Closing on a real estate transaction is exciting for both the buyer and the seller. Do you know who is also super happy? The realtors that facilitated the deal. Yes, closings means payday, but meaningfulness of a closing goes beyond the paycheck. Each closing represents a milestone in our business. Each closing is a cornerstone to grow our sphere and to leverage our next opportunity. After each closing, we value maintaining lasting meaningful relationships with our clients. In this video, I am going to suggest four things all agents should do after a closing.
Number One! Gift Giving, or what we call the closing gift. This is traditional real estate practice for both the buyer and listing agent to present a closing gift to their client as a small token of appreciation. It’s a great opportunity to get creative and find ways to subtly tell your client, “Thank you for choosing me”. Here at the Fitzpatrick Team we have a closing tote bag with a bottle of champagne and an indulgent restaurant gift card for our clients to celebrate when they are ready. We also like to provide our buyers and sellers with moving boxes, paper products for that first night at the new home that help facilitate their next move!
Next, Number Two. Set Your Follow Up Reminders. As your business grows, it will become more difficult to manage important follow up opportunities like birthdays and anniversaries, especially as your past client list grows longer than ever. After each closing, make sure to enter reminders into your CRM, that will help you touch base. Some good reminders would be: birthdays, anniversaries, one-year check-ins, graduation dates, and so on! The more personal the better.
Next, Number Three, Ask For A Review. I highly suggest doing this as soon as possible. Use your own judgment on the appropriate time, but you want their positive feedback to feel fresh and top of their mind. When you ask for the review, clearly ask for a FIVE STAR REVIEW. Creating the call to action will help guide them. You also want to provide your client with many different ways to leave a review. Everyone is comfortable with different platforms, so if they have a choice on where to leave one, you are more likely to get one, sooner. I suggest Google first, then resort to Zillow or Facebook. Once they you a review, I suggest turning that review into a social media graphic and share it with your network!
Lastly, Number 4, Farm The Neighborhood. Scream from the rooftops that you sold a house. Send out postcards to the neighborhood with the sales information and details about yourself. Try to get creative because these postcards do start to look the same to your everyday consumer. If you want to take it one step further, attempt an afternoon of door knocking. Meet the neighborhoods and drop of small gifts to break the ice. This announcements go along way. Even if they don’t generate a lead, it’s wonderful brand awareness at the end of the day.