Life has an interesting way of separating people. Busy lifestyles, personal commitments, growing families, and geography all play a role in pushing people apart. We’ve all experienced that moment when you run into someone and you both agree on getting caught up in the near future. The problem being that we typically fall back into the same patterns and don’t follow through on these promises. This also applies to reconnecting with past clients.
Reconnecting with friends, acquaintances, and clients has a unique way of opening new doors, new ideas, and new opportunities to us – if only we take the time to open it.
Why you should reconnect with past clients in the first place
Business leaders across all verticals understand the inherent value that tapping into their database holds. They know that it can take a lot of time, energy, and resources to develop new prospects and nurture them down the pipeline.
So in order to create loyalty with your current client base, you must take action now. The fact of the matter is that it takes 5x the amount of time and money to acquire a new client than to retain an existing one. This statistic alone should be enough incentive to cycle back through your contacts and systematically organize whom to reconnect with.
And if that’s not enough, the National Association of Realtors found that among sellers, an overwhelming 85 percent said that they would definitely or probably use their real estate agent again or recommend them to others.
Here are 4 things to remember when you decide to chart a course down reconnecting with past clients.
- Stay organized
First things first, having a real estate CRM in place can function like your own assistant with automated task and appointment reminder emails to keep you on track. Proper organization is the root to being effective in a real estate space that traditionally pulls agents in a million different directions every day. Everything from birthdays, move-in anniversaries, community functions, and marketing events – you’ll have a keep in touch dashboard with automated reminders to keep you in control.
- Apologize, promise and give thanks
This three-pronged approach can work wonders when reconnecting with past clients.
- You may need to apologize if it’s been awhile since you’ve last spoken.
- Make a promise that you will keep in touch more regularly, set a date to get together and that you will be a source of information for them.
- Lastly, thank them and show your appreciation – it goes a long way.
“Remember, each loyal and well-nurtured client in your database can represent thousands of dollars in referrals and repeat business down the road.”
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- Be someone of value
People have a natural tendency to feel sceptical when someone reaches out to them out of the blue – they figure that you need something or you’re prepping to unload a sales pitch. A way to disarm this feeling is to ask how you can be of assistance in any way. See if they need any kind of recommendation for a professional around the home. You’re within an arm’s reach of landscapers, contractors, plumbers – you name it!
Ask them how the new place is? How is the family? Do you have a client appreciation event coming up they would like to come to? If they’re one of your ‘A-listers’ that have brought in repeated business and are in the upper echelon of your clientele – invite them to a new restaurant or a round of golf to reconnect. Be sure to use your CRM to keep note of all of these informational tidbits to have them readily available when you’re on the go.
- Use important dates as a starting point
It’s an amazing feeling to have people reach out to you on Facebook and wish you a happy birthday. Even though they received a notification of the date, they still took the time to reach out and send their best wishes to make you feel special.
Use your real estate CRM to track anniversaries for homeowners, weddings, and birthdays. For example – if you had a call with someone recently and they said they have their daughters’ graduation next month, take note of it and reach out with a card and flowers. These small acts make a big impression.
Use your CRM as your digital sidekick so that when these seemingly small tidbits of information come through, you can properly log them so they grow into major relationship building blocks.
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