If the thought of nurturing every contact in your SOI from your babysitter to your great aunt gives you anxiety, never fear. It won’t be like that for long.
Once everyone in your SOI knows you sell real estate, you’ll start seeing the referrals coming in. And once you start seeing where the bulk of the referral business is coming from, you can earmark the members of your SOI who are the best at sending you business, and set these contacts up on a priority list.
This doesn’t mean you should stop nurturing your entire SOI, but it does help you focus your efforts to get maximum results. After all, there’s only so much time in the day.
How to nurture your SOI via email
According to the Washington Post, the average person spends about 20.5 hours per week in their inbox. Love it or hate it, email cannot be ignored.
Most CRMs make it easy to set up email drip campaigns to go out to relevant segments of your list (in Follow Up Boss we use Action Plans to help keep it simple). Sending out a regular newsletter with helpful tips on how to make simple upgrades to the home, news from the local market, etc. are great for staying top-of-mind.
Just make sure you ask for permission first (there’s nothing more annoying than getting an email you don’t remember signing up for, right?).
How to ask your sphere for permission to email them
Assuming you’ve already let your sphere know you’re in the real estate game, here’s a quick, friendly template to help get them on your email list.
Template – SOI Email List Invite
Hey Dave!
How are you?!
You’re someone I always think of whenever I see killer landscaping – and the house I showed yesterday had a jaw-dropping garden! (It’s just around the corner from you actually in Spring Brook Hills.)
I’m kicking off an email newsletter with home and garden how-to’s (and maybe a few insider tips on the market) and I’d love to get an expert like you on my list.
Can I go ahead and include you?
Kate
If you’ve done a good job keeping in touch, they’ll probably be thrilled to get on your list. They may even have some great content ideas. After they’ve agreed, you can reply reminding them you’re “always here” if they ever have any questions about the market.
Getting permission to add people to your list is important, but there are other ways you can make the ask…without straight-up asking. A great strategy is to provide opportunities for your contacts to opt-in on their own, just like you would on your website. By adding a signup link to your email signature, you can easily expand your list even when sending emails for other purposes.
How to ask for a referral via email
In real estate, or any business for that matter, you can’t deny the power of the referral.
But asking for it can feel pretty daunting. Take a breath. You’re not asking for anybody’s firstborn child, and you’re not inconveniencing them — you’re providing value. Recent clients and professional connections are always a great place to start.
Here’s an awesome, zero-pressure script from Michael Montgomery of Rev Real Estate School.
Script #1 – Recent Clients & Professional Connections
Hi NAME,
I hope all is well! Looking forward to catching up with you soon!
Because we worked together, if anyone comes up in your network that may need real estate advice, I’m always happy to help. We work almost exclusively on referrals, so we always make a point of asking our great clients if they know anyone.
No need to respond – we are just huge on referrals so if anyone comes up, we are always happy to help.
Chat soon!
(By the way — that “easy out” at the end of the message can actually be a powerful tool to make people feel more comfortable…and more likely to respond!)
Your newsletter list is also a great place to find referrals. After you’ve sent a few value-packed emails, drop in and ask for that referral.
Script #2 – Newsletter List
Hey Dave!
Hope you’re having an awesome week!
Did you see my email last week on ‘5 Big Predictions for the Downtown Indy Real Estate Market’?
Homebuyers have a MAJOR hand to play right now – but unfortunately, they don’t always get the deal they deserve. (One of my recent clients almost got badly burned by an inflated Zestimate!)
Do you know anyone who might be thinking of purchasing a home in the future?
I’d love to share these tips, answer any questions, and even let them know which questions they should definitely be asking!
Talk soon!
Kate
If you don’t have a drip campaign set up yet, don’t worry.
You can easily change up that second line to refer back to any relevant life, community, or even social media event.
Pro Tip: Emailing SOI seller leads
Brian Icenhower of The Real Estate Trainer has a great tip. He recommends using MLS auto-prospecting to send relevant listings for potential sellers in your SOI to help them track the pulse of the market and see what comparable properties are selling for. You can get his full briefing in this video.
How to nurture your sphere on social media
Obviously, you can’t talk about connecting with people without talking about social media — and each social media network has its own merits.
But you can’t be everywhere all the time.
Focus on the social media sites where most of your SOI connections are, and the ones you already love and use regularly. As with follow-ups, consistency is the name of the game on social media.
