There is a key basic in prospecting 101. It is having a database. A database is the bread and butter of your business. It will fill in gaps when business is slower and give energy to your core group of people that you serve day in and day out. Real estate is a relationship business; a database is the core.

CRM System

How do you track your database? The answer is a CRM. A CRM is used to track all your contacts. It is your database! This is prospecting 101 at its finest. There are numerous software programs available with all different features.  The best CRM….is one that you will use.  Start simple, use a spreadsheet program to start then ask other agents and try a few out to see which one will work best for you. 

Categorizing Contacts

Think of who your contacts may be.  A contact is anyone that you may have their phone number an email address, and even a home address.  The system will need to have space to add notes and each time you connect with them, document why you made contact and when to follow up with them.  AND follow up is critical! This is where most agents drop the ball which allows other agents – like you! –  to earn that business. 

When prospecting, there are cold and warm leads. A cold lead is someone that you haven’t met before and therefore, doesn’t know you. You’ll want to focus on warm leads because warm leads are people that already know, like, and trust you. This could be your family, people in your phone, your neighborhood, or even someone from social media. And guess what? You’d be surprised to know that you have more opportunities for business (and money!) in your warm lead pool than you even realize. 

Key is in the Follow Up

Once you’ve added someone to your database, reintroduce yourself! Then, start your follow up plan, which will be dependent upon how well you know this specific person. Be sure to include Item’s of Value (IOV) and make sure to include Calls to Action (CTA) in your follow-ups. Some examples of CTA’s could be:

• Ask them to write a Google review for you.  Doesn’t matter if you have sold them real estate or not
• Pushing your side hustle (if you have one)
• Asking them to save you in their phone as ‘<your name> – The Real Estate Guru’ so they have a go-to in real estate

Create follow-up reminders for events of importance to them to let them know you care (anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, memorable trips, etc).  Don’t let real estate be the purpose of your call.  Check on them and catch up on life.  When they ask how you are, then tell them about real estate.  Feels more genuine and you care about them.  

If you need recommendations on CRM’s or IOV’s to include in your follow-up plan, we’d be happy to point you in the right direction.