Use these Realtor sphere of influence scripts and social media techniques for real estate agents to contact and cultivate their SOI databases.
Today we are going to cover some quick tips and scripts for Realtors reaching out to your sphere of influence database. If you haven’t been staying in touch with your SOI like you know you should, you’re not alone. It’s a common issue, and sometimes when times are good, it doesn’t feel necessary.
Now that we are living in more uncertain times, we are presented with an opportunity to reopen the line of communication between ourselves and our sphere of influence contacts. For many, leads are drying up a bit, so you may be feeling a little stuck. You may be wondering if you should be spending money on buying new leads. Today I’m going to tell you, no. Don’t do that. It’s time to look inward to your database.
VIDEO: Realtor Sphere of Influence Scripts to Contact Your Database
Here at Icenhower Coaching and Consulting, our coaches are telling our clients to shift. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives, our routines, and the way we do business. As a result, it’s upset a lot of our existing lead sources as well. It’s forcing real estate professionals to pivot their business and make some changes.
Why focus on your SOI?
We are going back to the basics. There are so many ways for real estate agents to generate business. That said, the fact of the matter is that our SOI is where it’s at. Every year, the National Association of produces a survey of home buyers and home sellers. In that survey, they have always shown between 78 and 82 percent of all people that purchase a residential home use an agent that they know or that someone they know referred to them.
You heard that right. Approximately 80 percent of all transactions are done within your sphere of influence. Either they’re using you or they’re referring someone to you. It is so easy to get caught up in the bright and shiny and different methods of lead generation. As a result, Realtors end up going for the remaining 20 percent. They’re going after the unknown. This includes online leads that they’re buying, and expired listings, FSBOs, circle prospecting, etc.
Yes, these lead generation systems work! We do coach our clients on these lead generation tactics. However, we don’t ever suggest that you use these lead generation tactics in lieu of reaching out to your SOI on a regular basis via a smart contact plan. We suggest you do those “other” activities in addition to the core foundation of your business, which should be the development, growth, and cultivation of your sphere of influence.
Re-engage your sphere of influence
It’s okay if you have gotten away from being in touch with your SOI. We have all been there. It’s easy to neglect these tasks if you don’t have a contact plan in place. If this has happened to you, you need to re-engage with those people. Now is a wonderful time for that because we are in the midst of this COVID-19 crisis and we’re forced to get back to the basics.
Pick up the phone
I’ll tell you the most effective way to reach out to your SOI is probably the least “sexy” way. Just pick up the phone. Reach out to some of your past clients from the last two or three years, depending on how much business you do. All you need to do is say, “Hey! It’s Brian Icenhower. I was just checking in with you to see how you’re doing. Is there anything I can do for you?”
Be clear that you have no agenda. You are NOT trying to sell them anything right now, you are just trying to re-engage them and reconnect after some time. You are coming from contribution and showing them you care right now, especially with all that is going on during the COVID-19 crisis. Guess what? They’re probably going to answer the phone. A lot of people are home and answering their phones right now and you’re coming from contribution to see if there is anything you can for them. It’s really simple.
Who to start calling
Start with your past clients because these are people you just sold a house to. Checking in with them to make sure they’re okay is a very normal thing. It’s expected in business. You will be shocked with the answers you’ll get. Oftentimes, they do need you, or they need your expertise for one thing or another. For most people, their home is their most valuable asset, and it’s also their biggest liability. In light of all the economic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis, everyone has thought about their finances and is concerned to some extent.
How to help your clients
Your past clients may have questions about their equity, or are thinking about getting cash out of investment properties. Or maybe they have questions about the difference between a deferment and a forbearance on their mortgage payments. There are a lot of questions that we have the ability to address for our clients.
It could even be that they are having some work done on their house and need some recommendations. As a real estate professional, you have a lot of connections and vendors you know and trust. You can give them some references. And even if your client needs nothing from you – at least you checked in. It’s a minimum level of customer service to check in with your past clients and make sure they’re okay, especially right now.
You may be under the impression that phone calls are an annoyance. And yes, for years they have been. But I’ll tell you there has been a recent shift that suggest people are more receptive to phone calls now since the COVID-19 crisis began. Part of that, I’m sure, is the isolation that many are experiencing. It’s good to get a phone call from someone who is just calling to check in. Things are uncertain right now, and in many ways we have been forcibly disconnected. Human connection is in high demand.
