Right now you could be perfectly happy where you are, but what if things change and you find yourself wanting to 
change real estate brokerages?
What if management in your brokerage changes, and the new owner or manager is a real jerk? (I know, not nice to say, but sometimes it happens.) Or what if you’re with a small firm that sells out to a larger firm, and you become one of hundreds of agents working there? That might be fine, or maybe not.
And what if the new management changes the financial picture – as in the commission split or desk fee.
You just might find yourself deciding to change real estate brokerages.
I’ve nagged at you before about being sure to own your own domain and your own e-mail address, separate from the brokerage. That’s a safety net, so in case you do make a change, you’ll still keep your address, plus all of your content and contacts.
If that happens, all you’ll have to do when you change real estate brokerages is make some small alterations on your website, then write to your contact list to remind them of where you are now. You won’t lose them, because they’ll still be using the email address you’ve had all along.
Even if you stay at the same brokerage for your entire real estate career, it’s smart to own your own website and optimize it well – so that it is working all day, every day, to promote YOU.
And speaking of your contacts…
What if the reason you’re leaving is that you’re moving to an entirely different city – or even a different state?
And what if you decide to retire from real estate?
Even if you’re leaving town or retiring, hang on to those contacts!
Some agents love the real estate business so much that even moving to a different state doesn’t slow them down. 
They simply take the required courses and tests and obtain a new license.
If you were to move, would you do that? if so, your old list might help you gain new clients. If not immediately, at least in the future.
No matter where your new home is, but especially if it happens to be in a resort or retirement area, someone you know may be following your footsteps before long. Or – they may have friends in your new location, or friends who plan to relocate there. In a country with over 325 million citizens, it is sometimes amazing to see how our lives intersect.
I was once able to give a referral to a copywriting client in Texas after chatting with a grocery store checker here in our small North Idaho town. It seems her son was moving to that city and would be looking for a home.
So write and tell your past clients and everyone in your sphere of influence where you are. Let them know that you’re still giving real estate clients the same great service and you would love to help them or their friends. You just never know where a solid referral might come from.
To help you do so, I’ve written a new letter set. This set, For Agents Relocating to a New City, is only $24 for 4 letters. And since you already have email addresses for your contacts, all you’ll have to do is edit to indicate your new location, upload the letters to your auto responder, and set the publication dates.
As for retiring…
First of all – I’ve met agents who tried retiring and didn’t like it – so they’re back at work. If that should happen to you, you’ll be glad to have your old contact list.
And if you start a new business, some of those real estate contacts might want or need your new product or service. Even if you decide to sell Tupperware part-time as a sideline, it’s good to have a list of people who already know and like you. They could become customers!
Even if you know you won’t ever get back into sales of any kind, hang on to your list.
I made a dumb mistake when I left real estate sales. I was mad at my contact management system because it was working incorrectly. I had gotten an upgrade, and that had been a mistake. Getting it to print even one letter was a trial. But the contacts were there. I could have printed the list or somehow transferred it to a spreadsheet.
And … I was too short-sighted to realize that some of those people might have had a business that needed a copywriter.
So – thinking I didn’t need it anymore anyway, I deleted the whole program.
About two months later, another agent in town called to ask if he could buy my list. Ummm… no. I don’t have it any more.
