By Marki Lemons-Ryhal
As real estate professionals who spend A LOT of time having conversations and building relationships, there’s no way we can remember all the details we accumulate without a little extra help. So, is there a simple way to keep track of everyone we connect with?
Yes, a customer relationship management system (CRM) allows us to do all this and more. Why is a good CRM so necessary? How can we use the information we have to make us unforgettable?
Build rapport by identifying the F.O.R.D. of your ideal client. F.O.R.D. is an acronym for family, occupation, recreation and dreams.
Every day people share their F.O.R.D. with the world via social media, email and text messaging.
The key to growing your real estate business is understanding your clients’ pain points and desires. Successful marketers don’t have to tell us what they’re doing. Instead, the results they get in business are evidence of a foundation of value, systems and intention.
Add each person’s F.O.R.D. to your customer relationship management system daily.
Idea: On Facebook and LinkedIn, spend one hour Monday through Friday identifying each person’s birthday, promotions, accomplishments and favorite activities. Implement an 8 x 8 campaign where you make eight people feel special by 8 a.m. daily via email, messaging or mailing them something special.
To earn $100,000 per year, you need to add 2,880 contacts to your customer relationship management system if your average price point is $250,000. These actions statistically will net you 20 closed real estate transactions. In real estate, it’s so easy to get bogged down by distractions, inefficiency and a lack of boundaries. When we’re not getting the results we want, our daily work routine is the first area we need to examine.
To accomplish your six-figure earning goals, you need to add eight new contacts to your CRM or connect in a meaningful way to the contacts that are already in your system daily. Separate the essentials from what’s not moving the business forward to become effective and unstoppable.
Every time you generate a new lead or communicate in a meaningful way one-on-one with a contact, add or update the contact in your CRM and place a check mark in the box below that corresponds with the week and day of the month.
Many real estate agents believe that they have to be open 24/7 to succeed in our profession. They’ve bought into the lie that building a competitive business requires agents to give up all their time. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be true for us.
It’s possible to have a thriving business without 80-hour weeks and burnout by choosing to work by relationship and referral. Agents who grow by nurturing their database dictate their schedule, work manageable hours and are better equipped for market shifts.
- Why your social circle isn’t doing business with you
If we want our friends and family to do business with us or refer people to us, we have to get them to see us in a real estate context.
- How to choose the right CRM
You need a place for your information to live so you can take care of your people; it doesn’t need to be more complicated than that.
- The limiting belief agents have to overcome
We don’t have to be available 24/7 to make our clients feel like we’re doing a good job. But if we prove ourselves to be valuable, people will respect the schedules we set.
Marki Lemons-Ryhal, the owner of ReMarkitable LLC, is a licensed managing broker, best-selling author and inducted into the REBAC Hall of Fame. She holds a Bachelor of Science in management from Chicago State University, a Master of Business Administration from Saint Xavier University and 64 real estate-related licenses, certifications and designations.
