I was talking to a client yesterday who wasn’t seeing the results they wanted with us.

We found that all of the email addresses we had on file were just a bunch of old buyer leads, apparently (I think even before rates went up). Not good.

“What about your actual sphere and past clients who have paid you?” I asked him. “Do we have their email addresses?”

The answer was nope.

In short, he never built an email list of his legitimate sphere and past clients. I had no idea if any of his most important contacts were getting his videos. 

I assured him this is super common. And he wanted to fix the problem.

Here’s what we did. I want to share it with you.

I first had him log into Facebook and export his entire friend list. You can do this. It’s your data. However, it’s just names. You won’t get their contact info, so you search your phone or look them up on Spokeo (or just FB message them).

I asked him to message, call, or email everyone on his Facebook friend list with this message (adjusting it, of course, to reflect how he knows them).

“Hey, it’s Chris. I'm still selling real estate, and I started a newsletter with videos answering the most pressing questions homeowners are asking me about this strange market. I’d like to ask your permission if I could send them to you twice a month. I’ll make sure they are helpful and useful. Here’s my first one (example link). It’s free. Any interest? I just need your best email address, and you can unsubscribe anytime. I think you’ll really find them insightful.”

Boom - a couple of responses a day. He added them to the database. A few of his friends even brought up what it would look like to hire him to sell their home. Excellent. Very motivating.

I then asked him to call his past three(!) brokers to get a list of all his past closings. Your broker will have them on file for compliance. Just ask nicely.

He did the same thing. Boom. More responses. He added them to his database on file with us. And even better news, a few of his past clients wanted to know the value of their home. Just the act itself started selling conversations. Perfect.

The reason I write you today is as a reminder that your database is more than a big “spam” list. Too many agents treat it this way. You can do that to spike response now, but it will be the demise of your most valuable asset (your list) over time.

Your real database is actual relationships with important people. If you’re not sure if you have all your past clients and sphere on it, this is a simple and effective way to fix that problem. 

Inviting your friends and key relationships to subscribe to your helpful “newsletter” you’re excited about is a great reason to call and rebuild your database correctly. 

You’ll be surprised how impressed people are just by the simple fact you ask for their permission before you send them email. They are really taken aback and impressed. It positions you really well.

Here are some great video topic ideas to send out to your database that work.

https://www.getvyral.com/real-estate-agent

Frank