NEWTOWN SQUARE PA – Having turkey on the dinner table isn’t the only way to express thanks.

Plenty of service providers, including real estate sales and broker licensees, are accustomed to sending letters or cards of thanks to their clients at year’s end or only a week or two in advance of the New Year. It happens so frequently, year-in and year-out, that those messages of appreciation sometimes are ignored or unremembered amid the rest of the holiday clutter.

Let clients know they're appreciated

Let clients know they’re appreciated

The folks who operate Click-2-Mail, an Internet-based marketing partner with the U.S. Postal Service, suggest agents and brokerages can stand out by offering their thanks in November, not late December or January.

Click-2-Mail proposes three ways to show your thanks during November:

  1. Write a heartfelt letter. Let clients know how much they mean to you. Thank them for their business, their referrals, and their permission to let you continue to keep in touch.
  2. Send an engaging promotion. Everyone in the industry offers a free “competitive market analysis.” Unfortunately, too many property owners still don’t know what that is. Instead, send your prospects a coupon redeemable for your estimate of “how much their home might be worth in today’s real estate market.” You’ll get higher response rate with plain talk! Another idea: some agents donate a portion of their commission proceeds to charity; if you’re among them, solicit client suggestions for charities they’d like to see supported.
  3. Hold an event. One way to strengthen relationships with clients is to hold an exclusive event for them. It may be a simple holiday open house at the broker’s office with light refreshments. It might be a local financial expert’s presentation on a timely real estate or mortgage topic. It might even be a charitable activity; think about collecting canned donations for the local food pantry, or participating as a drop-off point for Toys For Tots.

Your clients “are the lifeblood” of your practice, Click2Mail reminded in a blog entry posted Monday (Nov. 10, 2014). Sending them a word of thanks, no matter how it gets communicated, is a great way to demonstrate your appreciation.

Photo from Google Images