Top Real Estate Contact Management and Marketing Posts

1. The Ultimate Checklist to Getting More Organized

This article outlines six amazing ways to get and stay more organized in your real estate sales career. As you’ll read, drip marketing should be an important part of your real estate marketing plan, as it’ll help automate a lot of your “keeping in touch” work.

2. Real Estate Prospecting: 3 Ways to Prospect Like a Pro

Every now and then we get guest authors to contribute to our blog. In this blog post, Gabrielle Jeans, a leader in real estate internet marketing, explains everything you need to know about real estate prospecting.

3. How to Make Sure Your Emails Get Through

When we speak of email marketing, a key question we get asked is, “How do I make sure my emails don’t get caught by spam filters?” This article discusses two key things you can do to increase the likelihood your real estate marketing emails get through. Remember, using a dedicated email service provider (ESP), like IXACT Contact, is vital to maximizing deliverability rates.

4. The Amazing Impact of Real Estate Thank You Cards

Handwritten real estate Thank You cards may seem old fashioned, but perhaps that’s why they’re so impactful to the people receiving them. This blog post outlines just why a real estate Thank You card is so important, when to send a Thank You card, and how you should approach writing one.

5. Closing Gift Ideas for Real Estate Sales Professionals: The Best of The Best

IXACT Contact is a member of the real estate blogging community, ActiveRain. On ActiveRain, we’ve come across so many great closing gift ideas that we thought we’d consolidate all of them and put them into a blog post for you.  In this article you’ll read some fantastic, highly creative closing gift ideas that we know you’ll love.

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Which article is your favorite?

Here’s how to add value to your relationships with clients and past clients:

1. Send out a monthly real estate newsletter that’s packed with great tips and advice for homeowners. The best real estate contact management software, such as IXACT Contact, will come with a professionally written and designed monthly e-Newsletter that’s complete and ready to send.

2. Invite clients to a “home expert seminar.” This is where you ask a professional, such as an interior designer or landscape architect to come in and speak to a group of people about how to remodel their kitchen or tips for boosting curb appeal, for example. Usually these professionals are happy to give a talk to a group of people as it means new leads for them. It’s easy to plan and schedule home expert seminars in your real estate contact management software.

3. Schedule drip marketing email campaigns in your real estate contact management software. These campaigns consist of emails that automatically go out at various times. Each email provides a useful tip that will help to position you as the ultimate real estate authority (as a true “home expert”).

Enjoy this post from Richard Robbins:

We learn early in life to seek abundance–to want more as a way of ensuring our safety and success. From a young age, though, we’re taught that abundance is entirely about getting. Getting richer. Getting more stuff. Getting ahead. Getting the deal. Getting the sale. Getting a break. Getting a leg up. Getting it done. As a culture, we’re obsessed with getting. Click here to read more…

Do you agree with Richard? Please leave a comment below.

1. I follow a daily calendar and task list.     T/F
2. I use drip marketing programs to automate some of my “keep in touch” work.     T/F
3. I use listing and closing Activity Plans so nothing falls through the cracks.     T/F
4. I set up automatic prompts so important meetings, commitments, and activities are not forgotten.     T/F
5. All of my contacts are managed in one centralized real estate database.     T/F
6. I manage all of my transactions and active buyers from one centralized location.     T/F
7. I prioritize my tasks and activities based on level of importance.     T/F
8. I regularly run reports to understand my business better and define areas of improvement.      T/F
9. I have the right technology systems in place to help me manage and organize my business.     T/F
10. I plan ahead.     T/F
11. I have weekly or monthly goals that I work to achieve.    T/F
12. I carve out different portions of my day to accomplish different tasks and activities (when possible).     T/F
13. I record and keep track of the communication history between myself and my clients and prospects.     T/F

How well did you do?

9-13 true answers: You’re doing very well when it comes to organization and time management. You’re proactive and have your business under control. Great job! However, unless you got all 13 answers correctly, there’s still some room for improvement.

8-5 true answers: You’re doing some things right when it comes to organization and time management, and you likely have a lot under control. Try to review the statements you answered “false” to and see what changes you can make to improve.

Less than 5 true answers: There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done, but don’t fret! It’s easy to make needed changes to get more organized. Start with using a good CRM for REALTORS®. It’s the foundation to getting and staying organized and managing your time effectively. It’s also the basis for building that coveted referrals and repeat business.

How many “true” answers did you circle? What do you do to stay organized? Please leave a comment below!

