A customer cancelled her real estate newsletter account yesterday. The reason? She’s “too busy and doesn’t need it right now.” Of course, we cancelled the account without question, but I was itching to scream NO! Not for us, but for her.
I recall when the real estate market was starting to take a dive in late 2007. I was sitting at coffee with two friends, both experienced Realtors. They were lamenting their disappearing business, discussing options. With no particular conclusions that I can remember, we parted ways and went about our business.
Six Years Later
I ran into both agents again in different places in late 2013. By 2008, Rachel had left the business and was working as an executive assistant. We chatted a bit. You know the story…business faded away and reached the point of insufficient funds.
On the other hand, I had seen Lori’s signs around town for the past six years, so I knew she was still active and in business. I stopped at an open house to visit with her. I was really curious about how she’d weathered the storm.
As it turns out, one of the key differences between these two agents was what they did in the good times, not the bad. Lori faithfully used a follow-up system on every client from the start of her business in 2004.
She lost a ton of business during the down-turn. But, according to her, her consistent follow up (along with a shift to short sales) gave her a sufficient amount to stay in business. Then when the market changed again for the better, it was like she had unplugged a dam and business flooded her. She was now doing double what she had before the crash with half the effort.
Is It Worthwhile?
Lori is one of many agents who’ve told me that consistently communicating with past clients is key to their business. On the other hand, I’ve also heard from agents that following up is NOT part of their business plan, and they’ve done quite well over the years.
So I’m curious…what is your follow up system, and how much business do you attribute to it? Or if you don’t follow up, why don’t you?