The “shame on me” sphere of influence script for Realtors
If you’re reaching out to someone you’ve really neglected, now is the best time to pick up the phone and call them. You’ll be shocked at the response. Start off with, “Hey Julie, I was thinking about you, and shame on me for not reaching out earlier. But, I thought, no better time than right now. I just want to check in with you and see how you’re doing.”
It’s a simple “shame on me” script. You say, hey, shame on me, because I should have reached out to you sooner. You may be hesitant to call them because you haven’t called them in so long. Own it! You’ll see every single time they just as appreciative as everybody else you reach out to. It revives them as your SOI contact, and now you’ve set yourself up to maintain that level of communication going forward.
Realtors can use marketing to decide who to call with your sphere of influence script
A simple email newsletter is an easy marketing tool that may help you decide who to call first if your SOI list is sizable. You may feel overwhelmed or not know where to start in making your phone calls, and this could help you feel better about who you are reaching out to.
First, consolidate your database
You may have several lists of contacts lying around – maybe you have an email newsletter list, a contact list in your phone, and your CRM database. Copy all of it into one Excel spreadsheet. This takes some time. Next, you can run those emails through a scrubbing service. This helps you get rid of any old contact information that is either incorrect or no longer in use. Now you take your scrubbed list upload them to an email marketing program.
Reach out via email newsletter
One great tool within your email marketing program is the feature that will show you who opens the emails, who clicks on the links, and who opts out. You can also see what specific links the recipient clicked. When you send an email out, you can watch your results roll in. Most email marketing programs have a phone app as well, so you can get these important updates to your phone as you track the reception of your newsletter. Constant Contact and Emma are two good examples.
This is how you start to learn what type of content is engaging, and which subject lines get the most responses. And here’s where you apply this knowledge to making your phone calls. Based on the responses and clicks, you can narrow your phone call list down to those who engaged with your newsletter. At that point, you use your Realtor sphere of influence scripts. If you had a really large email list, say 5,000 emails, and 115 of your contacts engaged with the content to some degree, these 115 are the ones you call first.
Now, your phone call list is much more manageable. That’s what marketing is supposed to do – it helps sort out who is interested and who isn’t. This also warms up your SOI for your phone call. Realtors can then use their sphere of influence scripts to reach out, and they have already seen your name recently.
Using Facebook to reach out to your SOI database
Take the list that you just made that has already been scrubbed and add the contacts to your Facebook friends. Now, you can take these contacts and add them to a custom list within Facebook and run targeted ads to these people. One type of ad that has been shown to be very effective is a messenger ad. It’s very simple. It posts your ad and provides a messenger link for the recipients so they can message you directly.
The cost is low – sometimes just $5 a day when you run these ads, and it’s being shown to people that are already in your database. They already know you. It strikes up a conversation and they start chatting with you. It’s one of the easiest ways to get your database engaged again.
Mailers
So, you’ve sent out an email newsletter. Then, you used that data you collected from that marketing email to narrow your list of phone calls to make. You made your calls and used your Realtor sphere of influence scripts. And then you reached out via Facebook. If you are diligent in getting information together in your database, you also collected mailing addresses of some of these people. At least if you sold them a house, you will for sure have their mailing address!
Send out a simple four by six postcard. It will cost anywhere from forty to fifty cents per postcard depending upon volume. Maybe you have one of your latest videos on your blog on the front, or maybe it’s an offer that you can do a free consultation. Or, you can ask yourself, why would anyone in my SOI want to hire me as their Realtor? Come up with a meaningful message, and hit your database with a postcard mailer.
Results of reaching out to your sphere of influence database with a plan and script in place
When you target through every channel like this, you are in your SOI’s brain. You make an impression and brand yourself into their head. You are in communication again, and if you continue to stay in contact with them going forward, you will grow your sphere of influence. There’s short-term business and there is this big long-term business potential. You start out your messaging with “let’s stay in touch” and “just checking in on you” and going forward you bring value.
This is how you reconnect with your sphere of influence database. This is the foundation of reviving your database and re-engaging your people. Once that done, we can move on to what kind of value we can provide our SOI with to continue to keep in touch and keep them engaged.
