Many real estate agents dread calling past clients, especially those they haven’t spoke to in a long time, because they don’t know what to say or how to begin the conversation.
If this sounds like you, you’ll want to read this article as we’ll discuss how to get around the problem of “not knowing what to talk about.”
At IXACT Contact, we’ve always stressed the importance of keeping in contact with past clients and continuing to build relationships with them, long after the initial transaction is over with.
Why? Because unless you stay in touch with past clients and build key relationships, they’re not going to use your services again or recommend you to friends and family.
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With a CRM for Agents like IXACT Contact, keeping in touch is easy because you can set-up automated drip email campaigns, send out a professionally designed and written monthly e-Newsletter, and schedule important keep in touch activities like phone calls and client appreciation nights.
But Agents don’t schedule phone calls with past clients as much as they should because of the problem of not knowing what to say.
The solution is simple.
A good CRM for Agents will have fields in each contact profile for hobbies, pets, interests, children and spouse information, birthdates, and anniversary dates. As you learn about your clients while working with them, record these key pieces of information in their profile.
The next time you call Jim or Susie, you can start the conversation by asking about their baseball tournament, congratulating them on their anniversary, or mentioning a great camping spot that you recently learned about (because you know this particular client likes to camp).
Chris Leader, founder of one of the foremost real estate coaching companies in North America, Leader’s Edge Training, offers some great advice: “Find something to hang the conversation on – an anniversary, a holiday, a time of the year – and use that as a touch point.”
But here’s another solution that will give you talking points next time you call up or meet with a past client: begin the conversation by bringing up what you spoke with them about during your last conversation together.
Your CRM for Agents again comes in key here. In each profile of the contacts you add to your database, there will be an area to add notes and log calls. Make sure you record the details of your conversation (or a general overview of it) every time you speak or meet with a client.
You can see how a CRM for Agents comes in extremely handy. Without one, it’s easy to lose track of and forget important information about your clients. Not to mention, relationship-building becomes anything but easy.
Now that you’ve learned these simple and effective ways to begin conversations with past clients, you should have no problem calling them because the call will be easy and feel very natural.
Your clients will be happy to hear from you and be impressed that you’ve remembered important details about them and what you spoke about last. You’ll come across as a true professional – highly organized, detail-oriented, and someone who values relationship building.
Do you think the advice in this article will help you feel more comfortable calling past clients? Leave a comment below!
If you’re serious about staying in touch with past clients and building a referrals and repeat business, give IXACT Contact a try. Sign up for a FREE 5 week trial of the CRM for Agents now!