Use these client appreciation event ideas for Realtors to creatively, affordably and efficiently conduct client events like top producing real estate agents do.

What are the best client appreciation event ideas for Realtors? There are so many great ideas, ranging from very simple to more involved, and today we’re going to help get you thinking. Why are client appreciation events so important? Client events are one of the most effective ways to achieve the contacts needed for your Sphere of Influence (SOI) Database Annual Contact Plan. And, you get to come from contribution in doing those contacts. It’s really a win-win scenario.

Our main takeaway from today’s blog? Client appreciation events are not about the event itself. It’s all about the contacts. Keep reading for access to today’s FREE DOWNLOAD — our ICC Client Event Contact Plan.

VIDEO: Client Appreciation Event Ideas for Realtors

100 contacts per year

We’ve talked about this at length in the past. If you want to have an effective SOI Database Annual Contact Plan, you want to achieve 100 “touches” (contacts) per year. In the past, we advised 40 contacts per year, but as social media has become more and more effective for real estate agents, that number has grown to 100. Why? Because social media makes it easy to achieve this larger number of contacts.

What’s the goal? Mindshare. Frequency is key. The other key is to diversify your contacts. Here are many of the primary contact methods you’ll use to get to 100 each year.

  • direct message
  • email
  • text
  • social media post
  • social media stories
  • mailer
  • phone call
  • pop-bys
  • etc.

Client events and coming from contribution

Because you will be reaching out to your SOI members 100 times per year, you don’t want to come across as spam. Or, worse, harassment. If you are asking your SOI members for business every time you reach out to them, that is going to get old quickly.

If you aren’t adding value, you are going to lose positive mindshare. Suddenly, you’re “Brian the super annoying Realtor” and your number gets blocked.

But what if you had something valuable to offer your SOI members? This is what we teach here at ICC — you should always be adding value. You should always be coming from contribution.

The easiest way to do this is to have a fun and positive reason to be reaching out to your SOI members. What is more fun and positive than a client appreciation event?

People love to be invited to events. Real estate agents began hosting client events several years ago, and not for the reason most people think. It’s all about the contacts. It’s a reason to reach out to SOI members. Realtors can give back and add value to SOI members. It’s great for your reputation in your community, and it’s great for gaining mindshare (and, ultimately, business.)

client appreciation event ideas for Realtors

Get to 100 contacts with these client appreciation event ideas for Realtors

If you can manage to use these client appreciation event ideas for Realtors in an effective and systematized manner, you could potentially knock out all of your 100 contacts for the year.

Here is the cardinal rule for client event. DO NOT FOCUS SOLELY ON THE EVENT. We have seen some clients host an event and only make two contacts leading up to the event. That is a catastrophic error. The whole reason to have the event is to make contacts!

How many client events should you host per year? Many of our clients have four per year. One event per quarter gives you plenty of opportunities to contact your SOI on a regular basis.

Use a client event contact plan

Before you consider our list of client appreciation event ideas for Realtors, focus first on your contact plan. This will be your guide to how you reach out to your SOI, as well as how frequently to reach out.

I’d like to see you get 15 contacts to each of your SOI members over the course of one client event. So, if you did four events per year, you would get 60 contacts — that’s more than half of your yearly contacts! That’s all you would probably need to make, besides your social media posts and stories, to make 100 per year. It’s that easy.

We recommend a plan that includes a three-month lead up to your client event. You should start at 12 weeks out from your client event to start marketing that event to your SOI members. Then, we also recommend some post-event touches.

FREE DOWNLOAD: The ICC Client Event Contact Plan

The contact plan you create for your client events determines whether or not your client event is “worth it”. Remember, the entire purpose of hosting a client event is for these contacts! Use our ICC Client Event Contact Plan as your guide. It will help you plan out your diverse contacts, messaging, and frequency as you reach out to your SOI members.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Create your marketing image

Who, what, why, when, where, and how … these details should all be added to one “magical marketing image” to promote your event. You’ll use this single image over, and over, and over again throughout your contact plan. Having everything on one image makes it simple, and it’s a great opportunity to brand yourself and gain mindshare, so keep that in mind.

