8 Follow-ups or the Principle of Client Contact Retention for Real Estate Agents

Follow-up or maintaining client contact is one of the most important things in sales work, and its role is especially crucial in the real estate world. If you've done the hard work and made that first contact with a potential client, it's very important not to just sit and wait for them to call you back, but to take the reins into your own hands. This way you'll take your sales results to the next level in a short time. In Estonian, there isn't a very good equivalent for follow-up sales, so with our editor's permission, we use this English expression alongside "maintaining client contact."

But how do the world's most successful real estate brokers do follow-up?

Here are some recommendations given by ShowingTime, and some that we provide from our own experience.

Find the time

You're certainly very busy and your day is full of things to do, but if you don't find time for follow-up, you'll miss out on a very important part of your sales.

Book a specific time each day for this and stick to it with stubborn consistency. Make calls, send emails or messages. Remind yourself.

Make a table for yourself and write down the time of your last contact and what you agreed on. Of course, you can also use special CRM or customer relationship management programs.

Find out which way you could contact the client

During your first call, find out which communication channel the client prefers. Do they prefer emails or phone calls better? Or do they prefer SMS and other text messages? This way you show them that they get to choose how you communicate with them going forward, and you won't be too pushy.

Try other channels too

If the client doesn't answer emails, call. And if they don't answer your calls, send an email. Well, it's just that sometimes you need a little pressure to get a client to talk to you. Those who don't give up are successful, but we agree that it's thin ice and you risk breaking through it—becoming too pushy.

Raise interest

Make your service appealing to the client, while of course remaining honest and sincere—don't make promises you can't keep.

Try to show the potential client how you can help them, and if you've gathered feedback from clients whose house or apartment you've managed to sell quickly and well, then share the relevant link or file with them. Add something nice to it.

Build trust

You've already spoken once and now you want the client to trust you. Polish your call introduction and think about how you can genuinely help the client. If you just want to make a sale and increase your revenue numbers, unfortunately that comes through in every call. In reality, you're selling your skills, knowledge, and experience, which will help the client find or sell their home.

Create value

If you didn't close the deal with the client after the first or second contact, send them an email with a useful article on a topic you discussed the first or second time. It can be about real estate, but why not something else entirely. The purpose of this email is to make the client understand that you're on the case and want to help them.

Use numbers

Show the client that you're an expert and that you can help them best in that particular area or field. Tell them numbers and statistics—this shows that you're up to date with the latest developments and know what you're talking about.

Know when to back off

If someone is not interested and consistently ignores you, then you have to give up.

Send a final email letting them know that you've tried to contact them, but unfortunately haven't been successful, and express hope that you can work together in the future.

Thank them and if you wish, you can also ask for feedback so you know how to improve your service. Quite a few people are willing to provide it and this way you get useful information on how to refine your sales process.

This article covers the topic related to the so-called breakup email in more detail with examples.