Yesterday when I was taking a walk with my kids to get out of the house and let some energy out, it was very clear that our world is becoming so accustomed to the changes due to COVID19 (aka the CoronaVirus) , which has hit each and everyone of our households, communities, real estate, and businesses in different ways, more than imaginable.
The playground that my kids and I are used to playing at, was completely marked off with caution tape (I had told them in advance that we would not be going on the equipment), but to walk up and see such a harsh reality that my kids finally interpreted as dangerous was gut wrenching. The caution tape left me with so much of a feeling of emptiness, an ominous reality at what we are truly facing. However, it also left me with a positive feeling of strength and resiliency.
For me, and I am sure for many other people, all of this social distancing has felt like we are left with so many questions about how our economy, our lives, real estate, and how our businesses will rebound.
Real Estate in the time of Covid19
I am sure that many of you in real estate feel almost as if caution tape caused by Covid19 has been wrapped around your entire approach and business methodology, who you are as a Realtor, any deals that were in the pipeline before everything shut completely down in March, and so many unanswered questions.
Although I cannot provide you with the full answers to those questions, one thing I can do is encourage you that it is such a RIPE time to focus on your tech stack, dig into your CRM more, send drip and blast messages to your sphere of influence. Use this time of being forced to social distance to reach out to your contacts via tech more than ever!
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(and make sure you’ve applied for the Paycheck Protection Program for Brokers and agents.)
Top Ideas To Keep Your Real Estate Clients Engaged During Covid19:
1.) Right now is not the time to try and sell (watch our CEO discuss this in our On-Demand Using Data To Communicate webinar). It is the time to use data, research and analytics to watch the markets rebound and communicate with your prospects to instill security in the real estate market. Be the conduit of information out to your sphere, updating them with the positive things that you see, and how you feel it will ultimately impact them.
2.) Show sensitivity! We are all in this together, and sometimes people can come across as abrasive or frustrated when they really are not intending to be – it is the nature of the beast with what we have had to ALL adjust to so radically.
3.) Go back through your contacts and find creative ways to engage with them using your real estate brokerage CRM.
- For hot prospects that you are/were working – change the messaging to make it appealing to them and informational. Use Drip and Blast marketing, so you can track analytics and engagement!
- For clients that you wish would follow you for life – set them up with a saved search after their home closes. NAR stats show that 80 some% of those buyers would purchase again from their agent, but ~3% of those “potential lifetime clients” remember who their original agent was. Go back and set up saved searches in the neighborhood that you just sold a home to your clients in! We are all nosy neighbors, and this will keep your face and brand ambassador of that community, and a consistent reminder of that amazing purchasing experience that you gave them before they are ready to purchase again.
4.) Clean up your contact lists, organize them in ways that it is easy to place them in your CRM for relevant campaigns, set it and forget it with Drips and Blast Messages!
5.) Do not stop posting content about all of the places you love within the area that you focus on for your business on your website community pages. The coffee shop that you are used to getting an amazing mid-morning latte, the microbrewery that you spend Friday afternoon happy hours at, all of the lovely things about the bakery down the street that is trying very hard to make it through all of this with their own stresses and concerns. Continue promoting the areas that you believe create a wonderful home buying and selling experience for your clients.
6.) Lastly, remember that we are all in this together. As a vendor that offers an extreme amount of concierge service to our Brokers, and all of their agents – do not hesitate to reach out to your tech company for help! They should be there to assist you in any capacity that will help you operate smoothly within their platform.
We’ll Be Back To Selling Soon
The caution tape will be removed at some point, so roll up your sleeves (yes maybe put the recommended safety gloves on), and continue providing reviews or information on the local businesses which you would not have hesitated to recommend in your community pages, before Covid19. Do a better job of virtually explaining different communities and what makes them a great place to call home.
We are all in this together and I am already seeing very promising signs that the real estate markets in many states are beginning to rebound from the COVID rock bottom.
