Relationships matter in real estate–they are after all the foundation upon which your business is built.
Anyone within your sphere of influence, including leads and contacts, have the potential to become lasting business relationships. This means, they become people you have ongoing conversations and engagement with, and who refer others and personally support your business in the long run.
Why Relationships Matter in Real Estate
Relationships automatically provide your business with leads and clients.
There are so many things to track and manage when running a real estate business. You likely have a website, social media channels, and regular lead follow-up to work on every single day. This is why small details can so easily get lost in the shuffle. But it’s the small details that turn leads and contacts into relationships. These small details are things like phone calls for reasons unrelated to real estate, or extending a happy birthday to a former client each year.
Tom Ferry said that he often asks struggling real estate professionals: “How many of your clients have you talked to in the last 30 days?” The answer, according to Ferry, is usually way too low.
This is nothing to feel guilty about. Building relationships is something you can easily start doing today. There are many ways to not only make contact, but have a full conversation and engage in a meaningful and impressionable way with past clients. This is an essential piece of creating a sustainable sphere of influence for your real estate business.
Building Lasting Relationships to Support Your Business
Make Contact Regularly
Stay in touch and top of mind with everyone in your sphere of influence by sending a message to them at least once every quarter (every 90 days). This can be a simple text message, email , or voicemail, just to remind them that you are available to help them out should they need it. This is easy because it fits right into lead follow-up that you are likely doing anyway. Agent Legend makes it easy for you to schedule regular messaging to leads at any frequency of your choosing.
Call Them on the Phone
Tom Ferry suggests calling clients at least four times a year. Better yet, call them on their birthday or to talk about something completely unrelated to real estate. The goal is to start a meaningful conversation and let this person know you are thinking of them. People don’t forget consideration like that, and going the extra mile will more than likely lead to a friendship and also benefit your business at some point in time.
Show Interest
When you follow up with past clients or others in your SOI, focus on them. Ask them about something they brought up in a previous conversation (always keep notes), or ask them what they are currently working on. Again, it’s about starting a conversation and actually caring about how they are doing and what they are up to. Yes, this takes time, but it’s worth it.
Bring Others Together
Be the person who brings people within your SOI together. Host a party after an open house, or invite everyone over to yours for a barbecue in the summer. This allows you to see your SOI face to face and to make introductions between them as well. This sort of community gathering will establish you as a connector within your community, and people will remember that.
Go the extra mile to have conversations and create lasting relationships with leads and the people in your sphere of influence. You are guaranteed to see an increase in referrals and the support you get for your business in the long run.
More Sphere of Influence Tips on the Agent Legend blog:
Easy Ways to Increase Referrals Right Away
5 Easy Ways to Increase Reliable Sphere and Influence Referrals
Your sphere of influence, if nurtured, can sustain your business long-term.
Social Media is the Place to Build Sphere of Influence
Why Build Your Sphere of Influence with Social Media?
Why you should definitely show up for your SOI on social.
