To generate a new client it costs between 5-10 times what it costs to maintain an existing one.
What someone else says about you is 10 times more believable that what you say about yourself.
Referral clients are generally less likely to negotiate commissions, interview other agents and in many cases they are sold on you before they even meet you - since someone else told them about you.
Stop and think just for a second about the top three statements. If it costs so much more to generate an existing client then why do so many agents neglect their past clients and sphere of influence?
I think that most agents just don't realize how much more expensive it is to obtain a new client and since the client they just sold a house to is no longer in the market they choose to spend their efforts elsewhere.
The advice I give to our agents is that it's not about when that person in their sphere of influence is going to sell their home or buy a new one, but equally important is that that person could refer business to them. After all that maybe the house they plan to retire in, but these people that know and love you, and have done business with you could - if treated right - be your next Raving Fan.
It's crucial that you develop and implement a system to continuously stay in touch with your database. Marketing to your sphere of influence is the absolute best use of your marketing dollars.
Transforming your sphere of influence into "Raving Fans" should be every agents goal.
Step number one is building up your database, start with making a list of everyone you know that could buy or sell a home through you or could refer business to you. You can use a memory jogger to increase the people in your database. You may be able to find a better one more specific to real estate. Continue to feed it daily.
The next step is coming up with a strong and consistent follow up system. As the result of studying the very top agents from all across the country, Gary Keller in the Millionaire Real Estate Agent book recommends contacting your database 33 times a year. You've got to develop a system to consistently touch your database 33 times each year or if you don't want to reinvent the wheel, check out ours.
We developed a very aggressive and successful 33 touch campaign to touch people in our database from different marketing mediums. We combined powerful marketing messages (USP's - uniques selling propositions) that produced great results with consistent touches.
The more different directions your touches come from the better. I don't believe that sending someone 33 emails is going to do the trick. We combined newsletters, postcards, phone calls, personal notes or cards, and pop-ins to come up with our 33 touches.
You can see my previous articles on pop-ins to learn more about a systematic effective approach for pop-ins on ezine or activerain. To learn how you can generate four or more closings each month using a simple automated follow up programs please contact me directly (979) 777-7677. We are growing quickly and so can you. |
