How Savvy Realtors Establish Long-Term Relationships

Maintaining relationships with past clients is one of the key secrets in real estate to being successful. Previous clients can not only be beneficial through the prospect of future home sales but also as referral sources to newer clients.

Word of mouth is the best type of advertising you can have in real estate. People trust recommendations made by their friends more so than they do a billboard or a TV commercial.

For this reason, it’s extremely important that you stay connected with the clients from your past. This can actually be quite simple if you employ the right techniques. Here are some specific tips for savvy realtors on how to establish and keep long-term relationships with your clientele.

Social Media

The power of social media in keeping people connected can’t be understated. There’s no other form of socializing that allows you to maintain multiple relationships in a simpler way. With the click of a button, you can show clients that you’re interested in their passions, their hobbies, and their lives

That’s why it’s important to connect with your clients on social media when possible. Engaging with their content can cause them to feel more fondly towards you where they will be more interested in what you’re posting.

The best approach is to try to swap social media information with clients when face to face and work it into the conversation. If you have to search for them by name later, unsolicited, this creates a more sensitive situation. You’ll then have to gauge whether the client will be happy to see you again or if they’ll feel awkward or irritated that you’ve gone out of your way to look them up.

Unless you really know your client and their personality well, this could backfire on you and might cause an opposite effect that can damage your relationship with them. That’s why direct mail campaigns for realtors or other methods may be more suitable in some cases.

Client-Focused Events

Organizing events and then inviting your clients to them is a tried-and-true method to maintain business relationships. You can host picnics, pool parties, trips to sports events, or anything that you think the bulk of your clients might be interested in. When you encourage them to bring their family or friends, this means more potential for meeting new clients as well.

Of course, with COVID-19 now presenting a problem with social gatherings, you’ll have to be creative and think of ways around this until things are resolved, depending on your area.

Some realtors are getting creative by using online conference meetings and other services to host get-togethers. But if you choose to go this route, you’ll want to make it worth their while to show up. You can hire an entertainer or someone that you think might be useful in attracting clients to a conference call. You can also arrange for some type of fun giveaway event where prizes are raffled off.

Become a Source of Information

Serving as a reliable source of information or help for clients can also be beneficial. This not only strengthens your relationship with them because it keeps you in contact but also builds their trust in you. If they need help with something, you want to be the person they go to first for advice.

Your assistance doesn’t have to be related to real estate either. If they need help with computer software, or plumbing, or even advice on romantic relationships, you can be the person who is there for them. You can refer them to reliable services that you’ve used before. You can talk them through things when they just need to discuss a problem with someone.

By doing these types of things, they’ll see you as both a trusted source of information and someone they can count on. This maintains your contact with them and makes your job easier. As a result, they’ll be much more receptive to any business-related pitches or mailings you send their way.

Send Birthday Wishes

When working with your clients, you should always take note of their birthdays when possible. Reaching out to them later to wish them a happy birthday can go a long way in strengthening your relationship with them.

You can do this by contacting them directly with any contact details you have, or by sending a birthday card to their home address. The latter option is probably better because it’s more memorable and you will normally already have their address if you’ve done business with them before.

By getting back in touch with them this way, you can strike up a conversation while establishing a more frequent way to stay in contact with them. Ask them how they’re doing and try to see what hobbies they’re into now or what business projects they’re working on.

Build a casual relationship with them again so that they’ll feel more comfortable reaching out to you for various things. While this is a great way to show you care and to get in contact, it can obviously only be utilized once a year. For this reason, personalized and direct mail campaigns for realtors can be a better option when it’s not their birthday.

Direct Mail Postcards

Last, but certainly not least, directly mailed postcards are the most effective way to both remind past clients of your value as a realtor and to stay in contact with them. Every time you list and sell a home, past or prospective clients can receive custom-made postcards showcasing this.

While listing your sales on social media and using the internet as a means of marketing can be effective, direct mailings can deliver a greater impact. Many people nowadays are desensitized to everything they see on the internet. They’ve become used to seeing ads and posts online to the point where some people, particularly younger clients, often block out what they see or don’t notice it.

Direct mail postcards for real estate stand out and are much more memorable. Wise Pelican offers this service with many additional features that can help you both reconnect with clients and gain new ones.

Not only are their postcards trackable, so you know exactly when they’re delivered, but they can also include custom URL links to convert prospective clients into genuine ones. The links allow your target audience to check their home valuations, which can excite and prompt them into speaking with you if they’re looking to sell their home.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes