Last week Bob Stewart of Active Rain announced a new contest in which he invited members to share their process – what they do for each of their clients. He also challenged members to think about how well they communicate that process to the clients.
As an example of a process that works, he related how the Ben Kinney Team manages to communicate effectively with clients while closing over 650 transactions per year. At any given time the team has 50 to 80 transactions “in the works.”
I have no idea how many are on his team, but Bob says they have just one person who is in charge of communicating with those 
clients on a regular basis – either weekly or daily.
The first two prizes in this contest are a year’s subscription to the software they developed for the purpose of keeping track of the process and keeping in touch. They say it’s an $1,188 value – so rushing out to buy it is probably not an option for a lot of agents – especially new agents.
What can you do if there’s just you – with no one assigned to do it for you.
Start by thinking about your process – and putting it in writing.
List everything from installing a sign and lockbox, to taking photos, to sorting and posting those photos, to placing ads, to tweeting, to blogging, to creating flyers, to holding an open house, to sending “Just Listed” cards. (There’s more – check the list on Bob’s post.)
Turn the list into a checklist, where you can note the date and any comments, and save it to your computer. Print a copy for each client so you don’t have to open the file each time you need to make a note.
Start an activity file for each of your clients and include a copy of the checklist. Then open a new page on which you can note each activity and the date. Take five minutes at the end of each day to record a note of what you did for that client – including scheduling showings, getting feedback, answering phone or email inquiries, etc.
Schedule one day per week when you’ll transfer those notes into emails and send them to your clients. Put that activity on your calendar so it doesn’t get shoved aside.
When I had a real estate agency we all kept our notes in stenographer’s notebooks and our secretary compiled them once a month to send by postal mail. If an agent answered an inquiry or showed someone else’s listing, it went on the list. (Remember, I let my license go ten years ago and I live in a community that’s decidedly behind the times. Few of our clients then were using email.)
Of course, if you live in a hot market where listings only last on the market for a week, you can skip this step and go on to the next one – keeping clients informed of activities related to their closings.
What about the closings?
Make a similar checklist – for your ease of keeping track as much as for keeping people informed. The checklist will prevent details from slipping through the cracks when you use it to compile your daily to-do lists.
When you’re diligent about letting people know what’s going on and what to expect ne
