Are you a new real estate agent looking for some great advice to start your career off on the right foot?   Are you wondering what tools and systems you need to put into place in order to maximize your business success?  If so, this article is for you.

I’ll discuss three key real estate contact management tips for those just starting out in the business, why they’re so important, and how you can put the suggestions into practice right away.

1. Master lead nurturing and conversion

Getting leads is the first step toward getting business.  So perhaps you’re doing a decent job of getting leads.  

But that’s only half the battle.  You need a system in place, particularly a real estate customer relationship manager (CRM), that will help you manage and nurture those leads over time.  Keep in mind that many high-quality leads may not be ready to become clients right away. And while some may, it still might take a ton of follow-up before they do decide to work with you.  Many new agents follow-up with a new lead once, don’t hear anything back from them, and move on.  That’s a mistake.

As soon as you get a new lead, be sure to add it into your Realtor CRM.  If the lead came from the web, set your CRM up so the lead is automatically captured into your real estate database, put into a specific group, and assigned to a drip marketing campaign that includes your monthly e-Newsletter.

A good CRM like IXACT Contact will come with a professionally written and designed monthly e-Newsletter and drip marketing programs for different types of leads such as FSBOs, first time buyers, seller leads, and so forth.

Drip marketing campaigns help you stay in touch with longer-term leads in a professional manner, and a monthly e-Newsletter helps you position yourself as a “home expert,” building trust and credibility, staying “top of mind,” and providing value to your contacts over time.  The combination of drip marketing campaigns and a monthly e-Newsletter is a powerful “one-two punch” that maximizes the likelihood that prospects will call you when they’re eventually ready to engage the services of a Realtor.

2. Stay organized

Any experienced agent will tell you that keeping organized is crucial to being successful in real estate.  You need one system to manage your entire business and keep track of tasks, appointments, your schedule, transactions, and more.  A great CRM for Realtors will keep track of all your tasks and appointments and remind you about important meetings and activities.  For instance, you can assign Activity Plans to a listing or closing and the system will remind you what needs to be done and when (from creating a feature sheet to updating the MLS).

With the click of a button you can pull up contact details for a lead, client, or other business professional, such as a mortgage agent, interior designer, or electrician.  In one area you can manage your showings, listing details, buyer requirements, and third parties related to a transaction.  And it takes only seconds to generate reports that outline your referral sources and referral history, your appointments by date, transaction summaries, and more.  When you’re organized and in control, converting leads becomes easier and providing exceptional service to your clients comes naturally.

3. Stay in touch

Staying in touch with past clients is one of the most important things Realtors can do to generate a steady stream of referrals and repeat transactions.  As with new leads, staying in touch with past clients is a vital part of your long-term success. 

You worked hard to get the lead, to convert that lead into a client, and to deliver top-notch service and professionalism throughout the transaction.  The important part now is to make sure the client is yours for the long run and doesn’t go to another Realtor for their next transaction.

The way to do this by taking a multi-channel approach to keeping in touch.  This means building on the relationship with your past clients through face-to-face meetings or events, phone calls, emails, and direct mail.  A good first step is to make sure all past clients are assigned to the professionally written and designed monthly e-newsletter your CRM provides so that they can benefit from the educational and informative articles.  That positions as the expert in all things real estate related.

A good real estate CRM’s keep-in-touch dashboard makes it simple to plan communication activities for everyone in your database and see at a glance everything you’re doing to stay in touch with your contacts.  If you decide to put on an event like a client appreciation night or a home expert seminar, the Realtor CRM will even remind you to do all the steps involved in the planning process, from sending out the invitations to booking the venue.

When it’s all said and done, real estate contact management isn’t just important, it’s a necessity for building a referrals-based business.  Too many Realtors have learned the hard lesson of starting their career without practicing effective contact management.  Many have had to implement important best practices into their business later on after suffering from too many lost opportunities that should have been theirs.  

So don’t wait.  Get started with a good real estate CRM right away, use the system a little bit each day, and you’ll be setting yourself up for success.