Maintaining relationships helps build business

The Texas saying “Dance with the One Who Brought You,” sums up Ashton Gustafson’s philosophy on maintaining a thriving real estate business.

Gustafson, a fourth-generation Realtor®, said he learned the lesson quickly when he joined the family real estate business 10 years ago.

“My grandparents were top producing agents and I joined the business with zero sales,” he said. “I quickly discovered that building a database and connecting with the people in your sphere of influence helps build and maintain your business.”

Maintaining relationships is two-fold. “The first step is consistently being in front of the people who will use you to buy or sell a home,” Gustafson said. One way he achieves this is by a drip campaign that he maintains with clients after he’s done business with them. It includes an automatic email 30 days after the sale, asking clients if they need a handy man to help with changes to the home.

“With the economy that’s unfolding before us, you have to constantly dazzle people,” he said. “Everyone says they’re the best, but very few Realtors® are really redefining customer service and offering more to their clients.”

He suggests that after the sale it’s important to follow up and think about the other 10 transactions those clients can help you connect with through their relationships.

“When I think of the majority of my transactions and why that individual called me, I know that they were connected to me through another transaction,” Gustafson said. “I bet 70 percent of my transactions are with people I’ve done business with before or referrals from those I’ve done business with. That’s the way we organically grow our business. Word of mouth is so important, whether it’s through social media, digitally or through conversations.”

Realtors® need to be experts in their market and be relevant to the clients – current and past. “Dancing with the ones who brought you is making sure the clients you’ve done business with are happy with you and remember you,” he said. “It’s the same concept as it’s a lot easier to get deals from others you’ve done business with, than it is to get deals from people you don’t know.”

Gustafson will be presenting three programs at the Triple Play Realtors® Convention in Atlantic City, December 8-11. His programs include: Dancing With the One That Brought You: Keeping in Touch With Your Sphere; Streamlining Your Social Media Platform: Be More Places With Fewer Steps; and We’ve Got it All Backwards.