The best source of future business is current business and if you’re not building on the relationships you currently have and, as Jennifer puts, it “knocking their sox off with your service,” you’re missing out on great opportunities down the road.

Here’s how you can use your IXACT Contact real estate contact management system to provide exceptional, world-class service to current and past clients:

1. Take advantage of the “Keep In Touch” feature to plan and schedule quarterly keep in touch calls, a round of golf, a coffee meeting, a pumpkin giveaway, and/ or anything else you’d like to do to stay in touch.

Your real estate contact management system will automatically remind you via email at the appropriate times. With IXACT Contact’s Keep In Touch functionality, you can even plan out the various tasks associated with a keep in touch event. If you’re strapped for time, it doesn’t get much easier than that!

2. Make sure you have drip marketing Activity Plans assigned to clients as soon as the transaction is finished.

3. Use the built-in Business Directory in your real estate contact management system to manage a list of home-related professionals so you can easily recommend a competent designer, florist, home inspector, etc., when asked.

When these businesses see that you’re recommending their services, they’ll be more inclined to return the favor and recommend you to their clients. And remember, when clients know they can call you for help, they become more loyal.

Here is Jennifer’s blog post:

A lot of agents I’m talking to are seeing a glimmer of hope – that is – they’re busy! The phone is ringing! The email’s jangling! Listing contracts are being signed and buyers are getting approved! Woo hoo!

I always say that when you’re busy… Click here to read more…

The more quality contacts in your real estate CRM database, the more repeat client transactions and referrals will likely come your way. Of course, you need to keep in touch with these contacts over time and do so in the right ways.

But perhaps you’re just starting out in real estate sales and don’t have a lot of people in your real estate sphere of influence (SOI). Or, maybe you’ve been in the business a while but don’t have as many contacts (leads, clients, business-to-business referral sources etc.) as you’d like. If this is the case, this blog post is for you!

4 Ways to Grow Your Real Estate CRM Database:

1. Do an inventory of your professional and personal network

If you take the time to think of everyone you know who are not currently in your database, you’ll probably realize that you know a lot more people than you think.

Think of your friends, colleagues, neighbors, family members, and business professionals you’ve come in contact with, such as contractors, mortgage brokers, attorneys, florists, and so on. Then, add them to your real estate CRM, where appropriate.

2. Host client appreciation parties

Client appreciation events (such as a wine and cheese party, a cooking class, or a hot air balloon ride) are a great way to build client loyalty and meet new people to add to your real estate database.

These events should be an ongoing part of your real estate marketing plan. They take less than 5 minutes to schedule in your real estate CRM using the system’s Keep in Touch dashboard. You can also send out personalized email invitations with your CRM in a very short amount of time.

3. Introduce yourself to businesses

Other business professionals, such as contractors, movers, and designers, can be a great source of referrals for you. Make an effort to introduce yourself to those who don’t know you yet. One new business-to-business referral source can generate dozens of referrals over the coming years.

When you reach out to other professionals, make sure the conversation with them isn’t all about you. Ask how you can help them and make a concerted effort to learn about what they do.

4. Long-lost contacts

Take the initiative to call those you’ve lost contact with. Here is a great script to use when calling these people. If they agree to re-start the relationship with you, make sure you take advantage of your real estate CRM’s drip marketing programs and professionally designed and written monthly e-Newsletter to keep in touch over time.

The takeaway here is to always be on the lookout for ways you can build your SOI and add quality contacts to your real estate database.

Did you find this post helpful? Please let us know by leaving a comment below.

As you’ll read, Rebecca discusses the importance of following up with every lead and proactively calling your real estate leads and clients versus hoping they’ll call you. A great tip is to use your CRM for Realtors to a) set-up automatic prompts and reminders so you never forget to make an important phone call and b) set-up every lead on an automated drip marketing campaign so while you’re busy on the road showing homes, you’re marketing to and keeping in touch with hot leads at the same time.

Enjoy the article:

Have you ever bought a product or hired a company and said, “May I have lousy service, please? I’d like to be frustrated by the experience of doing business with you.” Doubtful.

We’ve all experienced lousy service – whether that’s due to long lines at the checkout, a botched order at a restaurant, over promises that were under delivered, or just a crummy attitude. Certainly nothing you’d ask for. Click here to read more…

What other ways are you demonstrating over-the-top service? How is that helping you to build your business? Please share!

We created the infographic, below, to answer these questions. It outlines all the components of an effective email marketing plan for REALTORS®; a monthly e-Newsletter, personalized and targeted mass emails, and drip email nurture campaigns.

