t clean the kitchen countertop with a mop or put the laundry in the dishwasher (at least I hope you wouldn’t)! To make the most of your spring cleaning efforts you need to use the best tools available to you. When it comes to managing your customer relationships, the best tool is a CRM designed specifically for real estate professionals.
IXACT Contact helps you maintain rich contact profiles about each of your prospects and past clients. Not only will you have their address and phone number handy, but also the names of their children, favorite hobbies, referral history, and email correspondence. The CRM functions as a personal assistant, maintaining all of your contact details and reminding you when it’s time to reach out.
Step 3: Establish a plan for keeping in touch
Since we know that 82% of real estate sales come from past clients, referrals, friends and family (Buffini, 2015) we can conclude that keeping in touch with contacts is crucial for selling more homes. Referrals are so valuable, but they can’t refer you if they don’t recall your name! Part of spring cleaning is about organizing and planning, so establish a plan for keeping in touch with your past clients.
Some good examples for how to keep in touch include sending out a monthly e-Newsletter, wishing contacts a happy birthday, and using effective Drip Email Campaigns offered in your Real Estate CRM. All of these processes can be automated to help you save time and will bring you one step closer to building relationships with your prospects and clients.
Step 4: Do an annual check-up
It’s easier to tackle spring cleaning if you’ve been keeping up with regular tidy-up tasks throughout the other seasons. Make a point of checking in on the health of your real estate database regularly to keep it in check.
Just like your car needs an annual check-up, so does your contacts database. I recommend going through everyone in your database once a year, and there’s no better time to do this than spring. My favorite technique is to pick one letter of the alphabet each day for a month, and using your real estate CRM, double check that you have the correct information for each contact, including spouse name, birthdays, phone number, email address and family details. This is a great time to give them a call to say hello, reconnect, and perhaps pick up a referral or two. Make a note of who you’d like to chat with again and set a reminder to call them in a month or two.
In conclusion
It feels good to get some spring cleaning done in your business. Take this opportunity to evaluate your strengths and areas to improve, tidy up your contact database and make a plan to keep in touch more regularly. When you see your referrals business start to bloom, you’ll be glad you did!