Welcome back to Brilliant Talks, our free weekly coaching program for real estate agents. Over the years, one of the keys to success I have found has been the follow-up process. Specifically, how to build strong, long-lasting, trustworthy relationships with your leads, prospects, and previous clients through effective follow-up.

After decades of experience in the industry, I’ve narrowed it down to eight principles that every agent needs to keep in mind if they want to establish themselves to their audience as authentic, trustworthy experts in their fields.

 1. Be Prompt

As customers, you know that nothing turns you off faster than slow service. It is impossible to be instantly available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week; after all, you are only one human being. You need to rest and have time for yourself and other things that matter too.

However, it is critical that you respond to your market in a timely manner. Get to leads as quickly as you can, answer their questions, and be there for them as fast as possible. Promptness shows your audience your professionalism and level of commitment to serving them. It makes clients feel that you care about them, and it lowers their guard, giving you a bigger opportunity to convince them and establish a connection built on trust.

 2. Be Consistent

Trust isn’t just built on the foundation of promptness, you also need to be consistent. Keep showing up, touch base with your database regularly, and consistently provide them with value and service. It takes a lot of patience, but it pays off well. People believe what they see on a consistent basis, and when your words and actions coincide or when you are able to follow through, it demonstrates that you are trustworthy.

Of course, who you are following matters, too, because at the end of the day, not all leads are created equal. 

However, this is about how you can become a more trustworthy agent. Focus on how you can show up for your clients consistently, and therefore establish yourself as a trustworthy authority in your field. Automation helps a lot with this, especially as your database gets bigger. Utilizing the technology we have available helps your business scale.

 3. Be Persistent

It sounds like consistency, but it is also slightly different. Persistence is vital to success in any sales process, but that doesn’t mean being a pest. There’s a fine line between pestering your leads and clients with spam mail, and persistently reaching out to your database by providing value and service.

Try reaching out to people through different forms of communication, such as calls, texts, voicemails, emails, newsletters, social media posts, etc., and personalize your approach as much as you can—even the ones that are automated. We have coaching sessions that teach agents how to do that through AgentLegend, Chime, and other automation software that real estate agents can use. If you are interested, then feel free to send me a message or sign up for our one-on-one or group coaching.

Lastly, persistence is also about trying new things, not being afraid of failure, and never giving up. As the industry evolves, we will also need to try out new strategies. Some of them would work, and others wouldn’t, but persistence is key to finding new solutions that will help your business grow.

 4. Personalize Your Communication

People want to work with real people. They want to get to know the person they are working with. Each agent is unique in terms of quirks, strengths, and personalities, and they go a long way in setting you apart from the competition.

When you communicate, whether in person, through calls and texts, or even in posting content on social media or your website, showcase that personality. There is no need to create a false persona of yourself that you think people will like. You are your brand. 

Being real and consistent is the key—that way, you can condition people to recognize who you are and how you are going to show up, so when they meet you, they are going to see that you are that same person. 

Even when using generative AI tools like ChatGPT, or using automation, add your personal twist to the things you communicate. That way you don’t sound robotic, or just like everyone else, making your communication very much personal, authentic, and completely your own. Authenticity is a key piece in building rapport and building relationships.

 5. Provide Value

Your personality makes you unique as an individual, but providing value is what sets you apart as an agent. The key to providing value to your audience that is uniquely yours is through two things: model and improvise.

Take a look at people you want to emulate and try to model what they do, then improvise and add your personal twist to it. That is how you provide value that is uniquely and authentically yours. Learn from others, but take what you learn and translate it into something personal. Factor in your strengths and weaknesses when thinking of “What is it that you have to offer to your clients?”

Providing value comes from a place of service. What is a problem that you can solve, and how are you able to help them with the tools and talents in your arsenal?

 6. Use Multiple Channels

They say that in marketing, you need to meet your audience where they are. In today’s digital world, your audience has eyes in several places; therefore, you need to get in touch with them through various means as well.

Use multiple channels of communication to reach out to them: text, email, voicemail, call, social media, postcards, in-person, etc. There are numerous ways we stay connected nowadays. You need to be present where they are most likely to see you and respond to you, whether that is through handwritten notes sent via postal mail, DM on social media, or calling them on their phones.

Then, be persistent and consistent. Don’t stop at one attempt. It takes a few attempts (around eight on average) before a lead responds.

 7. Track and Measure Your Efforts

If you are not tracking who you are following up with and keeping notes on their feedback in your CRM, it will be difficult for you to measure where your business is coming from. Tracking and measuring your efforts are crucial in business. It helps you refine your strategies by giving you clear numbers on what works, what doesn’t, and what can be improved. It also assists you in determining where to invest more capital and what needs to be cut from the budget.

Plus, it helps you remember the different personalities and quirks of the people you manage to get in touch with. It is difficult to rely solely on your memory, no matter how good it is. Keeping a record that you can access quickly and review helps you stay on top of who your clients are, and what they need. It also helps you identify how further you can be of service to them, letting you see opportunities you might have otherwise missed because you forgot.

 8. Learn and Adapt

This is the last and probably most crucial piece. As mentioned earlier, the industry is constantly evolving. As a result, there is always new data arriving and new things to learn.

A lot of agents get stuck because they are communicating with people the same way. Communication changes as culture changes. By being more sensitive to these changes and embracing them, we can figure out new ways to reach out to people more effectively.

Continue to learn and adapt. Try new things. Change up old strategies a bit to see which one works better with the current market, culture, and society. Utilize new knowledge and tech. 

Change is the only way forward. “Tried and tested” won’t always be true. As society changes as a whole, what worked before, for the longest time, will eventually cease working—those who don’t learn and adapt can’t catch up, especially because we are changing at an exponential rate now.

It can be scary to learn and adapt because letting go of what we know is hard, and the world we live in is forcing us to let go too fast. But if we want to continue succeeding in this business, it is necessary to adapt to those changes.

Join us for the next session of Brilliant Talks. If you missed this episode, you can watch the coaching call replay on YouTube or listen to the podcast. 

Have an awesome day!