Once you send out marketing emails from your real estate CRM, you can use IXACT Contact’s innovative Email Campaign Reporting funtionality to identify leads and optimize your campaigns.

If email marketing is done right, it’ll pay off big time in the form of more referrals and repeat business. According to The Canadian Marketing Association, on average, you’ll get $39 of revenue for every $1 invested in email.

Take a look at the pyramid at the end of the infographic to view the complete list of potential benefits that we see our customers reap every day from email marketing.

With a great real estate CRM, email marketing is truly a breeze. The CRM will come with pre-loaded templates and drip campaigns. And you’ll be able to automate your emails so you don’t have to spend any time sending them out.

Enjoy the infographic:

Are you currently sending out an e-Newsletter? Making use of drip marketing campaigns? Please leave a comment below!  And be sure to share this infographic by clicking on one of the social media icons to the left of this page.

You may be thinking, “Which reports are the most popular? Which ones should I make sure I view on a consistent basis to make certain that I’m fully understanding all aspects of my business and maximizing the effectiveness of my business-building efforts? In this blog post, we’ll explain.

3 High Value Reports in Your Real Estate Contact Management Software

1. Original Source of Contact Summary

This report will give you an overview of how people are hearing about you. You’ll understand where your clients, prospects, personal, and business-to-business contacts are coming from. This will help you to determine where you should be investing more and less money.

Perhaps you see that you’re getting a lot of real estate leads and clients from a particular magazine ad, or from cold calling, and very few from Trulia. You’ll then know to go ahead and adjust your budget for these various lead sources.

2. Referral History

Do you know the number of times each person in your real estate contact management software has referred your services? From this report, you can see your best referrers and if the people they referred turned into clients or not.

This information is important because you’ll immediately know your “VIP” clients and can make a plan to give these people special treatment moving forward so they’ll continue to think highly of you and refer you to others.

3. Transaction Summary

This report lets you see an overview of your transactions, including asking price, selling price, days on the market, percent of asking price each property sold for, your commission, and averages. Let’s face it; if you sell homes fast for a good percentage of the asking price (or more), then that’s good marketing data you need to know about and promote to leads.

It’s also good to know average percentage of asking price and average days on the market of your listings so you can see if you need to make changes to your listing strategy to improve these numbers.

Run a report in your real estate contact management software right now and start making smarter business decisions today!

Do you run any of the reports we’ve discussed? Please leave a comment below!

Austin says that “…great experiences are the best way to grow a business” and as we’ve seen with the most successful businesses, you need to focus on connecting personally with your clients so you can keep them for life.

If you’re not using a real estate contact management software to forge lifelong relationships with your real estate sphere of influence (SOI), you’re missing out on potentially very lucrative opportunities for referrals and repeat client transactions.

Enjoy the article:

Real estate has changed dramatically during the past decade. The stream of property information now available online — largely through companies such as Trulia and Zillow — has eliminated agents’ monopoly on access to information and, in doing so, transferred power to every consumer with an Internet connection. Click here to read more…

What do you do to provide an amazing customer experience? Please leave a comment below.

Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work that way.

A recent survey in a similar industry (financial planning) showed that the majority of clients do not proactively recommend their advisors — even though they are happy with the service they receive. The reason? They didn’t know their advisor wanted any referrals.

This may seem strange. But, unless you let your clients know that you would appreciate having them refer you, they may never do so.

You must plant the referral seed. And cultivate that seed often.

How to Plant the Referral Seed in Real Estate

Let clients know each time you speak with them and each time you send a mass email from your real estate CRM, that you build your business through referrals. For example:

“John, as you may know, the majority of my business comes from referrals from satisfied clients like yourself.  If you have a friend, neighbour or colleague that needs any real estate help, please give them my name. I promise I’ll do a great job for them.”

Remember that the basis of getting referrals is providing great service and maintaining the right frequency of contact (as explained in The Referral & Repeat Marketing Book). The e-Newsletter and drip marketing features in your real estate CRM will help you maintain contact with little time commitment on your end.

But, assuming you’re doing everything else right in your Referral & Repeat Marketing, reminding clients that you appreciate referrals will get you more of these high quality real estate leads.

And when a client does recommend you, be sure to thank them with a real estate thank you card or a phone call. A client can potentially provide you with three to five referrals per year. Showing your appreciation encourages them to recommend you more often.

Takeaway point: Don’t assume that a happy client will automatically recommend you. Plant the referral seed!