NJ Commercial Real Estate ONLINE

Real Estate And Marketing; Part 1

 by: Lanard Perry

There are two aspects of real estate and marketing

that are paramount to your success as a real estate

professional; the acquisition of new customers and the

retention of old ones.

As is the case in other industries the cost of

acquiring new customers is escalating. So, it becomes

more prudent to continue marketing to past customers.

It’s less expensive and can be equally profitable.

However, many real estate agents, to their financial

detriment, often fail to maintain relationships with

clients they have “closed” deals on.

Take you for example. If you’re like the majority of

agents you probably spend a lot of time, money and

effort acquiring new customers; and heaven knows it's

anything but easy. But how effective are you at

retaining past ones?

You probably feel, real or imagined, pressure to make

the next "close", but in doing so you are leaving a

lot of money on the table. Actually, it’s more like

you’re putting money into a competitor’s pocket.

Marketing to past clients can be especially rewarding.

You probably shared a genuine care for each other,

and if they were satisfied with you and your services

in the past, there is a greater chance than not that

they will come back to you for future transactions.

Also, they are likely to refer friends, family and

colleagues in the interim.

Savvy real estate and marketing pros immediately shift

their strategy to building long term relationships

once they "close" buyers." You should, too! Rather

than simply abandoning a client after a sale continue

nurturing the relationship, but in a different way.

Savvy real estate and marketing pros also, maintain

continuous, routine and ongoing contact and relations

with past clients. This helps to you protect your

customers/business from competitive encroachments.

For example; put them on an every other month "post

sale marketing campaign", whether it's via post cards,

letters or flyers.

Something is better than nothing, and it doesn't have

to cost a lot of time or money. The alternative is to

do nothing and let a competitive agent convert them to

their client! If you snooze you'll lose!

An old friend once said. "Sometimes it's better to

keep what you got than to replace it with something

new." Avoid the pain of seeing a recent past client

transact a real estate deal with another agent. Don't

let them get away - you spent too much time and energy

converting them into a customer.

About The Author Lanard Perry is the author of "Farming Expired Listings." Average 1 or more listings a week. Visit him at http://www.farmingexpiredlistings.com and http://www.real-estate-marketing-talk.com for more business building ideas.