Stop trying to re-invent creating relationships and getting more business.

July 19, 2022

Stop trying to re-invent creating relationships and getting more business.

If you’ve got your own business and it requires you to reach out to people, talk to them, and create relationships, then this is for you.

I’m in real estate, and that’s one of my many businesses. I want to talk about how to shift, pivot, and evolve into the new you, into the new process that you have to embrace as the market shifts.

I was talking to my friend Vanda recently, and she told me, “This is a skill-based market we’re heading into.”

What happens is, all of the people that are in any business right now—any sales business—you’re going to see a lot of them are going to end up leaving because they don’t want to work on their skills

“It takes you dedicating time, energy, focus, and commitment to work on your skills.”Tristan Ahumada

Look, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have skills right now. What matters is that you continually show up.

Contacting your database: Why should I care?

According to the 2022 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Report, according to NAR, for most homebuyers of all ages (41%), the first step taken during the process of home buying is looking online for properties for sale (2022, p. 52).

Do you find that surprising? I mean, that’s where everybody goes in the world we live in; we all go online.

The second in NAR’s survey is contacting a real estate agent (19%). Just look at the top two!

As for methods homebuyers use to find a real estate agent (p. 129), referral by friends, neighbors, and/or relatives is the top one (41%), and second is going to an agent they have already worked with before to buy or sell their property (26%).

Do you see how important it is to create a database that has your sphere? Those people that already know you and like you and trust you, your sphere, and past clients.

However, you can’t just be reaching out to your past clients and sphere saying, “Hey, this is a business call. Do you have a minute?” because that gets tiresome and lacks authenticity.

Your people will know if you are trying to call them just for the sake of calling them. They don’t care for businessmen who try to call them for a sale or for business. They want you to show them that you care.

How do I reach out to people authentically?

Reach out to them through text and social media. Be authentic. Give them value through your content and newsletter. Make great informative and entertaining videos and share that with them.

Then, all of a sudden, if they see that you are coming from a point of value, your people and your audience will realize that you know what you’re talking about. It builds a sense of trust that will make them want to connect with you.

I mentioned the HOP method in my past blogs and YouTube videos.

(Watch: The fundamentals of being a real estate agents and How to grow your business in a changing world)

It’s all about your brand meeting them at home, online, and in person. There are multiple ways of doing that.

Here’s what I really want to break down for you: With your sphere and past clients in the coming months to a year, you have an opportunity to create opportunities to connect with people.

The biggest challenge I see right now is trying to figure out why to call people and what to say. A lot of agents have their own database and know what to do; they just don’t know what to say to these people in their database.

So, I made this outline to help you:

You’ve got to create the occasion. The occasion to call. It can be an event you organize, and a few of my friends do this where they have yearly or quarterly events. If you don’t like big events, you can always take people out for coffee, lunch, or a small dinner.

People still want to connect with other people. 

Calling a person to invite them to an event or an occasion suddenly makes you feel that you have a reason to call. That doesn’t make you feel bad and doesn’t feel like a forced way to create a relationship, because I also hear a lot of agents say they feel bad calling someone they haven’t been in touch with for a long time just to call about business.

It’s really easy to check out your sphere or past clients on social media.

Check out what they’re doing. Just scroll through and if you see somebody hiking, eating, having a birthday or anniversary, or going on a trip, whatever it is, social media gives you the opportunity to dig a little deeper into your connections and gives you a reason to call or even text or DM them on Messenger or Instagram.

You can use the simple LCM method: Like-Comment-Message is used to forge authentic connections with people. Not every call or text or instance of reaching out has to be about real estate or business. Leave it for later.

This is what I do that I actually love, and it might work for you too: Randomly, text your top 100. It could be something as simple as sharing a quote or passage from a great book you’re currently reading with them.

Guess what they will feel when they receive my message? “It wasn’t a business-related text, it was enlightening, and I felt like Tristan just shared something with me that was a little deeper.”

Now we have the “how” done, next is: How often?

How frequently are you doing it? You've got to think of “fanatical follow-up.” 

How often are you making sure that you’re following up with people? Because people will forget you if they are not seeing you on social media, do not get your texts, invites to meet in person or to events, your newsletter, or a handwritten note. Out of sight (for a long time), out of mind.

It is a combination of all these over a long period of time that creates this mental space that you need to occupy for people.

Make sure that you're digging deeper into your database in the next few months, from August to October, as it gets a little tougher, because it probably will in some areas. Specifically, the sphere and past clients, if you’ve got past clients. You can also dive deeper into social media and combine everything together.

Because the power of all of these combined will create more business opportunities for you.