YOU NEVER KNOW… having been in sales for over 40 continuous years it is clear to me that no matter what product or service you are selling, selling is still selling. Many of my Coaching clients are in Real Estate Sales. Selling houses is the same as selling anything… you identify a prospect, you present your product, and you ask for the sale… end of story. But it's not really the end, is it? It is actually the beginning. Some Salespeople forget to stay in touch with their Customers… the truth is, most Salespeople don't do a very good job of this. There are plenty of surveys available showing that while Salespeople do in fact stay in touch with some of their Past Clients…they just don't stay in touch with the majority of them! We pick the ones we like, we talk to them every once in a while, and we forget the rest.
Here's a great story about why we should stay in touch… it falls into that "YOU NEVER KNOW" category…
Kathleen has been in Real Estate Sales for over 30 years. She has been very successful and has built a strong career as a result of her ability to help people buy and sell the right house for them. Recently Kathleen's sales have dropped off and she came to me looking for some solutions. One of the areas that needed some attention was her method of communicating with her Past Clients and Centers of Influence. What Kathleen told me was… "Bruce, I haven't been in touch with some of these people for so long that I'm embarrassed to reconnect with them". A common concern. To get things started, to help her be comfortable, we decided to take a "softer approach". I asked Kathleen to "Send out three personal notes every day to everyone on your list no matter how long ago you were in touch. Just three a day… just to get you started". Kathleen is very Coachable… in less than two weeks she received a phone call from one of her recipients. Her Client told her the following…
"Kathleen, it's so nice to hear from you. Frankly, we did not even know you were still in the business. Regardless, your timing is amazing! We are going to make a move and would like you to come over and help us sell our home".
A nice story… but here's the best part… Kathleen has not been in touch with these people for 12 years…12 years! After all this time they still remember the value she brought to them when she sold them their home long ago. Here is the simple conclusion… no matter what business you're in, no matter what product/service you are selling… never lose sight of the value of staying in touch. You never know where your next deal will come from. The good news is, Kathleen is going to earn $10,000 because of her personal note. The bad news is, Kathleen has probably lost several similar paychecks by not staying in touch more frequently. Here's my question for you… how Coachable are you? Can your swallow your pride and reconnect with the "forgotten ones"? How many of your Past Clients should you reconnect with today? You never know…! NO Excuses.