The world of real estate is arguably one of the most competitive industries. With such a high earning potential, it’s no secret why this field is so competitive and cutthroat. Successful real estate agents have many things in common, but two traits stand out more than the others. The first is a need — a desire — to succeed and be at the top in their field. A good real estate agent sees the industry with no ceiling and no cap on the potential profits that are waiting to be earned.
The second trait is that all successful agents are masters at client communication. Communicating with clients goes much further than simply bombarding potential buyers and sellers with messages and emails. Successful agents (and brokers!) understand the importance of effectively communicating with clients before, during, and after the sale as this is key to successful real estate marketing and brokerage marketing.
Keeping track of clients
A client database is one of the most important resources for real estate agents. A proper database will help agents multitask and properly track clients through all stages of the buying and/or selling process. Now, we don’t mean just a list with your clients’ names and their contact information, such as email addresses and phone numbers. As an agent, your client database should have much more detailed information. A robust database will help you give your clients a personalised buying or selling experience which will further build trust and rapport, leading to a much higher closing rate.
We know that it sounds like a lot of time is needed to create and maintain a database of clients, but there are tools out there to help make this easier so you can focus more on the world of real estate, and less on the tasks mentioned above. The absolute best and most efficient way of maintaining a proper client database is by utilising a CRM software solution, or Customer Relationship Management software.
With it, you can optimise your efforts by keeping track of your real estate business clients and their unique preferences and budgetary parameters, and easily access this personalised information for your sales pipeline planning and real estate marketing initiatives
Automate the boring stuff (like email marketing)
As an agent, you likely want to be in control and own every step of the process. But, let’s be honest, you probably didn’t get into the wide world of real estate to sit behind a computer and send out ‘happy birthday’ emails to past clients or to reach out and ask clients to leave you a good review on Google. Fortunately, CRM software includes tools you can use to help you automate daily, seemingly menial (yet highly necessary) tasks — as well as tasks you likely haven’t even thought of tackling before.
A great example is creating a campaign that sends out a survey to your clients asking how you did. This email marketing strategy can help you grow your business as customer reviews are becoming increasingly important in the real estate industry. When a client rates you 5 out of 5 stars, they are automatically sent an email asking them to leave you a Google review (or a review on any platform(s) you wish). If you are given less than 5 stars, the client will be able to leave you some feedback so you can know where your sales process may need improvement for future clients. Testimonials can be powerful in this way, too.
Imagine how great it would be to have these tasks going on in the background automatically while you’re out showing homes to eager buyers and closing sales, just like you signed up to do. Isn’t your time better spent preparing offers or setting up an open house for the current homeowners?
This solution has you covered while you’re away from the office. And even when you’re busy in the office taking phone calls, sharing real estate listings, or managing initiatives, you’ll be covered.
You can’t manage what you don’t measure
In addition to properly communicating with clients, it is also of value to keep track of where these clients came from, and how much you spent in advertising trying to acquire them using your marketing strategies. Imagine having software to not only help you manage your clients but software that also gives you easy-to-understand reports that are specific to you and your homebuyer and seller clients. Your time as an agent is valuable — time is money — and you must optimise your time and resources.
Whether you’ve found your clients through social media, a webinar, search engines, referrals, LinkedIn, or a mobile device, it’s important to know their origin. Perhaps they’ve found you through a platform like Zillow or RE/MAX.
This can help when you start putting together your marketing strategies in a new marketing campaign to attract more potential clients. For example, you can share your social media platforms with your clients, create custom landing pages, and track engagement from your customers and prospects.
You’ll also be able to improve your content marketing, landing pages, SEO strategies, lead generation, and direct mail efforts. You could do this to attract new clients in the specific demographics you’re targeting.
Act! CRM + Marketing Automation
Act! is the leading provider of all-in-one CRM and Marketing Automation solutions that empower real estate agents and brokers to market better, sell more, and create customers for life.
Act! CRM and marketing automation software will ensure that you are properly, and effectively, communicating with your clients throughout all aspects of the sales process. Additionally, you’ll be able to nurture prospects and convert them into new customers while easily measuring and tracking the performance of your marketing initiatives and key business metrics.
Hawaii is one of the most competitive American real estate markets and Act! CRM + Marketing Automation software helped our client, Gretchen Osgood go from juggling 5-7 contracts at a time to handling over 20+ contacts like a pro in the real estate professionals’ world! If you’re looking for a real estate CRM solution for your business, we can provide the solution you need to transform your real estate business.
