Everyone is telling you to go out and get business, but nobody is telling you exactly how to get more referrals from your database until now. So you hear over and over again in real estate…
“Build a database”
“Keep track of all your clients”
“Make sure you label your A, B, C clients and organize them efficiently”
Every real estate agent needs a database, but I want to tell you the what the purpose of building a database really is.It’s to transform your database into your audience!
What’s an audience?
A database is a collection of names and addresses that you organize into some kind of CRM or spreadsheet.
An audience is when the people on your database actually pay attention to what you say and know who you are.
Many agents have a database, but not too many have an active audience.
Build An Audience & Business Will Come To You
If you want to get more referrals from your database, you need to know much each person you have a relationship with is worth to you?
Your relationships are what will get your real estate business to start generating direct sales and referrals quickly! Real estate is a belly-to-belly business and most consumers tend to hire agents they know personally or are referred to because consumers want to work with someone they trust and LIKE!
When you collectively market all of your relationships, they will become your AUDIENCE.
WHAT!!!!
If you do not have a system in place to stay in front of your database consistently, the chances of them “forgetting about you” increase. They will also “forget” to refer you to anyone they know who may need your services as well.
People buy real estate from people they like, but more importantly people USE agents they remember!
2 Types Of Clients Generated From Marketing Your Database
Learning how to get more referrals from your database requires the commitment to stay in communication.
Remember that in real estate, it’s inevitable that someone will eventually move. It’s a matter of time, not a matter of when. You are essentially farming your relationships so that when the “move time” comes, you are remembered.
Most agents don’t understand that their database actually WANTS TO REFER them business. Marketing your audience for referrals is the primary reason why you learn how to build a database in the first place because….
Your Relationships Are Worth $20,000+ Each!!!!
Regardless of the time a person lives in their property, the average person will buy 3-5 properties in their lifetime. If each person you know buys 3 houses at an average sales price of $250,000 that equates to roughly $18,750.00 in total potential commissions just from a single relationship.
What is the average time someone remains in their house before they move in your market?
How many referrals do you think your database can send you over the course of your career?
The entire point of creating an audience and marketing it consistently is because it’s like having 200 part time sales people working for you at all times. When they come across someone who is looking to buy or sell a property they WILL refer you if you are remembered.
Many agents want to go and build a big fancy website that with the push of a button will spit tons of business to them, but the largest source of business is right in front of them.
It’s only a matter of time until people move. Think about how many people in your audience right now know somebody who may need your services in the next 12 months?
If you work with someone and they like you, they will work with you again for their next transaction and send you their referrals if they remember you.
YOU GET “REMEMBERED” IF YOU STAY IN TOUCH
According to the chart, repeat business and direct referrals account for 69% of agent business. I think you can now see why, if you want to receive many referrals and repeat business, you will need a system in place to streamline your Referral Marketing.
Marketing A Database Works In Any Business!
Take a look at Best Buy or Bye Bye Baby for example. One of their most important channels of marketing is their email and direct mail list.
Who do they market?
They email and send direct mail their past customers to stay in touch with them on upcoming sales, keep them informed with great content, or just to stay on top of mind with their customers.
They stay in touch with their audience and as a result that drives sales. These brands also use other channels to “remind” their database of their existence such as Facebook, Twitter, and other social medium platforms to stay in touch with their audience.
If you sit back and think about it, it’s very simple. They build a list or a following (an audience) and then consistently market to that list while continuing to grow it. As a result that drives sales and their bottom line increases.
This is the basic business plan of any large or small business that understands the power behind relationship marketing.
This concept is no different than in your real estate business.
You are probably thinking well, I’m not Best Buy or Bye Bye Baby and don’t ever plan to be.
OK fine, let’s look at another example of a local business.
Let’s take a local pizza parlor and check out their marketing plan. Have you ever gone into your grocery store and come out and see a menu under your windshield? Local restaurants and businesses advertise and market locally because they know that’s where their business comes from.
The people who live and work in the areas where they are located are their AUDIENCE. This is why they search out their local residents and market them consistently whether it’s a menu under your windshield, a coupon sent in the mail, or a consistent e-newsletter that someone may have signed up for last time they ate at that restaurant. The same fundamental concept applies virtually to many successful businesses.
A Real Estate Agent’s Database
Don’t make this complicated and keep it simple. Your database consists of everyone you know or know of. They are your friends on Facebook, your wedding list, your neighbors, and even the other parents your kids go to school with. It’s anyone you would expect to use you for their buying or selling needs or refer your services.
Real estate is not a service people use frequently, but that does not mean we do not market our database. They will use our services when they need them IF we consistently stay in front of them. The goal is to not be forgotten!
Real estate agents who embrace this concept and market their audience or relationships will develop a consistent stream of business.
Do you think if you systematically marketed your audience 50-80 times a year that you would get more business? I’m telling you that YES YOU WILL. If not then why would a large corporation like Best Buy or Bye Bye Baby be using the exact same concept?