Real Estate Forums

San Diego Real Estate · 12-22-2006, 09:06 AM

In today's competitive marketplace, there is an increasing need to be proactive in creating business opportunities, instead of waiting for the client to come to you. That's why utilizing your database to qualify business leads and generate leads for referral partners is critical to your success.

Here are some helpful tips to make the most of your database contacts and win business:

1. Make 5 calls a day. Your past clients are valuable resources to refer new clients and potential referral partners--so don't lose touch with them! Read broker Elizabeth Rose's article on how she strives to make 5 calls a day to her database contacts.

2. [b]Call with a specific reason in mind[/B]. Whether it's conducting an annual financial review, following up with a potential client or asking for referral partners, know what you are going to say when you make the call.

3. Alleviate your prospecting fears. Use these client contact letters, found in Scripts for Success, to keep your clients updated with information they really need. Created by Sue Woodard, Vice President of the Mortgage Market Guide, these value-added letters increase client satisfaction, while creating the perfect follow-up opportunities!

4. Get personal! As you speak with your clients, have your database system up and running to take notes and update client information. This way you can "remember" the personal details, which makes a big impact in establishing and building your relationships.

Compliments of American Home Mortgage...

Las Vegas Real Estate · 01-04-2007, 07:09 PM

I think that making at least 5 calls per day is effective. They can be past clients, new prospects, referrals, people from your SOI, it does not matter! Here in the Las Vegas real estate market I have found that being consistent is key!

HHI Golf Guy · 01-05-2007, 10:58 AM

Great advice!

One thing that I have noticed with many agents is that they underestimate the importance of continually working their online database (or they don't even have an online database).

We set up our web sites so that ALL contacts through the web site are stored on a simple database. Then we ask our agents to provide us 2-3 paragraphs of material every 3-4 weeks. The paragraphs could be about anything - real estate news, golf courses, upcoming local events, etc.

Then we combine those 2-3 paragraphs with information on featured listings and send out a drip email / newsletter blast to all of the contacts in the database. We even offer to manually enter their existing contacts into the database.

Agents that are consistent in getting us material for these blasts consistently obtain more buyer clients and sales for the 10 minutes of work they put in each month. Those that don't get far fewer buyer clients. It's that simple.

BTW - we ask for original material (and not stock drip emails) because it helps to build a bond between the agent and the potential buyer. That buyer wants to know information about the area and reasons why they should move to the area - not the latest national real estate or mortgage trends. They can get that info at the WSJ or a hundred other sources.

My Orlando agent religiously works his databases. In fact, he was so busy with clients over the holidays he barely had time off to celebrate Christmas!

REMAX LV · 01-10-2007, 06:26 PM

Yes, these are all great tips for prospecting in 2007. I think that getting personal is crucial, as the closer you can get to prospective clients, the more information you have to work with!

Las Vegas Homes · 01-22-2007, 05:53 PM

Setting a number of calls a day can really help out. If you do not define your goals and expectations ahead of time, you will, many times, sjip several days without making calls and they will then build up!