Most real estate agents have at least some form of CRM (customer relationship management) system. It might be as simple as their contacts in their mobile phone address or as sophisticated as Salesforce or Infusionsoft but most CRMs have a built in problem – they encourage agents to stay in their office and hide behind action plans and emails and segmentation.
And that’s why it’s often better to get your fingers off the keyboard and onto your steering wheel. Get out and go for a drive. And as you drive be aware of who you know in a street. If you see a home that you’ve sold, stop. Get out of the car, knock on the door and say hi. Don’t try to sell anything, just say hi. Then drive some more. See that house with the skip bin on the front lawn? It’s probably being prepared for sale. Get out of your car, knock on the door and ask if there’s anything you can do to help. If they’re adding an extension or renovating tell them congratulations and wish them all the best. But chances are the house is being prepared for sale. You’re now in the front door.
Do that for a couple of hours and I guarantee you’ll produce something. Even if you don’t come home with a listing you’ll know your area better. You’ll know who’s got what listings and you’ll be able to talk with far greater authority about what’s happening in your patch.
This kind of prospecting is exactly what I did today. While someone was working on my computer I grabbed one of my colleagues and hit the road. We stopped in at one office thinking we were there to meet someone I knew but soon found out that they were in another office. No matter, we were invited in where we got to chat to the licensee and some of the reps and had a guided tour of the office. It was well worth the hour out of the office.
But if you’re going to do this sort of marketing have a stock of brochures and business cards. Make sure you’ve got marketing collateral you can hand out so that people remember your visit.
So, just for a moment, forget the CRM and use your car instead.