Automation Rocks!
Being on the up and coming side of technology is the place to be. I’m convinced! Applying the latest and greatest tools reviewed here at Agent Genius helps to keep the business advanced in the tech department and that’s the side I want to be on.
Automation ROCKS! Keeping in touch with clients is made easier with an automatic process in use. Different venues offer great alternatives: direct mail services – automatic postcards, cards, or letters mailed to your client list; drip email campaigns – email your list newsletters, stats, etc; auto-responders – answer email for you; and handwritten card services – send handwritten cards (I think they resonate fake, jussayin’).
You are Forgettable
You can not replace personal touch with any automated service. Making sure you have at least three personal touches in a year is ideal. As with anything else, balance and variety is essential. Did you know that one of the biggest reasons sellers do not use the agent they used to purchase the house is that they couldn’t recall the agent’s name? Don’t be that agent.
Here are some quick ideas for personal touch: (I’d love to hear yours)
- In between appointments pick up your phone with your handy dandy imported contact list, “I just showed a house with a see through-fireplace just like yours! Have you used it yet?”
- A “Happy Birthday” wish by phone says more than a comment on Facebook. If you’re really brave you could even sing it! I bet that would be remembered and maybe even talked about later.
- Take an hour out of your vacation time and send postcards to 50 of your favorite clients.
- Do you remember that your Buyer always had a cup of Starbucks coffee with them? Send them a $5 gift card, just because.
- New Baby? Anniversary? House Anniversary? Make a personalized Real Estate Show to help celebrate.
- Are you showing your listing? Bring a bunch of flowers and add it to the table with a note.
Don’t neglect the Personal Touch
There are endless possibilities to keep in touch to enhance automated touches. Just remember, that with all the technology available, don’t forget about the personal one.
Sarah Cooper
October 11, 2008 at 7:00 am
I *LOVE* the idea of bringing flowers when you show your own listing!!
Lisa Sanderson
October 11, 2008 at 7:05 am
Wow, Kim, thanks for the great reminder and the creative ideas! This is just the kind of stuff I was looking for to enhance my plan for 2009. Keep the inspiration coming, girl!
PS-Go Phils!!
Matt Stigliano
October 11, 2008 at 7:22 am
Kim – the flowers at a listing idea is excellent. There multiple benefits right there. The seller sees you care, their home looks and smells nice, and the potential buyers see what you do is above and beyond many agents.
I try to reach out to everyone as often as I can. And I try to personalize everything. When I bought my house here (pre-license) I even got my agent a gift for his extra hard work. We were both hockey fans I remembered so I got him an autographed Patrick Roy photo (Colorado’s greatest goalie – agent grew up in CO). That kind of thinking is what I try to do for clients. Pay attention to the little details in conversation and clients will be thrilled that you remembered!
I make notes in my database to “refresh” my memory when making calls or visiting. A local builder rep and I had some bounced email trouble when we first met, so I always say things like “let’s hope you get this email” or “I figured I’d call since your email and mine don’t get along” and she remembers me because of it. She called me yesterday to offer me an open house at their latest inventory home in a community that I am obsessed by, she knew I’d take it cause I always mention it in conversation. There’s plenty of agents that have done more for her, but because we talk about it, she thought of me (a guy who has sold 0 of her homes). To top it off, its the grand opening of the shopping center they built, so they will be doing extra advertising there with extra traffic. A little personal contact goes a long way.
Amy Salisbury
October 11, 2008 at 7:43 am
Hi Kim,
Awesome ideas as usual! One of the reasons we started our own brokerage was that being in a larger corporate setting, it seemed like we were forgetting that our clients were buying and selling their homes, a very personal thing. In this world of automation, providing the personal touch is paramount in building a loyal client base. Thanks!!!
Kim Wood
October 11, 2008 at 8:19 am
Matt – I also try to be aware as I’m with people about the little things. I pull my phone out soon after and jot the notes in their contact 🙂 Great minds think alike, lol. Nice testimony to what your paying attention to the little things got you!! Yay – sell, sell, sell .
Amy – It’s a good thing that you realized it and got out – now you can make the foundations in your brokerage stronger!
Brian Block
October 11, 2008 at 9:51 am
Kim, a good reminder that we all need to be high-tech & high-touch! “Set it and forget it” may be a nice motto for rotisserie chicken cookers, but it doesn’t cut it in real estate.
Missy Caulk
October 11, 2008 at 10:03 am
Kim, that would make the sellers very happy, if you brought flowers when you show their listings. One thing I did for awhile was take a candy bar, that I had covered with my wrap around, it said,
“Thanks for giving me the opportunity to list your home” and I left it after the listing appointment.
Great points you gave, no drip campaign can compete with the personal touch, after they are your clients.
Matthew Hardy
October 11, 2008 at 11:31 am
Good post. Can’t tell you the number of times we’ve talked to agents who seemed, in essence, to want an “automatic button” for their success. One-on-one communication may not be required for buying a book on Amazon, but having a complete history of every past communication when you do make the call makes the personal touch really worthwhile.