How to Stay Top of Mind with Clients
A spontaneous, heartfelt social media post from your client thanking you for your attentiveness, generosity, or connections is one of the best forms of marketing that exists—but one you cannot buy. Instead, you must earn it. Ultimately, returning clients and positive word-of-mouth buzz will be the cornerstone of your business, so this is one area of professional development that deserves your very best effort.
Given this dynamic, here are our recommendations for unique ways to stay top-of-mind with your clients.
Be a Well-Rounded Resource for Your Clientele
Perform research that will benefit your clients, then send it out to each of them. Furthermore, generously offer information to anyone who asks, even if they are not currently ready to buy or sell a property. You can be sure that anyone you help will remember you and will likely reach out to you down the line.
Information that is universally considered helpful includes (but is not limited to) your analysis of the current local real estate market, insightful predictions you have about the real estate “forecast,” and information about real estate holdings in Middle Tennessee.
Offering this kind of ongoing assistance demonstrates that your motivations to help others are not merely financially driven. Kind, thoughtful, generous people tend to thrive as real estate agents, so you should feel empowered to follow your instincts along these lines.
Demonstrate Your Savvy for Upper-Market Homes
You want your clients to think of you immediately when they are prepared to upgrade to a more luxurious property. At this level, you will be expected to offer concierge-style care for your clients to ensure that their experience is as seamless as possible. To that end, you can let each of your clients know that you have the resources and connections to assist them with any level of real estate transaction should they ever decide to make such a move.
Additionally, deliver as much white-glove attentiveness as you can for each of your clients. This will serve the dual purpose of cementing you in your clients’ minds as both the realtor they recommend to others and the realtor they think of first when they themselves are ready to move.
Give Gifts and Offer Your Thanks
When your clients refer someone to you, send a thank-you note and a small or moderate gift. An email, text, or phone call simply isn’t sufficient, and will not make it significantly more likely that they will go out of their way to recommend you again. Conversely, personalized, thoughtful notes and gifts for each referral will help you stay top of mind.
While many real estate agents give housewarming gifts, too few of us go the extra mile to thank clients for referrals! This is a golden opportunity for you to stand out and strengthen your connections with your clients.
Pay Attention to Their Lives
Most of your clients (likely) have a social media presence, and of those, nearly all will be happy to connect with you there. This will give you insight into their lives, and you can take advantage by sending cards and gifts to commemorate their significant life events.
Pet adoptions, new jobs or promotions, birthdays, marriages, anniversaries, pregnancy and birth announcements, and of course, the anniversary of the purchase of their home are all examples of great times to connect and show that you are paying attention and genuinely care about them beyond closing the deal.
Share Your Network
Your clients can benefit greatly from tapping into the professional network you’ve worked to create and sustain. Share your network freely with current, past, and potential clients.
The following categories of network connections will be most valuable to your real estate clients:
Tax Professionals and CPAs
Your clients who are purchasing their first home will encounter all sorts of new challenges when it’s time to file their taxes. Experienced accountants and tax professionals will take the pressure off and ensure that your client’s taxes are filed correctly.
Attorneys
As a real estate agent, you’ll find yourself networking with attorneys for a variety of reasons. When you meet one who stands out for their excellence and personability, make sure to recommend them to your network. This will be especially helpful for any of your clients who are facing property predicaments such as foreclosure and those who need to modify their loans.
Landscapers, Interior Designers, Architects, and Contractors
Whether your client wants to re-landscape, redesign their home’s interior, renovate their home, or build a custom home from the ground up, you should be one of the first people they call for a connection to someone skilled and trustworthy.
The Takeaway
Consistently strive to be the kind of real estate agent people genuinely like, trust, and appreciate. By consciously taking action to stay top of mind with your clients, you increase the odds of becoming the realtor they recommend to their family and friends, and within their own professional network. Wash, rinse, repeat!