  • send via text
  • send via direct message on social media
  • post on social media
  • print and send as a mailer

You can use a tool like Canva.com to make this marketing image. Canva is an easy tool to use, with many clean, simple, editable templates. Canva also allows you to copy and resize an image — which is perfect as you reuse and repurpose your “magical marketing image.”

Client appreciation event ideas for Realtors

Here are a few categories that will help you come up with client appreciation event ideas for Realtors.

  1. Charitable events – This is one of the easiest events you can host. You can simply reach out to an existing event and ask if you can market it and help drive up attendance. The public will think it is your own charitable event because you’ll be marketing it with your logo.
  2. Come-and-go events – Coffee truck, pictures with Santa, ice cream in the park … events like this are casual and “drop-by”, which makes them more simple and more low-risk. (More on that later.)
  3. Elite event – These events are more formal and more time-consuming and expensive. That said, they are great for making your SOI members feel very special. This might be something like a client dinner, or a party at your house.

The video included in this blog will give you even more specific client appreciation event ideas for Realtors. So make sure to watch it if you need inspiration! All that said, remember, it isn’t the event itself that matters most. It’s the contacts.

client appreciation event ideas for Realtors

Note: it’s okay if nobody shows up

That may seem counterintuitive, but stay with me. You might be sad when you show up to your event and only a few SOI members show up. Just remember, nobody knows that your event was a failure except for you! The whole point was to make the contacts.

If you made the contacts on your contact plan, your event was a success. And, after the event, you can still play it up as if the whole town was in attendance.

You can post to social media and say, “Wow, what a great turnout at the coffee truck this morning!” Come-and-go events like that are even easier to disguise because nobody will be able to tell how many people came. If you are worried about turnout, have a come-and-go event. Bonus — if not many clients show up to your event, it’s a lower cost for you!

Remember, all we care about is the contacts. That’s the most important facet of your event. So use our client appreciation event ideas for Realtors and keep in mind that it’s not about the event itself. It’s all about the contacts.

PRO TIP: Get vendors to pitch in

This is an easy way to help pay for your client appreciation events. Get your trusted vendors on board — get financial support from them. You can offer that with their contribution, they can put their logo on your marketing material. Co-marketing with trusted vendors is a win-win. You are helping them out, and they are helping you. Your business-to-business relationship is growing.

Which vendors are good candidates for this? Mortgage lenders, title and escrow companies, home warranty companies, home inspectors, natural hazard disclosure companies, home insurance, etc. You should be able to easily drum up $2,000. This is more than enough for the more low-key events, and plenty for your more expensive events.

Get more out of your client event

Here are a few client appreciation event ideas for Realtors to maximize your benefit from these events.

  • Video footage – Get a videographer, or a friend, to take video during your event. This will work as great footage to market future events!
  • Photos – Get a photographer, or a friend, to walk around and take nice photos of your SOI members having a blast. These can be posted later to social media.
  • Reviews from clients – Make it easy for clients to give you a 5-star review. You can set up a QR code for them to scan that will bring up your Google My Business page to make it as easy as possible. Do it on the spot.
  • Testimonials from clients – Ask your clients if they would be willing to say a few kind words on video.
  • Contest to get referrals – Give raffle entries for anyone who fills out a piece of paper with contact info of someone who they know may want to buy or sell in the next year. Make it a good prize!
  • SOI growth – You can always grow your SOI at your events! People bring guests along all the time. Be sure to meet and greet anyone new. Use it as an opportunity to grow your sphere!

Want to learn more?

Stay up to date on what's happening in our industry and join our Facebook group, the Real Estate Agent Round Table for free, relevant content daily, including breaking news on the real estate market and the Coronavirus crisis.
Stay up to date on what’s happening in our industry and join our Facebook group, the Real Estate Agent Round Table for free, relevant content daily, including breaking news on the real estate market.

Check out our latest posts: