Purchasing leads is a great way to get started in this business. Especially when you are brand new in real estate and you have already connected with all of your friends and family. However, to find long-lasting success, you need to create a system to turn all of your leads into long-term real estate clients. You can do this by creating and nourishing a sphere of influence in real estate.
The good news is it as simple as it sounds in strategy, but it does require work and consistency. Doing this will not only establish and maintain your business for years to come, it will also help you to continuously find greater success in producing quality leads for your business. According to our recent State of Leads survey, most respondents cited their sphere of influence as the number one way they found the most success in turning a lead into an actual client. With that in mind, we’ll share with you what you need to do to make this happen for your business.
What a Sphere of Influence in Real Estate Is and Why It Is Essential
A real estate sphere of influence consists of all of your connections as a real estate professional. This can include friends and family, previous clients, and leads that encounter your business through marketing efforts and purchased leads. What maintains this sphere of influence? Frequent engagement and relationship building.
The prolific real estate coach, Tom Ferry said:
“It takes 7-8x more time, energy, and money to get new clients, than it does to get more business or referrals from your current clients. 82% of all customers would say they would work with their agent again, but only 12% actually do.”
Keeping a connection with your current leads and former clients is the key to generating steady business. When you have a system in place to remain engaged with your sphere and to organically reach new leads, your business will naturally thrive.
Maintaining Your Sphere of Influence in Real Estate
When your sphere of influence is nourished in the following ways, you will see clients return and refer others to you. This is what you can do to ensure lasting success for your real estate business:
Organize Your Lead List
Don’t throw out, delete, or write off any old leads or former clients. Keep track of them all with a list. Keeping that list organized and up-to-date is made easier with Agent Legend. Using Agent Legend, you can import your leads easily and then sort them categorically. This allows you to keep track of where your leads are in the buying or selling process, or where they might be soon. It also allows you to tailor communication to them each specifically.
Maintain Open, Authentic Communication
With your leads sorted, you can now send out personalized messages to that list periodically. This allows you to follow up with former clients in a certain way, while touching base with old leads in another. They each require different forms of communication. So always keep that in mind. Frequent communication keeps you on those leads’ radar. This makes it far more likely that they will think of you and reach out when they are ready to buy or sell.
Stay Engaged with Your Community
Frequent communication also aids in this essential next step. Don’t only send messages periodically, take it a step further and ask questions about what you might be able to do to help them out. It has to be about service not just sales. The current pandemic in 2020 is a perfect example. Many people have questions about the impact the situation is having on the real estate market. Many people are also curious about the impact on the local community, including restaurants that are still open or families that might need help. Provide that information as best you can.
Be a part of the conversations taking place around you by asking questions and offering solutions within your local community. This establishes a lasting connection, and keeps you in the know. When you are aware of where your former clients and leads are, or might soon be, in the buying or selling process you won’t miss out on the opportunity to be their agent when the time comes.
Become a Trusted Source
This intersects with the previous steps. Maintain open, authentic communication and stay engaged with your community. You want to not only be involved. You want to be a trusted source as well. This can go beyond your local community, friends, family, and former clients and leads. This can extend out into the real estate community as a whole or your entire state or region.
Use social media, start a blog, and/or maintain a website. It doesn’t have to be all of those things all the time. Just choose at least one and create content that engages the community and offers useful information. This is how you continue to grow and nourish your sphere of influence. You will not only be on the radar of leads and former clients, but attract new ones with your expertise.
Consistency and Organization
Consistency and organizing in these practices are the key ingredients to growing and nourishing your sphere of influence in real estate. When you do this, you create a self-sustaining real estate business that is sure to thrive. New leads will organically come your way and old clients will return anytime they need an agent.
It’s never too soon to think about the future of your real estate business. Turn those leads into long-term real estate clients. Check out our demo, and let Agent Legend help you create and nourish your sphere of influence.
Some Additional Blog Posts for Nourishing a Sphere of Influence in Real Estate
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How Authentic Communication Will Help You Make More Sales
Communicating with leads authentically is sure to create more sales.
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Avoid the Largest Mistake Real Estate Agents Make
Always remember that visibility trumps ability.
