No matter if you a new agent or seasoned agent, your data base is a crucial part of your business. However, you can only grow your business if you reach out to the people in your data base. Your contacts need to know that you run a successful real estate business. But first you have to get your contacts in order and make a plan for reaching out.

How Can Your Data Base Help You In Your Business?

Your database is the people that you’re going to market to, that you’re going to prospect to, that you’re going to reach out to, that you’re going to provide value to, and that you communicate with systematically.

Real estate is the most personal business in the world, so where are you going to start? People that know you best, your friends, your family. You want to get to work immediately and make sure that they know that you’re a real estate professional, you mean business, and you want their business.

Your contacts are a network of people you know on one level or another. Think of it like LinkedIn – you have first, second and third tier connections.

Your first tier connections are those you know personally, such as family member and friends.  A second tier connection could be a colleague and the third tier connection may be acquaintances.  This group of people is considered your sphere of influence.  Seasoned agents will also have a past client category.

Why are these people important to your real estate business? Because they all offer some kind of opportunity related to real estate. Someone in your sphere of influence could be moving or know someone who is moving; your network therefore offers an infinite amount of referral business.

Most agents know how important their database is, but few are using it to their full advantage. Develop a database of people who know and trust YOU! Stay in touch with them consistently, persistently and be relevant and interesting.  Use several different channels of communication like social media and text messaging.

What System Should I Use?

Most brokers offer a Customer Relationship Management system.  If they don’t have anything, they might recommend one, there are lots of CRMs out there, some better than others, that also offer workflow systems and drip campaigns. Top real estate agents know how to use a CRM database to their advantage.

Constantly adding prospects to the top of one’s sales funnel is necessary for a business to flourish. Keeping the database up-to-date at all times and referring to it constantly is key to getting the greatest benefit from a CRM system. The database has a number of uses, including scheduling mass mailings, emails and regular follow-up calls.

“The average person moves every 10 years. If you have a database of 250, that means 25 people are moving each year and 25 more people move the next year, and so on. Now, if all you did was add 250 contacts by actually talking to them, writing a note, and putting them on consistent persistent drip campaign each year for 10 years, your 25 this year will become 50 closed transactions next year (25 from the new 250 and 25 from last years’ 250) and 75 closed transactions the 3rd year … and so on and so on.”  Brad Korn, KW MAPS Coach

In the National Association of REALTORS® annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 71 percent of buyers and sellers surveyed said they would use the same real estate agent again in another transaction, but only 17 percent do.  There is a huge opportunity to capture that remaining 54 percent of potential business.

At Mega Camp 2016 Jay Papasan presented the 36 to Convert program (the 33 Touch re-imagined as the 36 to Convert), where he showed agents the ONE Thing they can do now to close the gap between potential clients and actual clients.

What does it takes to effectively and systematically communicate with your data base?

Phil Byers, a Keller Williams agent, productivity coach and member of the Chicago – Lincoln Park market center explains here how he nurtures his sphere to build a business that lasts. Byers says that the biggest mistake agents make is they call people and ask for something first. “To build a relationship, you should call them and check in and see if you can be of value to them,” he urges. “Make the call about their agenda, not your agenda, and a relationship will grow.”