Try a new way to connect with past clients
by Karen Deis
Over the years, I’ve stumbled upon an incredibly effective marketing system that I used to generate leads. This system can be implemented immediately, with the added bonus of getting your foot in the door with real estate agents.
It’s called the Annual Real Estate Review™ System.
Consider this not only one of the methods to keep in touch with your past clients, but a way to connect (or reconnect) with real estate agents.
What is the Annual Real Estate Review™ System?
It’s a formal review of the value of your client’s real estate. The system works like this (and there’s also a cover letter available).
- Review your database or closed loan files. Identify the real estate agent who sold your client the home. If the deal was a refinance, determine which real estate agent would “match” your client’s personality and/or farm area.
- Call the real estate agent and let them know that you are working with their past client and you would like to provide (the past client) an updated CMA (Comparative Market Analysis).
- If you find the original real estate agent is out of the business, or the deal is a refinance, chose another real estate agent. It could be someone who currently gives you referrals, a new agent you have wanted to do business with, or an agent who regularly works that subdivision (or farm area).
- In addition to the CMA, provide your client with their current assessed value and current property taxes.
- With the other real estate properties used in the CMA report, ALSO include the property taxes and assessed values. The reason? It gives them the opportunity to compare their taxes/assessments with that of their neighbors.
- Ask your real estate partner to include the most recent MLS statistics on home sales in your area.
- Include a cover letter telling them why you are providing the Annual Real Estate Review™.
- Provide an ARER once a year.
A couple of notes here:
- What if the value of their real estate has decreased? Tell them. They are going to find out sooner or later. Let’s say YOU have gone through the agonizing process of deciding to sell your home. You call the real estate agent and find that the value has decreased. Would you be upset?
- By letting your customer know the value on a continual basis, they can make a more informed decision if they decide to sell or refinance.
- What if the real estate agent doesn’t want to provide the CMA or balks at showing the client the value of the real estate now? The National Association of Realtors® reports that when it’s time to list a home for sale, at least 60% of the time the seller lists their home with the very FIRST agent they interview. You are instrumental in keeping the agent’s name in front of your clients. Or, if their Realtor® is out of the business, introduce them to a new agent.
Be sure to keep detailed notes in your database of which agents provided the CMA. The worst thing you could do is use a different agent year after year. Consistency is the key.
Karen Deis has been in the mortgage business for 28 years, and has made all the mistakes a loan originator and a mortgage company owner could make on her journey to a successful lending career. Deis owned a mortgage broker company for nine years, in addition to owning a CBA with the largest builder in the area, an appraisal firm and a real estate company. She can be found at Loan Officer Magazine and Mortgage Girlfriends.
