According to The National Association of Realtors, 90% of customers say they would use their agent again—but only 12% actually do. 

Why?

It’s because staying in meaningful contact with your customers over the eight to ten-year home ownership life cycle is hard. How do we bridge the gap, from customers who say they will come back, to those who actually do? We can be so focused on the transaction, that we sometimes lose sight of the future opportunity.  Staying in touch helps secure tomorrow’s business, but it doesn’t help pay the bills today!  Well…what if it did?

Here are three practical ways you can work today to secure your business tomorrow.

Take advantage of ancillary business opportunities.

Buying or selling a home usually isn’t an isolated transaction. There are other components to the process, and those are the areas that you can capitalize on within the transaction itself.

Take mortgages as an example. Since many people take out a mortgage when buying a home, why not consider ways to help with that process?

The same goes for title. If your customer is going to need a title and title insurance, what’s stopping you from providing that at your brokerage?

Insurance is another example. Many lenders require the purchase of home owner’s insurance, so why not explore opportunities in the insurance industry?

Think beyond the transaction.

Nowadays people expect a one-stop shop for practically everything. Real estate is no exception. If you simply stick to the big-ticket transaction of buying or selling a home, you will miss out. To succeed and gain repeat customers and referrals (and therefore, more income) you need to go above and beyond.

You should view yourself as the concierge for the customer’s entire home ownership experience. That means being the liaison between them and other services, even the ones you can’t personally provide through your own ancillary businesses.

If your customers are new to town, take that as an opportunity to guide them to the right professionals: plumbers, landscapers – even a place to get some good pizza. Moving is such an overwhelming process. Can you take some of the pressure off by doing things like helping them transfer their cable and internet or figuring out who their local energy provider is?

At ERA Real Estate, we’ve taken this approach one step further by creating our own concierge sites for our entire network, fueled by national partnerships and discounts from companies like HomeAdvisor®, Lowe’s®, and several other major brands, because we know the value of providing that white glove level of service. Providing these opportunities to our independent agents and affiliated brokers helps keep them in touch with their customers beyond the transaction.  Closing the gap on the 90% who say they will and the 12% who actually do requires long term consistent connections with the customer. We are helping to close that gap.

Take advantage of your network.

The most successful ERA® affiliated brokers and independent agents all say the same thing: that the best ideas they’ve gotten for how to improve their business come from other real estate professionals within the network.

These ideas are often exchanged between agents and brokers who get involved at both the local and national level. These are the people who participate in our national groups and programs, joining in on monthly calls to discuss best practices and issues within the industry.

Want to start a title company but not sure where to begin? Try connecting with someone through the ERA network who has already done it to gain valuable insights that inform the best strategy for your own business. It’s hard to do anything by yourself, but with a supportive and like-minded group behind you, you will never be alone.

If you want to hear more about how the ERA network can support your business goals, contact us today.