The Broker Public Portal has a “secret sauce” that helps agents earn customers for life. The feature is built into Homesnap Pro, a powerful mobile app for agents, and it can help agents stay connected to their customers continuously and effortlessly until they’re ready to transact again.
Why Is Staying Top-of-Mind With Clients So Important?
The most recent research from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) reveals that 90 percent of buyers would use their agent again or recommend their agent to others. NAR research also finds that 86 percent of sellers say they would definitely (69 percent) or probably (17 percent) recommend their agent.
However, past NAR research has shown that only about one in five (22 percent) homebuyers and one in three sellers (33 percent) actually used the same agent again.
Why is this the case? NAR argues that this statistic, while shocking, is misleading, because when people move, they move out of an area, and thus use a different agent—but Pew Research found that most Americans (57 percent) have never lived outside their home state, and more than one in three (37 percent) have never lived outside their hometown.
The fact is that when most people move, they don’t move very far. So why aren’t they using their original agent—and why aren’t those who move to another market or state contacting their original agent for a referral?
We’re Creating Orphan Homebuyers and Sellers
Agents not staying in touch with past clients is the most likely cause of lost repeat business. I get it. When you’re working a pipeline of active buyers and sellers and closing transactions that put income in your pocket, you’re busy. It’s tough to find the time and make the effort that’s required to connect meaningfully with past clients. You need a better way.
Those buyers and sellers become orphans. Over time, they often no longer feel connected to their original agent who helped them buy or sell a home. Sometimes they can’t even remember your name. They’re open to another agent’s direct solicitation of their business.
Building a Customer-for-Life Process, Automatically
Homesnap Pro, the mobile app that powers BPP, is packed with a lot of great features, but one that’s not touted enough, I believe, is a feature that fosters connections long after a transaction closes.
Agents who try to stay in touch with clients often rely on newsletters with cleaning tips and recipes, or birthday emails, but is that information valued? Homesnap’s built-in Market Report gives customers something they’re deeply interested in: what’s happening in their local real estate market.
When an agent invites a client to connect on Homesnap, that client automatically begins receiving a localized email each week with the latest listings in their market. These emails feature the agent’s branding and complete contact information.
There’s nothing for the agent to set up. It’s all done for them, automatically, and once a client accepts an agent’s invitation to connect on Homesnap, the client will then always see that agent next to listings on Homesnap unless they choose to disconnect from that agent. Most importantly, clients receive relevant information continuously, and the agent stays top-of-mind effortlessly.
That makes BPP with Homesnap a powerful addition to every agent’s toolkit. If you’re a brokerage and you don’t have Homesnap in your market, contact your MLS and tell them you want Broker Public Portal with Homesnap for your agents. More information about BPP is available at www.homesnap.com/bpp and Homesnap Pro at www.homesnap.com/pro.
Jon Coile is CEO of Champion Realty, the hometown real estate agency in the Chesapeake Bay region for over 30 years.
