But consider the numbers... According to the most recent National Association of REALTORs Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, the majority of our business comes from repeat clients and referrals -- 60% of buyers and 68% of sellers had either worked with their agents before or had received a personal referral to them. In contrast, all other lead sources -- such as open houses and websites -- take up much smaller portions of the pie.

Rather than wasting our time trying to get these smaller sources of business up to par with repeat and referral business, our efforts are better spent growing what's already working. And there's definitely opportunity there: according to that same study, the majority of people say that they'd be willing to work with their same agent again, but then they end up not doing so.

So, how do you stay top of mind with your past clients, and get more listing leads? 

Our 5 step plan to listing leads is the answer. 

5 Step Plan to Listing Leads

You may have tried doing some of the things in this plan on your own in the past, and it didn’t work out. So you may be saying to yourself, “this is a waste of time”... but there was a reason it didn’t work for you in the past. Consistency. 

We run through this plan every month in order to stay top of mind with our database and to gain new listing leads through referrals and repeat clients. Follow these steps consistently and you’ll be able to grow your leads too. 

Step 1: Publish Useful Real Estate Info

First things first: you have to build your prospects' awareness of you as well as their trust in you as a real estate expert. To do this, we recommend that you have an active blog where you share information that would be useful to anyone interested in real estate. Quality content posted on a consistent basis creates authority and credibility for your online reputation.

The purpose of this blog post isn't so much to generate organic traffic, though that may happen over time. Instead, it's to provide value to the people you already know. It will serve as the excuse for the individual outreach that is step 5.

Step 2: Send Info to People You Know

Next, you need to alert the people you know that you have new information for them. The easiest way to do this on a mass scale is via email.

Gather or update the contact information for all your contacts and connections, then send a link to your new blog post out to everyone, including your past and current clients.

It's okay if you don't have email addresses for everyone you know. In the next steps, we’re going to send out this link using multiple modalities that will get it in front of the majority of people you know!

Step 3: Share a 1-Minute Video

Film a short video of yourself summarizing that month's blog topic. Video is one of the most highly valued forms of online content these days, and seeing you on camera is going to skyrocket your clients' perception of your reputation.

Once you have the video filmed, share it to your Facebook Business Page and your personal profile. From your Business Page, you'll be able to run Facebook ads promoting your video to the people you know -- even those for whom you don't have email addresses! We recommend running ads targeting the following audiences for this:

• Your database -- see how to create a custom audience from your contact list here
• People who have visited your website -- install the Facebook pixel on your site and you'll be able to retarget anyone who visits it
• People who have watched your previous videos -- if you've posted videos before, you can also create a custom audience of people who have engaged with those.

Step 4: Post Info on Social Media

The way the current Facebook algorithm works, we currently recommend posting 3-4 times a month on your Business page. The 1-minute video is one, and we also recommend you post two about the blog topic two more times each month. Post to both your Facebook Business Page and your personal profile.

Though it's not totally necessary, if you have the budget for it, consider running additional Facebook ads for your other posts. You would target the same audiences as listed above for the 1-minute video.

Finally for this step, post about your blog on any other social media platform on which you are active and trying to develop a presence. This could be Instagram, Pinterest, or LinkedIn, for example.

Step 5: Individual Messaging Follow Up

Garry's prospecting best practices recommend calling or personally contacting a quarter of your database each month, so that you talk to everyone at least once a quarter. That can be daunting if you don't have anything to talk about or if you haven't contacted these people in a long time... but your monthly blog topic is the perfect icebreaker!

If you’re uncomfortable on the phone, try using a phone script. It will help you remember what to say and help you sound less nervous. Practicing in front of a mirror or with colleagues is always a good idea as well. 

You also have some other options for individual outreach. You could use a group voicemail tool like SlyDial.com to record a message, or you could utilize Facebook Messenger to send a quick chat. Chris likes to be fairly informal with that last option: “Hi there! You recently popped up in my feed, and it made me wonder how you’re doing…"

Follow this 5-Step Plan every month and watch your client list grow!

If you’re interested in streamlining the 5-Step Plan and matching the best marketing practices of today… keep reading about our Member Value Program (MVP). 

The MVP is a done-for-you marketing campaign included in your Marketing Club membership, released each month. It includes all of the components discussed in this blog, and consistent implementation of this done-for-you system will allow you to stay top of mind with your sphere to capitalize on and grow your repeat and referral business opportunities.

If you’re interested in the Marketing Club, MVP, or any of the resources and ideas talked about in today’s blog, check out our FREE weekly trainings every Thursday at 12pm ET.